Psychology — Year 13

 

Psychology Overview

Term 1: Approaches and Biopsychology

Teacher 1: Students will complete the approaches unit that they would have started in year 1. They will consider the cognitive, humanistic and psychodynamic approaches to human behaviour and how to compare and contrast these. Teacher 2: Students will continue with their learning of biopsychology which includes localisation of function in the brain, hemispheric lateralisation, split brain research, plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma, ways of studying the brain and biological rhythms.

Students will continue to be assessed roughly fortnightly with 24 mark (30 minutes) timed exam papers for both teachers. These involve a mix of multiple choice, short answers and essay questions.

Inference

The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour.

The unconscious

The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which continues to direct much of our behaviour.

Self-actualisation

The desire to grow psychologically and fulfill ones full potential - becoming what you are capable of.

Congruence

The aim of Rogerian therapy, when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord or match.

Conditions of worth

When a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children; for instance a parent saying to a child 'I will only love you if you study medicine'.

Hemispheric lateralisation

The idea that the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other, as in the example of language.

Plasticity

This describes the brain's tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning.

Broca's area

An area of the frontal lobe of the brain in the left hemisphere (in most people) responsible for speech production.

Wernicke's area

An area of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere (in most people) responsible for language comprehension.

Circadian rhythm

A type of biological rhythm, subject to a 24 hour cycle, which regulates a number of body processes such as the sleep/wake cycle and changes in core body temperature.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will develop a real sense of enjoyment and fascination in theory learning, particularly that of the function and plasticity of the brain.

Create a supportive community:

Students will appreciate the influence of psychology in neuroscience through their learning of biopsychology and the cognitive approach in psychology.

Term 3 : Forensic Psychology and Schizophrenia

Teacher 1: Students will continue and complete the Forensic Psychology unit by studying psychological explanations for offending behaviour (e.g. Eysenck’s theory and cognitive explanations) as well as how to deal with offending behaviour (e.g. custodial sentencing, restorative justice). Teacher 2: Students will continue and complete their study of schizophrenia by examining the psychological explanations and treatment of schizophrenia as well as the interactionist approach.

Students will continue to be assessed roughly fortnightly with 24 mark (30 minutes) timed exam papers for both teachers. These involve a mix of multiple choice, short answers and essay questions.

Offender profiling

Also known as 'criminal profiling', a behavioural and analytical tool that is intended to help investigators accurately predict and profile the characteristics of unknown criminals.

Geographical profiling

A form of bottom-up profiling based on the principle of spatial consistency; than and offender's operational base and possible future offences are revealed by the geographical location of their previous crimes.

Cognitive distortions

Faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and usually negatively.

Hostile attribution bias

The tendency to judge ambiguous situations, or the actions of others, as aggressive and/or threatening when in reality they may not be.

Minimalisation

A type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion. A common strategy when dealing with feelings of guilt.

Delusions

A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They involve beliefs that have no basis in reality, for example, that the sufferer is someone else or that they are the victim of a conspiracy.

Speech poverty

A negative symptom of schizophrenia that involves reduced frequency and quality of speech.

Avoilition

A negative symptom of schizophrenia. It involves loss of motivation to carry out tasks and results in lower activity levels.

Co-morbidity

The occurrence of two illnesses or conditions together, for example a person has both schizophrenia and a personality disorder.

Antipsychotics

Drugs used to reduce the intensity of symptoms, in particular the positive symptoms of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

All three of the units in this term will promote students enjoyment and fascination in learning about the world and people around them.

Create a supportive community:

There will be developed discussions in the Forensic Psychology unit with regards to how we identify and manage those who commit crime, and ethical discussions about the use of biological differences as an explanation of offending.

Term 5: Issues and debates, Relationships and Revision

Teacher 1: Students will complete their learning of Issues & Debates, focusing on the idiographic-nomothetic debate, the holism-reductionism debate and socially sensitive research in psychology. Teacher 1 will then move onto revision to prepare students for their final exams. Teacher 2: Students will complete their learning of Relationships, focusing on relationship breakdown, virtual relationships and parasocial relationships. Teacher 2 will then move onto revision to prepare students for their final exams.

Formal A-Level examinations: Paper 1 (Topics) 33% Social Influence; Memory; Attachments; Psychopathology, Paper 2 (Context) 33% Approaches; Biopsychology; Research Methods, Paper 3 (Issues and Debates) 33% Issues and Debates; Relationships; Forensic Psychology; Schizophrenia

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will develop important revision strategies that will support them in any form of further education.

Create a supportive community:

Students will reflect on the potentially damaging consequences of research and what can be done to mitigate this.

