Staff:

Mr D White

Aims

To stimulate the student’s interest in psychology by providing both a broad overview of the discipline and the opportunity to study a selection of topics in some depth.

What is Psychology?
The study of mind and behavior. It is an academic discipline and an applied science which seeks to understand individuals and groups by establishing general principles and researching specific cases.
Psychology deals with the understanding and explanation of behaviour and experience, and with how these change and develop throughout our lives. Psychologists are interested in many factors that affect our behaviour – from biological bases to social influences. They also study how we perceive our environment; how we think, learn and remember; how we communicate, both through language and non-verbally; and how we differ from one another in personality and abilities.

Psychology is an experimental and observational science, in which evidence from research studies is used to develop and evaluate theories. Psychology is a science in the sense that it seeks to understand mind and behaviour through experimentation, observation and measurement. Insight and intuition are helpful skills, but they are not sufficient.

Psychology is not simply the study of mental illness. If you are expecting psychology to tell you how to read other people’s minds, then you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you enjoy controversy and the critical evaluation of ideas, and if you like investigating questions using a scientific approach, then you will probably enjoy psychology.

Courses

National 5

Entry Requirements : Experience of Biology, History, Modern Studies or RMPS

Course Content :

This course contains three units of work. Two of these units are spilt into smaller topics of study. The third unit is on-going and is studied throughout the course.
Each unit is designed to introduce the various different approaches to Psychology ; Biological, Behavioural, Cognitive, Psychoanalytical and Humanistic

Unit 1 : Individual Behaviour:

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to analyse individual behaviour. Learners will investigate topics and learn how these topics can be explained, using psychological approaches and theories. Learners will evaluate approaches and theories and apply psychological knowledge to show how an understanding of psychology can be applied.
  Topic 1 : Sleep and Dreams,
  Topic 2 : Memory

Unit 2 : Social Behaviour:

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to analyse how interaction with others shapes social behaviour. Learners will investigate psychological explanations for social behaviour, and will use research evidence to analyse how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals are influenced by their social environment. Learners will apply psychological knowledge and understanding to explain examples of everyday social behaviour.
  Topic 1 : Conformity,
  Topic 2 : Non-Verbal Communication

Unit 3 : Research Methodology :

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to understand the research process and research methods used in psychology as well as the ethics of psychological research. Learners will develop the skills required to conduct and evaluate psychological research. They will also develop numerical skills and an understanding of psychological terminology.

Assessment

Each unit will be assessed through a mixture of written work, presentations, and end-of-unit internal assessments

External examination (1 ½ hours)

Planning a research assignment on a topic of the pupils choosing

 

Higher

Entry Requirements : National 5 in any of the following : Psychology, Modern Studies, History, RMPS or Biology

Course Content

This course contains three units of work. Two of these units are split into smaller topics of study. The third unit is on-going and is studied throughout the course.
Each unit is designed to introduce the various different approaches to Psychology, Biological, Behavioural, Cognitive, Psychoanalytical and Humanistic

Unit 1 : Individual Behaviour:

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to analyse individual behaviour. Learners will investigate topics and learn how these topics can be explained, using psychological approaches and theories. Learners will evaluate approaches and theories and apply psychological knowledge to show how an understanding of psychology can be applied.
  Topic 1 : Sleep and Dreams,
  Topic 2 : Memory

Unit 2 : Social Behaviour:

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to analyse how interaction with others shapes social behaviour. Learners will investigate psychological explanations for social behaviour, and will use research evidence to analyse how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals are influenced by their social environment. Learners will apply psychological knowledge and understanding to explain examples of everyday social behaviour.
  Topic 1 : Conformity & Obedience,
  Topic 2 : Non-Verbal Communication

Unit 3 : Research Methodology :

• The general aim of this Unit is to enable learners to understand the research process and research methods used in psychology, as well as the ethics of psychological research. Learners will develop the skills required to conduct and evaluate psychological research. They will also develop numerical skills and an understanding of psychological terminology.

Assessment

Each unit will be assessed through a mixture of written work, presentations, and end-of-unit internal assessments

External examination (2 hours)

Planning and then conducting an experiment and producing a research assignment on a topic of the pupils choosing

 

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