Holmes Chapel
6th Form College
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School & Sixth Form College
Our Curriculum
Psychology
Intent
Psychology as a subject aims to develop critical, curious and creative thinkers who use the scientific process as applied in Psychology to investigate human behaviour in the real world. We believe that Psychology can make a powerful impact on student’s lives by giving them a unique and profound insight into their own and other’s behaviour. Through the acquisition of psychological content and the development of critical thinking, students’ passions are ignited towards exploring two fundamental questions at the heart of psychology: What shapes human thought and behaviour? What are the real-world applications of this knowledge that can improve peoples’ lives?
Our vision for the Psychology Curriculum is to provide solid foundations of knowledge and skills for GCSE students to confidently progress beyond key stage 4 and 5 and into further education. We want the students to become active and considerate citizens, by developing the qualities of care, compassion and empathy for others and challenging stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues and neuro-diversity.
Knowledge
Students understand the different key theories covering the areas of social, cognitive, biological, developmental and individual difference areas of psychology. Students can articulate the different positions regarding debates within psychology, including ‘reductionism/holism’, ‘nature/nurture’ and 'freewill/determinism’. Students appreciate how psychological knowledge and ideas change over time and how these inform our understanding of behaviour. For each topic, students will be required to study two core studies to support the content of related theories. For each core study, they should be able to ‘tell the story’ of the study. Students appreciate the contribution of psychology to an understanding of individual, social and cultural diversity. Students will understand how science works in relation to Psychology
Skills
By evaluating key theories and studies, students will develop the confidence to develop critical thinking skills. Students will be able plan and design research investigations so that they are both ethical and feasible. Students will be able to use mathematical skills to analyse and interpret data
Attributes
Students will develop care, compassion and empathy for other people.
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By exploring emotionally challenging topics students will develop courage.
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By an emphasis on designing, carrying out and analysing the results of practical investigations, students will develop curiosity
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By encouraging students to aim high and evaluate their own investigations, students will develop confidence and resilience.
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What do students cover in Key Stage 4? When do they study it?
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Year 10
Theories and key studies for the topics of ‘sleep and dreaming,’ ‘memory’ and ‘social psychology’ Students will consider design decisions and dilemmas faced by psychologists when planning research studies and will develop skills to evaluate theories.
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Year 11
An introduction to psychology, key issues and debates and neuropsychology. Students will study the theories and key studies for the topics of ‘psychological problems, ‘criminal behaviour’ and ‘development’.
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Students will cover all the main research methods used by psychologists and become familiar with the vocabulary used for each research method.
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Assessment objectives will be referred to throughout the year and embedded in all tasks.
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Students will consolidate the knowledge that they have learnt throughout the course in order to compare and contrast theories from different topics using the debates and issues they have learned throughout the course. The focus this year will be on application of knowledge, developing key skills and making synoptic links
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Why do they study it in that order?
Throughout the course, neuropsychology, research methods and the key issues and debates underpin the content (theories and studies) that students need to know. Therefore, the course starts with an introduction to these topics so that links can be formed and knowledge is enhanced as the students’ progress through the content. The order of topics delivered does not follow the specification chronologically.
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The topics that require a more complex understanding of psychological concepts are taught in year 11 when the students are more confident with the subject and terminology and their mathematical and scientific enquiry skills are enhanced because of the content of their GCSE Maths and Science courses. Due to what is taught in Biology in the GCSE science course, the psychology course has been designed to complement the understanding of the neuropsychology elements of the nervous system of the course with the more complex biological ideas being taught in Yr 11.
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How do your curriculum choices contribute to the student’s cultural capital?
The course is designed to inspire and engage students by providing a broad and coherent curriculum which develops an understanding of the ideas and values that characterize ‘self’ and others. Students will be able to use the vocabulary of psychology with confidence. Students will develop transferable creative and critical thinking skills by learning to plan and design their own investigations. The exam board chosen (OCR) has enriched and supported their qualification by working with ‘Time to Change’, England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination, run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.
Year 10 Psychology Overview
Term 1
Social Influence:
Key Concepts • Conformity including majority influence. • Collective and crowd behaviour including prosocial and anti-social behaviour. • Obedience including obeying the orders of authority figures.
Theories/Explanations Situational Factors • The effect of situational factors (other people and social) on behaviours: • majority influence on conformity • collective and crowd behaviour, including deindividuation • culture on pro-social and anti-social behaviour • authority figures on obedience • criticisms of the effect of situational factors, including the free will/determinism debate.
Situational Factors Research Study- Bickman (1974): study into obedience and the social power of a uniform.
Theories dispositional factors. The effect of dispositional factors (personality) on behaviours: • self-esteem on conformity • locus of control in crowds • morality on prosocial and anti-social behaviour • the authoritarian personality on obedience • the influence of the brain in dispositional factors, including; hippocampal volume in self-esteem; and regions of the prefrontal cortex in morality • criticisms of the effect of dispositional factors including issues of generalisability.
