Students are introduced to the fundamental concepts of psychology, exploring various approaches such as cognitive, behaviourist, and biological. Emphasis is placed on understanding research methods, with practical research projects to enhance comprehension. Research methods lessons run alongside topic lessons to allow students to consolidate learning through practical activities and research projects.
Throughout the course, students engage in practical research projects to reinforce theoretical concepts and develop skills in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The curriculum is designed to foster critical thinking, analytical skills, and a deep understanding of psychological principles, preparing students for higher education and diverse career opportunities in psychology and related fields.
Psychology
The scientific study of the mind and behaviour.
Empiricism
The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience and observation.
Objective
Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts; unbiased.
Subjective
Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Theory
A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of evidence.
Variables
Any factors or characteristics that can vary within an experiment.
Independent Variable (IV)
The variable that is deliberately changed or manipulated in an experiment to test its effects on the dependent variable.
Dependent Variable (DV)
The variable that is measured in an experiment to assess the effect of the independent variable.
Operationalisation
Defining variables in practical, measurable terms.
Validity
The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.
Reliability
The consistency of a research study or measuring test.
Experiment
A research method in which the investigator manipulates one or more variables to observe their effect on some behaviour or mental process.
Control Group
In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment and is used as a benchmark.
Experimental Group
In an experiment, the group that receives the treatment or variable being tested.
Random Assignment
Assigning participants to conditions by chance, minimising pre-existing differences.
Case Study
An in-depth analysis of an individual, group, or event.
Survey
Information obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions.
Naturalistic Observation
Observing behaviour in naturally occurring situations without manipulation.
Correlation
A measure of the extent to which two variables change together.
Positive Correlation
Both variables increase or decrease together.
Negative Correlation
One variable increases as the other decreases.
No Correlation
No relationship between two variables.
Ethical Guidelines
Principles to conduct research honestly and with integrity.
Informed Consent
Participants are told enough to choose whether to participate.
Debriefing
Post-experimental explanation of the study to participants.
Confidentiality
Participant information is private and not shared.
Anonymity
Ensuring a participant's identity remains unknown.
Cognitive Psychology
Study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning.
Behavioural Psychology
Focus on observable behaviour and learning processes.
Develop the individual:
Students will develop an understanding of the research process involved within Psychology and the different processes of analysis used to understand the significance of data produced. They will reflect on the research process, considering ethical issues such as deception, informed consent and protection from harm.
Create a supportive community:
Students will learn to respect cultural views of research and consider whether results can be applied to all societies.
Memory: This module investigates the processes of memory, including encoding, storage, and retrieval, as well as models of memory and explanations for forgetting. Research methods lessons run alongside topic lessons to allow students to consolidate learning through practical activities and research projects.
Students will be informally assessed throughout the topic, and formally within the mock exams and end of topic assessments. Assessments will comprise of exam style questions and essays. The essays will be written under timed conditions. As the unit progresses students will advance from writing essays with the support of plans to completing unseen questions. During the memory topic students are given the opportunity to conduct their own research. These will form part of their formative assessment of both the memory topic and research methods.
Memory
The process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past.
Short-term Memory (STM)
The memory system with a limited capacity and duration, where information is held for brief periods while it is being used.
Long-term Memory (LTM)
The memory system with a virtually unlimited capacity that stores information for long periods.
Encoding
The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory.
Storage
The process of retaining information in memory over time.
Retrieval
The process of accessing and bringing into consciousness information stored in memory.
Multi-store Model (MSM)
A representation of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, suggesting that memory consists of three stores: sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory Register
The memory store for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store), with a large capacity but very brief duration.
Maintenance Rehearsal
The process of repeatedly verbalising or thinking about information to keep it in short-term memory.
Elaborative Rehearsal
The process of linking new information with existing knowledge in long-term memory to aid its transfer and retention.
Working Memory Model (WMM)
A model of short-term memory proposed by Baddeley and Hitch, consisting of the central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer.
Central Executive
The component of the working memory model that coordinates the activities of the three subsystems and allocates processing resources.
Phonological Loop
The component of the working memory model that processes auditory information and preserves the order of information.
