Psychology Course Handbook

Psychology Student Handbook

Name _____________________________________________

Class _______________

Welcome to Psychology!

Course tutor: Course email: Facebook page: Twitter:

Miss Halsall psychology@ashtoncsc.lancs.sch.uk Ashton CSC Psychology @AshtonPsych

Course Details The full A Level Psychology course is taught over two years, whereas AS Psychology is taught over one year. With 5 one-hour lessons every week, it is a demanding, academic course and you will have homework to complete in addition to the classwork.

You need to maintain excellent punctuality and attendance in order to achieve higher grades. If you have to miss a lesson, you need to make sure that you know what was covered before the next lesson and read the relevant section of the textbook. You will need to catch up on any work missed as soon as possible to ensure that you do not miss anything that might appear in the exam.

You must bring your course textbook and lever arch files to EVERY lesson. No excuses! You will need your textbook to complete tasks set in lesson. You will need access to your previous classwork in order to build on and improve your knowledge and for handing in to the tutor for marking.

A Level Psychology is assessed through exams only, so there is no coursework to complete. There are 4 separate exams at the end of the 2 year course, one for each unit of work completed. If you choose to complete the AS version of the course, there will only be 2 exams at the end of 1 year, one for each unit of work completed.

Questions in the exams may reference ANYTHING taught in that unit of work.

At Ashton Community Science College, we follow the AQA exam board’s specification A syllabus. This means that we complete the four units of content as outlined below. Other specifications study different aspects of Psychology, so be sure that any course specific books you buy (in addition to the textbook provided) is for the 2012 AQA specification A content.

AS and A Level Unit 1 - worth 50% of the AS and 25% of the A level course 90minute exam • Cognitive Psychology - models of memory, eyewitness testimony, strategies for improving memory.

• Developmental Psychology - attachment theories, types of attachment, the Strange Situation, disruption of attachment, effects of daycare.

• Research Methods - types of study, sampling techniques, investigation design, analysing & representing data, ethics.

Unit 2 - worth 50% of the AS and 25% of the A level course - 90minute exam • Biopsychology - bodily responses to stress, how stress affect health, stressors, stress management techniques.

• Social Psychology - social influence, conformity, obedience, social change.

• Abnormality - defining abnormality, explaining and treating abnormality.

A Level only Unit 3 - worth 25% of the A level course - 90minute exam • Issues, Debates & Approaches - issues including ethics, gender and cultural bias; debates including nature vs. nurture, reductionism vs. holism, free will vs. determinism; approaches including cognitive, biological, behavioural & psychodynamic.

• Relationships - attraction, sexual selection, sex differences in parental investment, theories of formation, maintenance & breakdown of relationships, influences of childhood & culture on adult relationships.

• Gender - biological & evolutionary explanations of gender roles, gender dysphoria, theories of gender development, social & cultural influences on gender role.

• Eating Behaviour - attitudes towards food & eating behaviour, success & failure of dieting, biological & evolutionary explanations, eating disorders (focusing on Anorexia Nervosa).

Unit 4 - worth 25% of the A level course - 120minute exam • Psychopathology - defining & diagnosing phobias, explaining & treating phobias.

• Psychology in Action - how media influences pro & anti social behaviour, the psychology of celebrity, fandom, celebrity stalking.

• Psychological Research & the Scientific Method - research methods, deductive vs. inductive reasoning, statistical analysis.

Course Schedule The running order and approximate dates for the full course are given below.

