Welcome to Psychology...

and to St. Marys College.

Welcome. Welcome to Psychology, we are looking forward to meeting

you in September and to guiding you through your next two years of study.

This is a short introduction to the topic which will include;

A quick look at the topics in which we will study and how we will be learning them.

A challenge for you to attempt, and the psychological explanation behind this.

A task for over summer.

Reading materials which may be useful.

Why study Psychology?

There are many reasons to study psychology, from career prospects to personal interest. Psychology is a fascinating area of study. It will help you understand human behaviour and mental processes and allow you to better understand how we think act and feel.

Year 1 content.

Approaches – We will be looking at the Origins of Psychology: Wundt, introspection and the emergence of Psychology as a science. The basic assumptions of the following approaches: cognitive, Psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviourist and the learning approach – focusing also on comparison and evaluation.

Biopsychology - The divisions of the nervous system, structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons, the process of synaptic transmission, the function of the endocrine system: glands and hormones, the fight or flight response and much more.

Memory - The multi-store model of memory, working memory model, explanations for forgetting, eyewitness testimony and factors that affect such and the cognitive interview.

Attachment - Caregiver-infant interactions in humans, stages of attachment, animal studies of attachment, explanations of and types of attachment. Cultural variations in attachment, loss of or lack of attachment (maternal deprivation), influence of attachment on childhood and adult relationships.

Psychopathology - Definitions of abnormality, including deviation from social norms, the behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias. The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD: genetic and neural explanations; drug therapy.

Research method – Scientific processes and techniques of data handling and analysis, be familiar with their use and be aware of their strengths and limitations. Experimental methods, types of experiment, observational techniques and types of observation. Self-report techniques, questionnaires, interviews, structured and unstructured. Analysis of the relationship between co-variables. The difference between correlations and experiments. Content analysis and case studies.

How will we learn?

Module booklets – experiments and theories.

Evaluation and studies.

Case studies.

Activities.

Research.

Projects.

Assessments.

Discussion.

Debates ... and much more!

Psychology challenge!

1) Read the words on list A and B and ignore the colours of the words. Just read the words you see.

2) Read list C and D but this time say the colour of the word and not the word you see. e.g. If the word reads“blue” (say red not blue).

Post challenge – think about...What was hard about this experiment? Which word lists were more of a challenge?Why do you think this is?

The Stroop Effect.

We see words all the time so our brain automatically tries to make sense of them. When we see a colour, it requires more brain power. When there is a conflict between these two sources of information, our cognitive load is increased, and our brains have to work harder to overcome this. Imagine our brain as a computer with lots of windows open and all these tasks all at once ultimately slow down our responses and makes the task take longer.

These kind of experiments help psychological researchers to isolate different parts of the brain and the functions they carry out. It also helps us understand how we process language. The original experiment was carried out in 1935 by John Ridley Stroop and is still discussed to this day.

Task for summer. You could look into some of the main

psychological approaches over summer. This will be helpful when learning commences in September, these approaches are entwined throughout the subject in a number of areas.

Cognitive approach. Psychodynamic approach. Humanistic approach. Behaviourist approach. Biological approach. Learning approach.

Try to find the explanation for each of

these.Perhaps create a mind

map including key features of each

approach.

Reading materials.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/a-level-psychology.html

https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/psychology/specifications/AQA-7181-7182-SP-2015.PDF

A useful website filled with psychological information ... this may be good to explore over summer.

For more information on the subject and the topics we will study find the subject specification below.

This is the textbook we use for the first year of study.