Develop the individual:
Create a supportive community:
The term covers key concepts in social psychology, including conformity, obedience, and the influence of groups on behaviour, Research methods lessons run alongside topic lessons to allow students to consolidate learning through practical activities and research projects. In addition, the topic of Approaches looking at all the ways in which Psychology is approached. This includes Behaviourist, Social learning, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic, humanist and comparisons.
Students will be informally assessed throughout the topic, and formally within the mock exams and end of topic assessments. Assessments will comprise of exam style questions and essays. The essays will be written under timed conditions. As the unit progresses students will advance from writing essays with the support of plans to completing unseen questions. During the social influence topic students are given the opportunity to conduct their own research. These will form part of their formative assessment of both social influence and research methods.
Social Influence
The process by which individuals change their behaviour to meet the demands of a social environment.
Conformity
The act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours to group norms.
Compliance
A type of conformity where a person publicly agrees with the group but privately disagrees.
Identification
A type of conformity where a person adopts the behaviour and attitudes of the group because they value membership in the group.
Internalisation
A type of conformity where a person genuinely adopts the group's beliefs and values as their own.
Normative Social Influence
Conforming to gain approval or avoid disapproval from the group.
Informational Social Influence
Conforming because the person believes the group is competent and has the correct information.
Social Roles
The parts individuals play as members of a social group, which meet the expectations of the group.
Obedience
A form of social influence where an individual follows a direct order from an authority figure.
Agentic State
A mental state where a person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out another person's wishes.
Autonomous State
A mental state where a person sees themselves as responsible for their own actions.
Agentic Shift
The transition from an autonomous state to an agentic state, often seen in situations of obedience to authority.
Legitimacy of Authority
The perception that an authority figure is entitled to give orders and expects compliance.
Authoritarian Personality
A personality type characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience to authority.
Minority Influence
A form of social influence where a smaller group or individual can affect the opinions or behaviours of the majority.
Consistency
In minority influence, the degree to which the minority maintains a consistent stance over time.
Commitment
In minority influence, the degree to which the minority shows dedication to their position, often through personal sacrifice.
Flexibility
In minority influence, the degree to which the minority is willing to adapt their position and accept reasonable counter-arguments.
Social Change
The process by which society changes beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour to create new social norms.
Social Cryptoamnesia
The phenomenon where people remember the change that has occurred but forget the steps and efforts that led to it.
Majority Influence
The impact of the majority's opinion on an individual's beliefs and behaviours.
Social Norms
Unwritten rules about how to behave, which are accepted by a group or society.
Deindividuation
A psychological state characterised by lowered self-evaluation and decreased concerns about evaluation by others.
Group Polarisation
The tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members.
Groupthink
A mode of thinking where the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Social Facilitation
The tendency for people to perform tasks better when they are in the presence of others.
Social Loafing
The tendency for individuals to put in less effort when working in a group than when working alone.
Bystander Effect
The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.
Diffusion of Responsibility
A phenomenon where a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present.
Obedience to Authority
Following orders or instructions from someone seen as in power.
Social Impact Theory
A theory suggesting that likelihood of responding to influence depends on strength, immediacy, and number of people exerting the influence.
Locus of Control
A person’s perception of the extent to which they have control over events in their life.
Situational Variables
External factors, such as environment or context, that influence behaviour.
Dispositional Factors
Internal factors, such as personality traits, that influence behaviour.
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
A persuasion strategy starting with a small request to gain eventual compliance with a larger request.
Door-in-the-Face Technique
A persuasion strategy starting with a large request to make a smaller one seem more acceptable.
Behaviourism
An approach emphasising observable behaviours and environmental influences.
Classical Conditioning
Learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful one.
Operant Conditioning
Learning shaped by consequences such as reinforcement or punishment.
Positive Reinforcement
Increasing behaviour by adding something desirable.
Negative Reinforcement
Increasing behaviour by removing something unpleasant.
Punishment
Decreasing behaviour through unpleasant consequences.
Social Learning Theory (SLT)
Learning through observation, imitation, and modelling.
Vicarious Reinforcement
Learning from observing others being reinforced or punished.
Mediational Processes
Cognitive factors affecting learning: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation.
Cognitive Approach
Focuses on internal mental processes like memory and problem-solving.
