Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and human behaviour.
Studying psychology can help you understand yourself and other people by learning about aspects of human behaviour. This understanding can factor into lots of different areas of daily life: social interaction, learning and memory performance, human motivation and the importance mental health, to name a few. Students who choose to study psychology will learn much about themselves, as well as the complicated world we all live in.
Psychology is a science. The defining feature of any science is the objective approach that is used to advance our knowledge. In psychology we use this scientific approach to learn about behaviour and mental life. Students will rely on knowledge and skills gained in science, maths and English to help build their understanding in psychology. In particular students would need to formulate operationalised hypotheses, plan for controlling extraneous variables and follow ethical procedures as part of carrying out a piece of research. Data would need to be analysed using their mathematical knowledge of descriptive statistics and graphs. Finally, students would need to form cohesive written arguments using the correct psychological terminology to critically evaluate key theories and studies linked with influential psychologists.
Please use the links below to gain a greater understanding of the topics covered in GCSE Psychology.
Content
In Years 10 and 11 the students follow the AQA 8182 specification. The course has two units, with 4 topics in each. Seven of these topics have two key studies each, which students must learn in detail: the method, results, aim, conclusion and evaluation.
Click on the text links for Learn Dojo resources which are excellent for homework and revision.
Assesment
Two 1 hour 45 min exams at the end of Year 11
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Cognition and behaviour
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Social context and behaviour
Each paper contributes 50% of the overall grade. Both are made up of 4 sections and each section contains multiple choice, short answer and extended writing questions.