Curriculum:
Click to Expand Autumn Content:
Social Psychology
Students Learn To
  • Develop an awareness of conformity and obedience
  • Develop an awareness of collective and crowd behaviour, including pro-social and anti-social behaviour
  • Be able to explain and evaluate the theories of situational factors
  • Describe Bickman's study into obedience
  • Discover where deindividuation, culture, authority figures and obedience lie on the free will vs determinism debate
  • Explain and evaluate the role of individual factors with the effect of self-esteem and locus of control on crowd behaviour and morality
  • Understanding the influences of the brain in dispositional factors
  • Describe and evaluate NatCen's study into the 2011 riots
  • Explain how majority influence affects social change in relation to changing attitudes
Key Terms
Conformity, Obedience, Collective and Crowd Behaviour, Pro-Social Behaviour, Anti-Social Behaviour, Majority Influence, Deindividuation, Situational Factors, Self-esteem, Morality, Stigma, Discrimination
Click to Expand Spring Content:
Criminal Psychology
Students Learn To
  • Develop awareness of different types of crime
  • Develop an understanding of crime as a social construct including deviation from norms and the role of culture in defining criminal behaviour
  • Understand how crime is measured – through official statistics and self-report methods
  • Explain and evaluate the social learning theory of crime. With references to identification and role models
  • Describe and evaluate Cooper and Mackie’s study into video game aggression
  • Explain and evaluate Eysenck’s Criminal Personality theory specific reference to the central nervous system, extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism
  • Describe Heaven’s study into delinquency
  • Understand the role of rehabilitation in reducing criminal/anti-social behaviour
  • Understand the effects of punishment and deterrents in reducing criminal/anti-social behaviour
Key Terms
Deviation, Norms, Official Statistics, Self-report, Social Learning Theory, Identification, Role Models, Central Nervous System, Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism, Delinquency, Rehabilitation, Restorative Justice, Punishment
Click to Expand Summer Content:
Developmental Psychology
Students Learn To
  • Develop and awareness if the stages of development from pre-natal to childhood, including brain development, with reference to the nervous system, neurons and synapse
  • Understand IQ tests as a measure of intelligence
  • Be able to explain and evaluate Piaget theory of cognitive development, with reference to the four stages of development, assimilation and accommodation, the concepts of object permanence, animism and egocentrism
  • Describe and evaluate Piaget’s study into conservation
  • Explain and evaluate the learning theories of development
  • Describe and evaluate Blackwell et al’s study into fixed and growth mindsets
  • Explain how Piaget’s ideas have been used within education
  • Explain how learning theories apply to the development of intelligence through growth mindsets and teaching through meaning
Key Terms
Pre-Natal, Childhood, Nervous System, IQ, Intelligence, Assimilation, Accommodation, Object Permance, Animism, Egocentrism, Conservation, Development, Growth Mindset, Fixed Mindset, Nature, Nurture
Subject Overview:

Students in Year 9 have 3 Psychology lesson each week.

Students receive 1 piece of Psychology homework each week. The homework usually takes 30 minutes to complete.

Assessments:

Students sit end of module examinations throughout the year.

Students additionally sit a mock exam at the end of the year.