GCSE Psychology

Psychology?

• from Greek Ψ (psy-) meaning “of the mind”• study of mind, brain and behaviour• halfway between science and humanities• best job prospects for graduates– medical or educational or research– management, forces officership, law– advertising, marketing, PR– social media, events management

GCSE course

• 2 exams end year 11 (90 mins each)• no coursework or controlled assessment• longest question only 6 marks…• … but high %s needed for high grades• new subject so – brighter find it easier– research carefully first (2-5 drop it in 1st month)

Lessons and learning

• a lot of talk / debate / discussion• plenty of group work• textbook work brief, intense, individual, silent• test every fortnight• syllabus interrupted by experimental work• you need to post answers / work online• very different learning style to most KS4• REQUIRES INITIATIVE FOR EXPERIMENTS

Popularity

Psych is one of the most popular choices• you may not make it in• try to get Level 7 in KS3 Science and Hist/Geog• choose early• come and see MDR if you want to know more

– any lunchtime is fine• short friendly interviews possible if over-

subscribed

So what sort of things does GCSE Ψ focus on?

How do we remember, and why do we forget?

Can eyewitnesses to a crime be wrong, and if so how?

How does posture and tone of voice affect how I’m viewed?

Are there “personal space” differences between people?

How can I measure what sort of personality I and others have?

Are certain kinds of people more likely to end up criminal?

Why do people choose to belong to certain groups?

How can we reduce prejudice and discrimination?

If I want to run an experiment with people, how do I do it?

How do I prove the ideas I have about human behaviour?

Can people be trained strictly, like animals? Should they be?

What influences have shaped my life, and others’?

Can powerful people make me do things which are wrong?

How does peer-pressure work and can it be changed?

Why do people have different sexualities?

What has early childhood got to do with adult relationships?

Is aggression a personal choice, or caused by body chemistry?

How should society respond to violent people?

What can we learn from watching natural behaviour?

Are people able to analyse themselves accurately?