GCSE Psychology (8182)

Overview

The importance of being able to understand human behaviour is beneficial in every aspect of life. Psychology is an ever increasingly popular subject with students as it prepares us for understanding ourselves and others. The subject material is fascinating; the methodological process – scientific. Psychology is therefore beneficial for all who desire to understand human behaviour better and for all those who want to work with people in whatever capacity.

The opportunities for those who study psychology are endless. There are very rewarding careers relating specifically to psychology such as clinical psychology; educational psychology; occupational psychology and sport psychology. An understanding of psychology is also beneficial in careers such as teaching; management; the caring professions; government in fact any career that involves working with people.

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Course Content

Paper One

Cognition and behaviour

  1. Memory - Processes of memory: encoding (input) storage and retrieval (output), structures of memory and memory as an active process.

  2. Perception - sensation, visual cues, constancies, Gibson's direct theory of perception – the influence of nature, visual illusions, Gregory's constructivist theory of perception – the influence of nurture, factors affecting perception.

  3. Development - early brain development, Piaget’s stage theory and the development of intelligence, the role of Piaget’s theory in education, effects of learning on development.

  4. Research methods - formulation of hypotheses, variables, sampling methods, designing research and procedures, ethical considerations.

Paper Two

Social context and behaviour

  1. Social influence - conformity, obedience, prosocial behaviour, crowd and collective behaviour.

  2. Language, thought and communication - relationship between language and thought, effect of thought and language on our view of the world, human and animal communication, non-verbal communications and explanations of non-verbal behaviour.

  3. Brain and neuropsychology - structure and function of the nervous system, neuron structure and function, structure and function of the brain, introduction to neuropsychology.

  4. Psychological problems - introduction to mental health, How the incidence of significant mental health problems changes over time, effects of significant mental health problems on individuals and society, characteristics of clinical depression, theories of depression, interventions or therapies for depression, characteristics of addiction, theories of addiction, Interventions or therapies for addiction.

Assessment

Paper one constitutes 50% of the GCSE course. Assessment is through an external written exam and lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Paper two constitutes 50% of the GCSE course. Assessment is through an external written exam and lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Both papers have 100 marks and questions are made up of multiple choice questions, short answers and extended writing.

Progression

Many students progress to study Psychology A-level. Studying Psychology has universal value within Health, Education, Criminology, Counselling, Marketing or occupations involving people, communication and emotional intelligence.