Schema
Cognitive framework for organising and interpreting information.
Information Processing Model
The mind works like a computer: input, storage, retrieval.
Cognitive Neuroscience
Biological study of neural processes underlying cognition.
Biological Approach
Behaviour influenced by genetics, hormones, and neural activity.
Genotype
Genetic makeup of an individual.
Phenotype
Observable traits resulting from genes and environment.
Evolutionary Psychology
Explains behaviour as evolved adaptations.
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals transmitting signals between neurons.
Psychodynamic Approach
Freud’s approach emphasising unconscious and childhood influences.
Unconscious Mind
Part of mind containing thoughts influencing behaviour unconsciously.
Id, Ego, Superego
Freud’s personality structure: instinctual id, rational ego, moral superego.
Defence Mechanisms
Unconscious strategies to manage anxiety.
Humanistic Approach
Focus on free will, growth, and self-actualisation.
Self-actualisation
Reaching one’s full potential.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Hierarchy of human needs from basic to self-actualisation.
Congruence
Alignment of self-concept with experience.
Conditions of Worth
Conditions needed to feel worthy of love.
Free Will
Ability to make independent choices.
Determinism
Behaviour determined by internal or external factors.
Holism
Emphasises whole person and interdependence.
Reductionism
Breaking behaviour into simpler components.
Develop the individual:
Create a supportive community:
This term will examine attachment theories, stages of attachment, and the impact of early relationships on later development. Research methods lessons run alongside topic lessons to allow students to consolidate learning through practical activities and research projects.
Students will be informally assessed throughout the topic, and formally within the mock exams and end of topic assessments. Assessments will comprise of exam style questions and essays. The essays will be written under timed conditions. As the unit progresses students will advance from writing essays with the support of plans to completing unseen questions.
Attachment
A strong emotional bond that develops between an infant and their primary caregiver.
Secure Attachment
A healthy attachment style where the child feels confident the caregiver will meet their needs.
Insecure Attachment
An attachment style characterised by anxiety or avoidance.
Insecure-Avoidant Attachment
Child is indifferent to caregiver’s presence and does not seek comfort.
Insecure-Resistant Attachment
Child is clingy but rejects comfort, showing ambivalence.
Disorganised Attachment
Child shows inconsistent or contradictory behaviours.
Strange Situation
Ainsworth’s controlled observation assessing attachment quality.
Internal Working Model
A mental representation of relationships based on early attachment experiences.
Monotropy
Bowlby’s idea that infants form one primary attachment.
Critical Period
A critical time in which attachment must form (around 2 years).
Social Releasers
Innate infant behaviours that trigger caregiving responses.
Separation Anxiety
Distress shown when separated from caregiver.
Stranger Anxiety
Distress shown when approached by unfamiliar people.
Maternal Deprivation
Bowlby’s idea that prolonged separation causes long-term difficulties.
Privation
Lack of any attachment bond due to neglect or institutionalisation.
Institutionalisation
Effects of living in institutional settings with limited attachment opportunities.
Imprinting
Rapid learning in animals where they attach to first moving object seen.
Reciprocity
A two-way process of responding to each other’s signals.
Interactional Synchrony
Caregiver and infant mirror actions and emotions.
Multiple Attachments
Forming emotional bonds with multiple caregivers.
Secure Base
Using caregiver as a safe base for exploration.
Temperament
Innate traits influencing reactions to the environment.
Cross-Cultural Studies
Research comparing attachment across cultures.
Attachment Theory
Bowlby’s theory emphasising importance of early attachment.
Continuity Hypothesis
Early attachment predicts later relationships.
Father as Primary Caregiver
Research showing fathers can form primary attachments.
Sensitivity
Caregiver’s ability to respond appropriately to infant needs.
Deprivation
Loss or failure to form attachment in early development.
Daycare
Care of infants by others in group settings.
Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
A disorder from severe neglect where child struggles to form attachments.
Stages of Attachment
Schaffer & Emerson’s four stages of attachment development.
Asocial Stage
First stage (0–6 weeks) where infants respond similarly to people and objects.
Indiscriminate Attachment
Stage (6 weeks–7 months) preference for humans but no strong attachment.