Term 2: Forensic psychology and Schizophrenia

Teacher 1: Students will begin learning the forensic psychology unit, including methods for offender profiling and biological explanations for offending behaviour. Teacher 2: Students will begin learning the schizophrenia unit, including what schizophrenia is and how it’s diagnosed and classified, as well as biological explanations and treatments for schizophrenia.

Students will continue to be assessed roughly fortnightly with 24 mark (30 minutes) timed exam papers for both teachers. These involve a mix of multiple choice, short answers and essay questions. Students will also sit a formal set of mock exams during this term which will include a full paper 1 (Social influence, Memory, Attachment, Psychopathology) and paper 2 (Approaches, Bio-Psychology, Research Methods). These are both 2 hours each.

Free will

The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces.

Determinism

The view that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something.

Holism

A argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts.

Reductionism

The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.

Ethical implications

The impact that psychological research may have in terms of the rights of other people especially participants. This includes at a societal level, influencing public policy and ways in which certain groups or people are regarded.

Infradian rhythm

A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours, such as menstruation and seasonal affective disorder.

Ultradian rhythm

A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours such as stages of sleep.

Endogenous pacemakers

Internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythms such as the influence of the suprachiasmatic (SCN) on the sleep/wake cycle.

Exogenous zeitgebers

External cues that may affect or entrain our biological rhythms, such as the influence of light on the sleep/wake cycle.

Hallucinations

A positive symptom of schizophrenia. They are sensory experiences of stimuli that have either no basis in reality or are distorted perceptions of things that are there.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

There will be a strong focus on ethics in psychological research in this term, challenging students to consider the boundaries of what is right and wrong and develop their own moral conscience.

Create a supportive community:

The focus on the diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia will promote a greater understanding and tolerance of complex mental health disorders.

Term 4: Issues and debates and Relationships

Teacher 1: Students will begin the issues and debates topic. They will explore gender and culture bias in psychology and the problems associated with this. They will also start to consider their stance on key debates in psychology such as how determined we are by factors beyond our control and how much of our psyche is affected by nature in relation to nurture. Teacher 2: Students will begin their learning of the relationships topic. They will look at evolutionary explanations for choosing a partner. They will also examine the factors affecting attraction including self-disclosure, physical attractiveness and filter theory. They will begin looking at economic models of relationships including exchange theory, equity theory and the investment model.

Students will also sit a formal set of mock exams during this term which will include a full paper 1 (Social influence, Memory, Attachment, Psychopathology) and a full paper 2 (Approaches, Bio-Psychology, Research Methods). These are both 2 hours each. Students will also sit a modified paper 3 (Schizophrenia and Forensic psychology) which will last 1 hour. Students will also continue to be assessed roughly fortnightly with 24 mark (30 minutes) timed exam papers for both teachers focusing on paper 3 topics. These involve a mix of multiple choice, short answers and essay questions.

Custodial sentencing

A judicial sentenced determined by a court where the offender is punished by serving time in prison (incarceration) or in some other closed therapeutic and/or educational institution such as a psychiatric hospital.

Recidivism

Re-offending, a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behaviour in the context of crime.

Behaviour modification

An application of the behaviourist approach to treatment, based on the principles of operant conditioning. The aim is to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through the use of positive and/or negative reinforcement.

Anger management

A therapeutic programme that involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way.

Restorative justice

A system for dealing with criminal behaviour which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims. This enables the offender to see the impact of their crime and serves to empower victims by giving them a 'voice'.

Self-disclosure

Revealing personal information about yourself. Romantic partners reveal more about their true selves as their relationship develops, these strengthen a romantic bond when used appropriately.

Filter theory

An explanation of relationship formation. It states that a series of different factors progressively limits the range of available romantic partners to a much smaller pool of possibilities.

Social exchange theory

A theory of how relationships form and develop. It assumes that romantic partners act out of self-interest in exchanging rewards and costs. A satisfying relationship is maintained when rewards exceed costs.

Absence of gating

Face-to-face relationships often fail to form because of obstacles such as facial disfigurements that some people might find off-putting. These barriers or 'gates' are absent in computer-mediated communication allowing virtual relationships to begin.

Complementarity

Similarity becomes less important as a relationship develops, and is replaced by a need for your partner to balance your traits with opposite ones of their own.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural
Develop the individual:

Students will develop a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them through the relationships topic. They will also weigh up the moral dilemmas involved with the unrepresentative samples historically focused on in psychology.

Create a supportive community:

Through the study of culture and gender bias in issues and debates, students will consider cross-cultural research which will enable them to understand, appreciate and respect cultural differences.