Dispositional Factors Research Study- NatCen (2011): study into the August riots in England with reference to anti-social collective behaviour and dispositional factors.
Application: Changing attitudes • How minority influence affects social change in relation to changing attitudes and behaviour towards, increasing awareness of, and reducing mental health stigma and discrimination. • How majority influence affects social change in relation to changing attitudes and behaviour towards, increasingawarenessof,andreducingmentalhealthstigmaanddiscrimination.
Term 2
Sleep and Dreaming Topic:
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Key Concepts: The functions, features and benefits of sleep: healthy brain; physical repair; emotional stability; stages of the sleep cycle and when dreaming occurs; the role of the pineal gland and melatonin.
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The causes of sleep disorders: sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia. Endogenous pacemakers; and exogenous zeitgebers; and their role in sleep.
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Theories/Explanations:
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The Freudian Theory of Dreaming: the unconscious mind, the role of repression, the concept of wish fulfilment, manifest and latent content of dreams, criticisms of the theory including the issue of subjectivity.
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The Freudian Theory of Dreaming Research Study – Freud (1918): dream analysis study of ‘The Wolfman’.
The Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming: the role of REM sleep, the function and actions of the brain during sleep, including the limbic system, activity of neurons in the pons during sleep, the process of synthesis as a function of the cerebral cortex, criticisms of the theory including the reductionism/holism debate.
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The Activation Synthesis Theory of Dreaming Research Study Differences in actions and functions of the brain when dreaming and when awake – Williams et al. (1992): study into Bizarreness in Dreams and Fantasies.
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Application Development of treatments for insomnia: Features of insomnia, the role of the nervous system and its management through relaxation techniques and the role of the physical environment in insomnia and its treatment through improved sleep hygiene, the impact of neurological damage to the hypothalamus on sleep.
Continuation of Research Methods from Term 1 and integration into lessons of sleep and dreaming content
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Doing Research: Learners should have knowledge and understanding of the following features of doing research and their associated strengths and weaknesses including reliability and validity and the type of research objectives for which they are most suitable.
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Use of the following methods:
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Experiments: Laboratory, Field, Natural.
Interviews: Structured, Unstructured.
Questionnaires (Surveys): Open questions, Closed questions, Rating scales.
Observations: Naturalistic, Controlled, Overt, Covert, Participant, Non-participant.
Case Studies: Use of qualitative data, Use of small samples.
Correlations: Use of quantitative data, Positive, negative and zero correlations.
Analysing Research: Learners should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the process and procedures involved in the collection, construction, interpretation, analysis and representation of data.
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Types of Data: Quantitative data, Qualitative data, Primary data, Secondary data, Strengths of each type of data.
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Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency: Mode (including modal class), median, mean, Range, Ratios, Percentages, Fractions, Expressions in decimal and standard form, Decimal places and significant figures, Normal distributions, Estimations from data collected.
Tables, Charts and Graphs: Frequency tables (tally chart), Bar charts, Pie charts, Histograms, Line graphs, Scatter diagrams.
Term 3
Memory topic and integration of the research methods into the topic areas
Memory Content
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Key Concepts: The stages of information processing: input; encoding; storage; retrieval; and output, Types of forgetting: decay; displacement; retrieval failure (lack of cues), The structure and functions of the brain and how the brain works in the formation of memories; – how neurological damage can affect memory; the role of the hippocampus on anterograde amnesia; the frontal lobe on retrograde amnesia; and the cerebellum on procedural memory. The Multi-store Model of Memory: The structure and process of the Multi-store Model of memory: sensory store, short-term memory and long-term memory, differences between stores in terms of duration, differences between stores in terms of capacity, differences between stores in terms of types of encoding, criticisms of the model including rehearsal versus meaning in memory.
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The Multi-store Model of Memory Research Study – an example of the impact, on behaviour, of neurological damage - Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008): Prominent and persistent loss of past awareness in amnesia: delusion, impaired consciousness or coping strategy (the Clive Wearing study).
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The structure and process of the theory of reconstructive memory: the concept of schemas, the role of experience and expectation on memory, the process of confabulation, distortion and the effect of leading questions, criticisms of the theory including the reductionism/holism debate.
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Reconstructive Memory Research Study – Braun, Ellis and Loftus (2002): study into How Advertising Can Change Our Memories of the Past.
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Application Techniques used for recall: The use of cues, repetition and avoiding overload in advertisements and the use of autobiographical advertising, The development of neuropsychology for measuring different memory functions, including the Wechsler Memory Scale.
Research Methods:
Reliability and Validity
Reliability: internal, external, inter-rater. Validity: ecological, population, construct.
Demand characteristics
Observer effect
Social desirability.
Sources of bias: Gender bias, Cultural bias, Age bias, Experimenter bias, Observer bias, Bias in questioning
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