Specific Attachment
Stage (7–9 months) strong attachment and anxiety around strangers/separation.
Multiple Attachments Stage
Stage (9+ months) forming secondary attachments.
Develop the individual:
Create a supportive community:
Clinical Psychology and mental health. Students explore psychological disorders, focusing on definitions, symptoms, and treatment approaches for conditions such as depression, phobias, and OCD. This will be taught alongside preparation for mock exams. Research methods lessons run alongside topic lessons to allow students to consolidate learning through practical activities and research projects.
Mock exams will cover some of the introductory topics in psychology (memory and psychopathology) as well as some paper 2 topics (approaches and research methods).
Psychopathology
The study of mental disorders, including symptoms, causes, and treatment.
Abnormality
Deviating from normal behaviour using criteria like statistical infrequency and social norms.
Statistical Infrequency
Abnormality based on rarity of behaviours in the population.
Deviation from Social Norms
Behaviour considered abnormal if it violates social expectations.
Failure to Function Adequately
Inability to cope with everyday life, causing distress.
Deviation from Ideal Mental Health
Absence of ideal mental health features like self-actualisation.
Phobia
An anxiety disorder involving irrational fear of an object or situation.
Specific Phobia
Intense fear of a specific object or situation.
Social Phobia
Fear of social situations and judgement from others.
Agoraphobia
Fear of situations where escape is difficult, leading to avoidance.
Behavioural Approach to Phobias
Phobias learned through classical conditioning and maintained by operant conditioning.
Systematic Desensitisation
Therapy involving gradual exposure paired with relaxation.
Flooding
Therapy using immediate and intense exposure until anxiety decreases.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Mental disorder with obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions
Persistent unwanted thoughts causing distress.
Compulsions
Repetitive actions performed to reduce anxiety.
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Therapy to change negative thoughts and behaviours.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Gradual exposure while preventing compulsions.
Biological Approach to OCD
OCD explained through genetics and neurotransmitter imbalance.
Antidepressants
Medications altering neurotransmitter levels like serotonin.
Depression
A mood disorder with persistent sadness and lack of interest.
Major Depressive Disorder
Severe long-lasting depressive symptoms.
Persistent Depressive Disorder
Chronic, less severe but long-term depression.
Cognitive Approach to Depression
Depression caused by negative thinking patterns.
Beck’s Cognitive Triad
Negative views of self, world, and future.
Ellis’s ABC Model
Depression explained through activating event, belief, consequence.
CBT for Depression
Therapy restructuring negative thoughts and activating behaviour.
Behavioural Activation
Encouraging engagement in mood-improving activities.
Biological Approach to Depression
Depression explained by genetic and neurochemical factors.
Antidepressant Medications
Medications altering neurotransmitters such as SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Treatment inducing seizures for severe depression.
Diathesis-Stress Model
Mental disorders caused by vulnerability combined with stress.
Develop the individual:
Create a supportive community:
Continued exploration of attachment, complemented by an introduction to statistical tests used in psychological research. Students will delve deeper into psychological approaches and critical issues and debates within the field. Students will also prepare for UCAS exams and complete these during the final term.
Formal end of year UCAS exams – Paper 1 topics (social influence, memory, psychopathology, attachment) and a selection of Paper 2 topics (approaches and research methods).
Interactionist Approach
Considers how genetic and environmental factors interact to influence behaviour.
Nature-Nurture Debate
Debate on the relative importance of genetics versus environmental factors in behaviour.
Nomothetic Approach
Research aiming to establish general laws that apply to all individuals.
Psychic Determinism
Belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts and past experiences.
Reductionism
Reducing complex phenomena to simpler components (biological, environmental, psychological).
Reflexivity
Reflecting on one’s own beliefs and biases and how these influence research.
Social Sensitivity
Considering how research impacts society, especially vulnerable groups.
Soft Determinism
Behaviour is determined by factors but individuals still have some free will.
Universality
Developing theories that apply to everyone while avoiding bias.
Develop the individual:
Understanding how memories are made and how forgetting can occur, will afford students the opportunity to develop their study skills.
Create a supportive community:
Students will be able to aid their peers who do not study psychology in their revision and study skills.
New Description
Develop the individual:
Create a supportive community: