Overview
Ever wondered why we think and act the way we do or what shapes our individual personalities? If you'd love to gain a deeper understanding of the human thought process as well as gain a unique insight into the forces that shape our everyday interactions, GCSE psychology is the course for you.
Not only is it a great option if you'd like to study this subject at A-level or university, but the skills you'll gain will also come in handy for numerous careers such as teaching, policing, probation work, and counselling.
What you'll learn
Your brain weighs just 3 pounds! That is less than two bags of sugar, yet it holds about 100 billion nerve cells and all of your memories. This unit will cover processes of memory, encoding, storage and retrieval, long-term and short-term memory and how your memory is structured. You’ll also look at memory as an active process and what factors can affect your memory.
What is perception? Well, it refers to the set of processes we use to make sense of different stimuli we’re presented with. This unit will focus on perception and sensation, visual cue and depth perception, visual illusions and theories to back them up. You’ll understand the factors that can affect perception and also look at culture, emotion, motivation and expectation too.
Your mind and brain change across the lifetime, particularly during childhood. Throughout this unit, you’ll jump into the development of the brain considering early brain development, stages of cognitive development, application in education and the effects of learning on development. You’ll learn theory’s such as conservation and egocentrism, Dweck’s mindset theory of learning and Willingham’s learning theory.
During this unit, you’ll look at designing data, formulating hypotheses and variables, extraneous variables, types of experiments and experimental designs. You’ll consider sampling methods, ethical considerations and designing research. Additionally, you’ll look at correlations, case studies, reliability and validity, types of different data, interpretation and computation.
Social influence relates to opinion, behaviour and emotion and how they are affected by others. This unit focuses on four key areas including conformity, obedience, minority influence and social change. You’ll consider a variety of studies and theories including Milgram’s study, Milgram’s agency theory (social factors), Adorno’s theory, Piliavin’s subway study and Asch’s study. You’ll look at social and dispositional factors, the crown and collective behaviour, and de-individualisation.
In this unit, you’ll gain a better understanding of language and thought using Piaget’s theory, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and Von Frisch’s bee study. You’ll delve into a review of the world and how humans and animals communicate. You’ll look at how communication can be done in a non-verbal way covering eye contact, body language and personal space. You’ll consider Darwin’s evolutionary theory and Yoki’s study of emoticons to evidence nurture.
Next, you’ll learn the structure and function of the nervous system whilst considering James Lang’s theory of emotion. Secondly, you’ll look at the structure and function of neurons, including electrical, synapses and chemical transmissions and compare it to Hebb’s theory of learning. You’ll consider how the brain works, diving into the localisation of function and Penfield’s study of the interpretive cortex. You’ll be introduced to neuropsychology with cognitive neuroscience, neurological damage, scanning techniques to identify brain functioning and Tulving’s “gold” memory study.
This unit will focus on mental health, the effects, treatment, addiction and the theories that surround it. You’ll firstly look at depression and theories for biological and psychological reasoning for it, also look at therapies such as CBT and medication and Wiles study. Next, you’ll look at addiction, how it can be characterised and diagnosed by looking at therapy options such as aversion therapy and self-management. Finally, you’ll look at the theories for addiction, including biological and psychological too.
Extra info
Awarding Body
AQA qualifications are internationally recognised and taught in 30 countries around the world, highly valued by employers and universities and enable young people to progress to the next stage of their lives. AQA qualifications suit a range of abilities and include GCSE courses, IGCSE courses and A-level courses.
Course Outcome
Upon successful completion of this home learning course, you will receive a GCSE in Psychology (8182), issued by AQA. This syllabus has been chosen specifically because it is best suited to distance learning.
How is this course assessed or examined?
You can enrol now for examinations from Summer 2023.
You'll be required to complete the two GCSE standard written exams, all of which must be taken in the same session.
- Paper 1: 1 hour 45 minutes, 50% of GCSE, 100 marks.
- Paper 2: 1 hour 45 minutes, 50% of GCSE, 100 marks.
We provide a guaranteed exam space in one of our partner exam centres around the UK. Check where your closest exam centre is.
During your course, there is no coursework to complete but you will be required complete nine assignments and one introductory. These do not contribute to your final grade but provide you with an opportunity to submit work to your tutor for marking and feedback. This will help you to gauge your progress as you work through the course.
Entry requirements
There are no formal entry requirements for this level two course; however, it is recommended that you have an intermediate ability to read and write in English.