Year 1: AS & A Level Psychology Week 1

2

Topic (Practical Activities*) Introduction to Psychology Basic introduction to the course Introduction to research methods Introduction to psychometric testing Unit 1: Models of Memory Nature of memory Peterson & Peterson’s study* Multi-store model: description

3

Multi-store model: evaluation Working memory model Articulatory Suppression*

Research Methods & HSW

Research Methods Glossary Collecting & analysing data

Variables Collecting data

Hypotheses Operationalising variables Sampling*

4

Comparing the 2 memory models Revision Progress Test Unit 1: Memory in Everyday Life Eyewitness Testimony and schemata

5

Misleading questions Loftus & Palmer* Effect of age of witness

Validity - demand characteristics Bar charts Types of study - lab vs field

6

Effect of anxiety Cognitive interview vs ECI Memory improvement strategies

Interviews and self report

7

Mnemonics Levels of processing theory* Revision

Analysing data Measures of central tendency and dispersion

8

Revision Progress Test Unit 1: Attachment Bowlby’s evolutionary theory Social learning theory

9

Social learning theory continued Types of attachment

10

Strange Situation Cultural influences

Observation Cultural bias

11

Disruption of attachment

Case studies

12

Unit 1: Attachment in Everyday Life Effects of daycare Implications of daycare research

13

Revision Progress Test Unit 1: Research Methods Investigation design Sampling techniques

14

Analysing data

Types of study (lab study, etc.)

Investigation design (repeated measures, etc.)

Sampling Standard deviation Measures of tendency

Ethics Revision Unit 1 Mock Exam 15

Unit 2: Stress The biology of stress The brain*

Brain dissection

16

The biology of stress continued Stress & the immune system

17

Unit 2: Stress in Everyday Life Life changes Daily hassles

Questionnaires

18

Workplace stress Personality factors

Correlation Analysing data

19

Emotion-focused and problem-focused approaches Psychological stress management techniques Physiological stress management techniques

20

Revision Stress Progress Test Unit 2: Abnormality Defining abnormality

21

Biological approach Behavioural approach Cognitive approach Psychodynamic approach

22

Biological therapies Behavioural therapies Cognitive therapies Psychodynamic therapies Revision

23

Abnormality Progress Test Unit 2: Social Influence Conformity* Obedience

24

Obedience continued Unit 2: Social Influence in Everyday Life Independent behaviour Social change

Field experiments Lab experiments Ethics Observational method

25

Revision Progress Test Revision of unit 2

26

Unit 2 mock exam - AS students - Revision of Unit 1 + 2 until exams - A2 students - Reflect on both mock exams

27

Unit 4: Scientific Method & Psychological Research (A2 work) The nature of Science The scientific method

28

Designing investigations - Research project – ongoing throughout this topic

Features of Science Hypothesis testing Peer reviews Variables Investigative methods

29

Issues in investigative design

Sampling and generalisability Reliability Validity Ethics

30

Data collection*

Recording data Data collection techniques Charts and graphs

Analysing data 31

Analysing data continued Statistical analysis

32

Statistical analysis continued

33

Qualitative data analysis Report writing Complete research project and take part in peer review

Levels of measurement Standard deviation Probability Type 1 and Type 2 errors Mann-Whitney U test Chi Squared test Wilcoxon t test Spearman’s Rho How to select a statistical test

Year 2: A Level Psychology Week 1

Topic (Practical Activities*) Unit 3: Issues, Debates & Approaches Approaches: Biological, Behavioural, Cognitive, Psychodynamic & Evolutionary Debates: Reductionism vs. Holism, Determinism vs.

Free Will,

2

Debates continued: Nature vs. Nurture Issues: Cultural bias, Gender bias, Animal testing, Ethics

3

Unit 3: Relationships Evolution of attraction Sexual selection Analysis of lonely hearts adverts* Male vs. female reproductive behaviour Sex differences in parental investment

4

Theories of formation Theories of maintenance

5

Theories of breakdown Overview of theories Childhood influences on romantic relationships

6

Research Methods & HSW IDA needs to be applied throughout all unit 3 topics to gain higher marks.

It won’t harm to apply IDA to unit 4 topics wherever possible, either!

