Skill

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behaviour. Essentially, why do people behave the way they do? Students will begin by forming an understanding of the origins of psychology as a subject and the different branches with the key psychologists. They will go on to explore research and theories into social influence, memory, attachment and relationships. A continuing feature of the subject is how theory can be applied to real life and in particular this is considered when building a knowledge base about schizophrenia, addiction, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and phobias. Students will build on this real life application through research methods. Finally, learners will consolidate all of this knowledge when considering the main issues and debates in psychology such as does nature or nurture hold the most influence over our behaviour?

Character

Psychology aims to develop acceptance and understanding that everyone is unique, and to be resilient enough to stop and think about why someone may respond the way they do. In a similar respect it encourages students to stop and think about their own behaviour and conduct and reflect on their own responses in certain situations.

Experiences

Every student will experience forming arguments, conducting research and presenting to their peers.

Criticality

Psychology requires a precise and analytical brain. It involves being able to think in a way that accepts that there isn’t necessarily the ‘right answer’, and that there can be different ways of explaining the same behaviour or condition. It encourages students to question. When considering research and theories it is important to think about the strengths and weaknesses and whether there is anything that could cast doubt on the conclusions or concepts. Being a good psychologist means conducting research and in research methods students need to learn to think about how much they can trust different sources of data and evidence

 Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 
THEME/FOCUS 
Year 12Approaches/Research Methods/ Attachment  Memory/Social Influence/ Research methods   Psychopathology/ Issues and debates  
Year 13Schizophrenia/ BiopsychologyRelationships / aggression/  Revision