Psychology

“Every human is unique with free will” - Humanistic Psychology.

If you are fascinated by how the brain works and why people think and behave the way they do, then psychology at Bordesley Green Girls' School and Sixth Form is the course for you!

Studying psychology at B.G.G.S will allow you to think about information in a variety of ways, including thinking about how it is relevant to your life and experiences. This will enable you to gain an awareness of important issues such as mental health which will give you the ability to understand your own needs as well as others.

All aspects of psychology have real life application including developing treatments for addiction, helping to make eye witness testimonies more accurate to prevent miscarriages of justice and developing an understanding of why some people are more likely to obey unjust authority. Psychology will also equip you to use your knowledge of human behaviour throughout your life and grow into a more empathetic individual.

This course will allow you to develop higher order thinking skills, such as application to real life case studies, implications of psychological research and analysis of different approaches within psychology. This will provide you will transferable skills to enable you to succeed in all your subjects and prepare you for a wide range of careers.

Year 10 Psychology
Term	Topic/ Key Enquiry questions	Type of Assessment
Autumn	Research Methods How do psychologists plan and carry out experiments? Data handling and analysis Formulation of hypotheses/planning and conducting research/research procedures and designing research Memory How is memory processed and remembered? How is memory stored? What factors affects the accuracy of memory?	End of topic assessment Timed exam questions during lessons including planning/designing research questions Assessed alongside all other topic assessments Summer mock End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments Summer mock
Spring	Development Understanding early brain development and the role of nature and nurture in this How do children construct a mental model of the world? Are children egocentric at the age of 2-7 years? What is the role of praise and self-efficacy beliefs in learning? How can a fixed/growth mindset affect learning?	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments Summer mock
Summer	Perception What is the difference between sensation and perception? How do visual cues help us perceive? Explanations of visual illusions How does Gregory explain the influence of nurture on our perceptual abilities? How does Gibson explain the influence of nature on our perceptual abilities? What factors affect our perceptual set?	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments Summer mock
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Year 11 Psychology
Term	Topic/ Key Enquiry questions	Type of Assessment
Autumn	Brain & neuropsychology Structure and function of the nervous system Neuron structure and function How does Hebb explain learning and neuronal growth? Structure and function of the brain How does the structure and function of the brain relate to behaviour and cognition? How are scanning techniques used to identify brain functioning? A basic understanding of how neurological damage, e.g. stroke or injury can affect motor abilities and behaviour. Psychological problems What are the characteristics of mental health? How does the incidence of significant mental health problems changes over time? Effects of significant mental health problems on individuals and society What are the characteristics of clinical depression? What is the biological explanation for depression? How are antidepressant medications used? What is the psychological explanation for depression? How is CBT used to treat depression? What are the characteristics of addiction? How does nature and nurture explain addictive behaviours? Are interventions and therapies effective when treating addictive behaviours?	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments
Spring	Language, thought & communication Social Influence What is the relationship between language and thought? The effect of language and thought on our view of the world Differences between human and animal communication What is the function of non-verbal communication? Explanations of non-verbal behaviour Identification and explanation of how social factors affect conformity to majority influence. Explanation of dispositional factors affecting obedience	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments
Summer	Social Influence How do social factors affect bystander intervention? How do social factors affect crowd and collective behaviour?
Extra-Curricular Activities

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Year 12 Psychology
Term	Topic/ Key Enquiry questions	Type of Assessment
Autumn	Psychopathology How is abnormality defined? What are the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)? The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobia The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD Where did psychology originate from? What are the different perspectives in explaining human behaviour? What is the influence of nature and nurture on human behaviour? Which is the best approach in explaining human behaviour? The divisions of the nervous system: central and peripheral (somatic and autonomic). The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons. The process of synaptic transmission, including reference to neurotransmitters, excitation and inhibition. The function of the endocrine system: glands and hormones. The fight or flight response including the role of adrenalin Research Methods How do psychologists plan and carry out experiments? Data handling and analysis Formulation of hypotheses/planning and conducting research/research procedures and designing research	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments Mock exam
Spring	Attachment Caregiver-infant interactions in humans Animal studies of attachment Explanations of attachment How does nature and nurture explain attachment? What are the types of attachment? Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships Memory How is memory processed and remembered? How is memory stored? What factors affects the accuracy of memory? How can cognitive interview improve the accuracy of memory?
Summer	Social Influence What are the types and explanations of conformity? Conformity to social roles as investigated by Zimbardo Explanations for obedience Explanations of resistance to social influence The role of social influence processes in social change. Yr2 Approaches & Biopsychology How do humanistic psychologists explain human behaviour? How does the unconscious determine our behaviour? Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation Ways of studying the brain The effect of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers on the sleep/wake cycle	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments
Extra-Curricular Activities