Content analysis & chi-square test

Ethics – Socially sensitive research

Determinism

Childhood influences on adult relationships Cultural influences Revision

Cross-cultural research & ethnocentrism

Relationships Progress Test Unit 3: Gender Sex & gender Role of genes & hormones in gender development Evolutionary explanations of gender roles

Nature versus Nurture

8

Biosocial approach to gender development Gender dysphoria Kolhberg’s cognitive developmental theory

Case studies

9

Kolhberg’s cognitive developmental theory Gender schema theory Social influences on gender roles

10

Social influences on gender roles Cultural influences on gender role Revision Gender Progress Test

7

11

12

Unit 3: Eating Behaviour Attitudes to food and eating behaviour Explanations for the success & failure of dieting Neural mechanisms in eating behaviour Neural mechanisms in eating behaviour Evolutionary explanations of food preference Psychological explanations for anorexia nervosa

Self-report techniques

Natural observation

Socially sensitive research

Psychology as a Science

13

14

Psychological explanations for anorexia nervosa Biological explanations for anorexia nervosa Revision Eating Behaviour Progress Test Revision Unit 3 Mock Exam Unit 4: Phobias Classification & diagnosis of phobic disorders Biological explanations

15

Biological explanations Psychological explanations

16

Biological treatments Psychological treatments

17

Psychological treatments Revision Phobias Progress Test Unit 4: Media Psychology Media influences on prosocial behaviour

18

Media influences on prosocial behaviour Media influences on antisocial behaviour Effects of computers & video games

19

Effects of computers & video games Explaining the persuasive effects of media Television advertising

20

The attraction of celebrity Intense fandom: celebrity worship & stalking

21

Revision Media Psychology Progress Test Revision Unit 4 Mock Exam

22

Unit 1 Revision

23

Unit 1 & 2 Revision

24

Unit 2 Revision

25

Unit 3 Revision

26

Unit 3 & 4 Revision

27

Unit 4 Revision Revision sessions until final exam

Nature versus Nurture

Application in ‘real world’

Analysing data

Application in ‘real world’

Lab studies vs. field studies

Case studies

Student Skills To succeed on this course, you need to have skills in literacy, numeracy and scientific enquiry. You need a degree of competency in these areas before we start the course, but you will also develop these skills throughout the course.

Your communication skills will be developed through many different activities, including reading written text, writing essays, producing posters and leaflets and taking part in debates.

You will develop your numeracy skills by collecting and analysing numerical data in tables and charts. In the second year, you will also learn how to analyse statistical data and select the best type of statistical analysis for different kinds of study.

Your ICT skills will be developed by using the internet to revise for tests and research studies, using Moodle to complete audio tasks and using cameras, camcorders and iPads for various tasks. You must follow the Student User Policy discussed later and sign the Student Consent Form in order to be allowed to use these multimedia resources.

You will develop scientific enquiry skills by taking part in practical psychology research to reenact studies that you need to learn. You will also plan studies, then analyse and evaluate the collected data. You will learn to read information with an analytical mind, so that you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of different theories and studies.

Useful Resources There are many resources available to help you understand and learn about Psychology. You will be given a textbook for use during the AS part of the course, which you will later swap for the A2 textbook. A small range of books are available for the class to use as extra sources during research tasks. There are also many websites that may be useful for revision and research purposes.

Useful Books: • Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology AS The Complete Companion: Student Book, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This is your first year course textbook and is provided for you by the sixth form. It covers everything you need to know for your unit 1 and 2 exams.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology AS: The Exam Companion, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This text provides examples of exam questions for both units 1 and 2. Exemplar answers are also shown alongside examiner guidance.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2013) Psychology AS: The Revision Companion.

Oxford University Press.

This workbook provides differentiated information (what you must, should or could know) and little activities to help you revise for your unit 1 and 2 exams.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology AS: The Mini Companion, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This is a miniature version of your first year course textbook. The text is very small and the information is very concise.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2010) Psychology AS: The Visual Companion.

Oxford University Press.

This book is based on the old version of the specification, but is still quite relevant.

It presents the information in a visual format that some people prefer.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology A2 The Complete Companion: Student Book, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This is your second year course textbook and is provided for you by the sixth form.

It covers everything you need to know for your unit 3 and 4 exams.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology A2: The Exam Companion, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This text provides examples of exam questions for both units 3 and 4. Exemplar answers are also shown alongside examiner guidance.

• Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C.(2012) Psychology A2: The Mini Companion, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This is a miniature version of your second year course textbook. The text is very small and the information is very concise.

