Psychology - year 1

In this year you will study the AS course. You will have five lessons per week, three with one teacher and two with the other.

In the first two weeks of the course you won't actually be working from the syllabus, you will be taken through an Introductory Module. This will give you an idea of who the major figures are behind psychological theories and what those ideas are, for example:

BEHAVIOURISM
FREUD'S THEORIES
COGNITIVE THEORIES

You will also get an insight into what its like to be part of an experiment.

You will be given a copy of the AQA Secification A (syllabus), a textbook and a handbook with past paper questions in and a few other useful bits and bobs!

The first topics you will be taught are Attachments, Memory and Research Methods (from Unit 1). This will be examined in January.

		'Attachments' is about the early relationships in a child's life and how they affect us later on. You will find out how psychologists measure attachment and what happens to children who are deprived of their attachment figure or never get the chance to form a close relationship with anyone when they are little. There is a special focus on the effects of Day Care too.
		Memory: This is a unit with plenty of class experiments being carried out. You will study the various ideas on how and why we both remember and forget, and the special topic is Eyewitness Testimony and why we shouldn’t rely on it.
In this same First term you will also learn about the research methods that Psychologists use to test out their ideas eg. experiments, surveys and questionnaires. In the second and third terms you will cover the material for Unit 2.
		'Individual Differences' is concerned with how we decide whether a person is normal or not, and if they are abnormal, why they are. You will also learn about treatments for disorders.
		You will study Conformity and Obedience and discover how far people will go when someone gives them orders!
		Finally you will study Stress! The causes and how to manage it! So you'll b ready for the exam panic!

So that's year one! NO COURSEWORK AT AS!!

If you plan to sit the second year of the course, you will complete ONE OF THE A2 UNITS, THE COURSEWORK, BEFORE THE SUMMER BREAK.

If you are a year 11 student and have any questions about the course, please come to PS1 and speak to Mrs Hardy.

We hope you enjoy the course; you will if you work hard!