Psychology

Course summary

Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mental processes. The psychology course examines the interaction of biological, cognitive and sociocultural influences on human behaviour. The core in the first year will cover these three levels of analysis through psychological theories and research: • Biological psychology: this explores the structure and function of the human brain, how technology is used to investigate brains in action and the contribution of genes to cognition and behaviour. • Cognitive psychology: this investigates how humans form internal mental representations that guide behaviour, in particular, memory and emotion. • Sociocultural psychology: this explores how human behaviour and attitudes are affected by social groups and the culture of communities and society. In the second year, Standard Level (one option) and Higher Level (both options) pupils will study: • Option 1 Developmental psychology: this investigates changes in individuals over time in how they behave, think and relate to others. This is through cognitive, social and gender identity development and the influence of the three approaches. • Option 2 Human Relationships: this investigates social responsibility, interpersonal relationships and group dynamics and the influence of the three approaches. Both Standard and Higher Level pupils will study Research Methods and will have to design, carry out and write up an Experimental study. Higher Level: investigate research methods in depth that are used in psychology and apply it to a particular stimulus in preparation for Paper3.