• Flanagan, C.(2012) Research Methods Companion for A Level Psychology, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.

This book looks at the research methods studied at both AS and A2 level. It has questions and activities for you to complete to help you understand research methods more thoroughly. Use the key in the top corner to know if the work is relevant for our course.

• Lawton, J-M., Gross, R. & Rolls, G.(2012) Psychology AS for AQA (A). Hodder Education.

This text is similar to your first year course textbook, as it covers units 1 and 2.

Some students prefer this layout of information.

• Lawton, J-M., Gross, R. & Rolls, G.(2012) Psychology A2 for AQA (A). Hodder Education.

This text is similar to your second year course textbook, as it covers units 3 and 4.

Some students prefer this layout of information.

• Hill, G.(2009) AS & A Level Psychology through Diagrams: Oxford Revision Guides. Oxford University Press.

This book has a lot of written information presented in boxes or as diagrams.

Some students prefer this layout of information, but be careful as it is not exam board specific and was produced before the new specifications.

• CGP (2012) AS/A2 Level Psychology AQA A Complete Revision & Practice.

CGP. This revision guide covers all 4 units of study. You may be familiar with this style of revision guide from your GCSE studies.

• Marshall, M. (2012) AQA(A) AS Psychology Student Unit Guide New Edition: Unit 1 Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Research Methods. Phillip Allan Updates (imprint of Hodder Education).

• Marshall, M. (2012) AQA(A) AS Psychology Student Unit Guide New Edition: Unit 2 Biological Psychology, Socail Psychology and Individual Differences. Phillip Allan Updates (imprint of Hodder Education).

• Lawton, J-M. (2012) AQA(A) A2 Psychology Student Unit Guide New Edition: Unit 4 Section A: Psychopathology. Phillip Allan Updates (imprint of Hodder Education).

• Lawton, J-M. (2012) AQA(A) A2 Psychology Student Unit Guide New Edition: Unit 4 Sections B & C: Psychology in Action and Research Methods. Phillip Allan Updates (imprint of Hodder Education).

These 4 books cover different parts of the course. There is a fifth book for unit 3, but it only covers one of the three topics that we study. The layout is quite basic and information is minimal, but examiner tips are shown in the margins.

Useful Websites: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashton-CSCPsychology/254387278069841?fref=ts ‘Ashton CSC Psychology’ is a Facebook page designed specifically to help students from Ashton Sixth Form’s A-level Psychology course. You need to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ the page to get the full benefit of what the page offers. Posts will remind you about homework deadlines and provide links to relevant pages to help you in your studies. You should join events that are relevant to you, such as exam dates for your course. You can also use the page to ask other members of your course for help when you are stuck on work or when collaborating on group work. https://twitter.com/AshtonPsych ‘Ashton Psych’ is a Twitter page designed specifically to help students from Ashton Sixth Form’s A-level Psychology course. You need to ‘follow’ the page to get the full benefit of what the page offers. Tweets will remind you about homework deadlines and provide links to relevant pages to help you in your studies. The page will also re-tweet information from other sources of Psychology on Twitter; you may also want to follow these ‘tweeters’, but we accept no responsibility for information provided by other sources. https://login-vle.cleo.net.uk/login19/vle.ashtoncsc.lancs.sch.uk You can use the link above or click on ‘Moodle’ at the top of Ashton CSC’s homepage to link to the Moodle page for Ashton CSC. Moodle is a virtual learning environment (VLE) that provides access to course materials like the AS level Audio Companion worksheets and audio files. This is only accessible using your Moodle user name and password. If you have not got a working username and password, you need to see the ICT technicians to arrange this. http://aspsychologyblackpoolsixth.weebly.com This website was designed to help A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A Psychology course. Therefore, all of the information on this site is relevant to your studies at AS level.

http://www.oxfordschoolblogs.co.uk/psychcompanion/blog/ This blog is produced by the authors of our course textbooks. It features corrections to mistakes made in the text, as well as news on topics relevant to the A level course. http://www.simplypsychology.org Simply Psychology is designed to help students from A-level to degree level Psychology. You can find information about theories and research studies, but not all of the information will be useful as it is not specifically designed for our course. http://www.davesaid.co.uk This website is designed for A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the relationships, eating behaviour and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. http://contemporarymottledsheep.blogspot.co.uk This website is designed for A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the IDA, gender, media psychology and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. http://www.virtualpsychology.co.uk/index.php This website is designed for A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the relationships, eating behaviour and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. http://alevelpsychology.co.uk This website is designed for A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the relationships, IDA and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. http://www.brain-freeze.co.uk/psychologynotes.html This website is designed for A-level Psychology students on the AQA specification A course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the relationships, gender, media psychology and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. It provides notes, mind maps and exam essay guidance. http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/psychology This website is designed for all A-level Psychology students and is not specific to any exam board’s course. It contains some relevant information for our course, as well as some information that is irrelevant to our studies.

www.youtube.com - You can access some useful channels by searching for: ‘Graveney Psychology’, ‘Crash Course Psychology’, ‘Education Portal Psychology’, ‘PsychologyRevision4U’, ‘WAHEY Productions Psychology’, ‘OULearn Psychology’. You can also try searching for clips by using key words like ‘Strange Situation’ or ‘Milgram’.

This website is a source of video clips on a variety of subjects, which are mostly irrelevant to our course. However, if you focus on searching for relevant topics as listed above, you can find some very useful resources. http://revisepsychology.wordpress.com This website is designed for the old AQA specification A Psychology course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the IDA, eating behaviour and research methods topics in units 3 and 4. However, because this website is based on the old specification it is not specifically designed for our course and may be lacking some relevant information, as well as including irrelevant information. http://psychology4a.com/aqa_as_psychology.htm This website is designed for the old AQA specification A Psychology course. It contains relevant information for our course in units 1 and 2, and the IDA, relationships, eating behaviour and research methods topics in units 3 and 4.

However, because this website is based on the old specification it is not specifically designed for our course and may be lacking some relevant information, as well as including irrelevant information. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b037mkj3 This page showcases the ‘Dara O’Briain’s Science Club’ programme. It covers all topics featured on the show, which include Psychology. Obviously, there is a lot of information that is not relevant to the course, but it is interesting and gives you an insight into how Science works. Remember, Psychology is a Science and as such, research methods and the scientific approach are part of our course. http://bridgwaterpsychology.blogspot.co.uk This blog is produced by the Bridgwater College Psychology team. It contains anything vaguely Psychology related, so not everything will be relevant, but it should all be interesting.

Student User Policy Whilst on this course, you will need to use various resources. It is important that you can be trusted with them and that you will ensure that they are undamaged and not abused in any way.

Textbooks are not to be written on, but it is understood that there may be some minor wear and tear from regular use.

Practical equipment, such as timers, calculators and models, should be treated respectfully and with care. It is accepted that accidents happen, however if damage is caused deliberately or through lack of care, you will be charged for replacement items. Some practical equipment, such as dissecting tools, may be dangerous if not used sensibly. Therefore, it is important that you conduct yourself in a mature and reasonable manner, especially whilst performing practicals.

ICT equipment (such as laptops, iPads and computers) as well as other multimedia tools (like cameras and camcorders) should also be treated with respect and care. Again, if damage is caused deliberately or through lack of care, you will be charged for replacement items.

Online resources like the Moodle Psychology page, social media and the course tutor email, are available to help you learn about the subject and get assistance outside of lesson time. In the event of these resources being abused, your access will be revoked. Abuse of these resources consists of: 1. Anything that can be construed as an attack, abuse or threat against a member of staff, a fellow student, the school itself or a member of the public.

2. Anything that could be viewed as an attempt at cyber bullying.

3. Anything that is clearly racist, sexist, or highly discriminatory in nature.

4. Adding totally irrelevant items, advertising or 'spam' to forums / pages.

5. Swearing at others or using vulgar language or profanity on forums / pages.

6. Anything that could be considered to bring the school into disrepute.