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Year 13 Psychology
Term	Topic/ Key Enquiry questions	Type of Assessment
Autumn	Issues & Debates What is gender and culture bias in psychology? How does nature and nurture explain our behaviour differently? Does free will influence our behaviour more or determinism? Holism and reductionism: levels of explanation in Psychology. What are the ethical implications of research? Schizophrenia What classifies as Schizophrenia? Biological explanations for Schizophrenia Psychological explanations for Schizophrenia Biological treatments of Schizophrenia (antipsychotics) Psychological treatments of Schizophrenia (CBT, token economies and family therapy) The interactionist positon in explaining and treating Schizophrenia Addiction Describing addiction: physical and psychological dependence, tolerance and withdrawal syndrome. Risk factors in the development of addiction, including genetic vulnerability, stress, personality, family influences and peers. Explanations for nicotine addiction: brain neurochemistry, including the role of dopamine, and learning theory as applied to smoking behaviour, including reference to cue reactivity. Explanations for gambling addiction: learning theory as applied to gambling, including reference to partial and variable reinforcement; cognitive theory as applied to gambling, including reference to cognitive bias. Reducing addiction: drug therapy; behavioural interventions, including aversion therapy and covert sensitisation; cognitive behaviour therapy. The application of the following theories of behaviour change to addictive behaviour; the theory of planned behaviour and Prochaska’s six-stage model of behaviour change.	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments
Spring	Cognition & Development How does Piaget explain cognitive development? How is Vygotsky’s position to cognitive development different to that of Piaget’s? Research on violation of expectation with babies How does social cognition develop according to Selman? How does the mirror neuron system impact social cognition? Research Methods How is a content analysis carried out? How to work out inferential tests, what factors affect the choice of inferential test? What is the difference between a case study and studies? Types of validity and reliability across all methods of investigation Reporting psychological investigations To what extent is psychology a science? Analysing correlation coefficients What are type 1 and type 2 errors?	End of topic assessment Timed essays in lessons Assessed in future end of topic assessments Carrying out psychological research
Summer
Extra-Curricular Activities

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How we assess what your child has been taught:

PSYCHOLOGY
How will classwork be marked/ monitored/ graded/ self-assessed?	KS4	Exercise books marked using marking policy and feedback sheet completed – includes working at level, things that need to be improved, what went well and a question/reflection for students to complete. Selection of books monitored (book scrutiny) each half term per GCSE class.
	KS5	Exam questions and timed essays completed in class are marked using the AQA mark scheme and holistic marking grid via a mixture of peer assessment, self-assessment and teacher marking. Levels and scores are given as well as WWW and EBI.
What classwork will be marked?	KS4	Exercise books, which includes practice exam questions, mid-topic tests and end of topic tests and homework booklets (for some topics)
	KS5	Timed essays, end of topic tests and mock exams are marked. Students expected to take ownership of learning at this key stage so notes made in lessons are not marked.
How will students ‘reflect’ on marking/ feedback?	KS4	Feedback sheet includes WWW, ways to improve work, key marking codes and a question/reflection for students to complete. Students will also complete WWW and EBI type reflections after practice exam questions, mid-topic and end of topic tests and complete a progress grid showing target and results for tests (kept in their folder). Students will complete improved answers in green pen
	KS5	Students will complete WWW and EBI type reflections after timed essays, practice exam questions and mid-topic and end of topic tests and mock exams. Improved answers are made by students using green pen.
How will Homework be marked/ monitored/ graded?	KS4 – For some topics, students have exam question homework booklets, marked using the AQA mark scheme and holistic marking grid, students are given comments explaining WWW and EBI and make improved answers in green pen. KS5 – Timed essays marked using the AQA mark scheme and holistic marking grid, students are given comments explaining WWW and EBI.
What are the formal Assessments? When are they marked?	Mid-topic tests and end of topic tests and mock exams (KS4) Timed essays throughout the topics, end of topic tests and mock exams (KS5)

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Psychology

Year 10 Psychology

Year 11 Psychology

Year 12 Psychology

Year 13 Psychology

How we assess what your child has been taught: