Aims & Objectives
Course Aims
Encourage the systematic and critical study of: human experience and behaviour; physical, economic and social environments; and the history and development of social and cultural institutions
Develop in the student the capacity to identify, to analyse critically and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments about the nature and activities of the individual and society
Enable the student to collect, describe and analyse data used in studies of society, to test hypotheses, and to interpret complex data and source material
Promote the appreciation of the way in which learning is relevant both to the culture in which the student lives, and the culture of other societies
Develop an awareness in the student that human attitudes and beliefs are widely diverse and that the study of society requires an appreciation of such diversity
Enable the student to recognize that the content and methodologies of the individuals and societies subjects are contestable and that their study requires the toleration of uncertainty
Develop an understanding of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors affecting mental processes and behaviour
Apply an understanding of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors affecting mental processes and behaviour to at least one applied area of study
Understand diverse methods of inquiry
Understand the importance of ethical practice in psychological research in general and observe ethical practice in their own inquiries
Ensure that ethical practices are upheld in all psychological inquiry and discussion
Develop an awareness of how psychological research can be applied to address real-world problems and promote positive change
Assessment Objectives
Knowledge and comprehension of specified content
demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of key terms and concepts in psychology
demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of a range of psychological theories and research studies
demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches to mental processes and behaviour
demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of research methods used in psychology
Application and analysis
demonstrate an ability to use examples of psychological research and psychological concepts to formulate an argument in response to a specific question
demonstrate application and analysis of a range of psychological theories and research studies
demonstrate application and analysis of the knowledge relevant to areas of applied psychology
at HL only, analyse qualitative and quantitative research in psychology
Synthesis and evaluation
evaluate the contribution of psychological theories to understanding human psychology
evaluate the contribution of research to understanding human psychology
evaluate the contribution of the theories and research in areas of applied psychology
at HL only, evaluate research scenarios from a methodological and ethical perspective
Selection and use of skills appropriate to psychology
demonstrate the acquisition of skills required for experimental design, data collection and presentation, data analysis and the evaluation of a simple experiment while demonstrating ethical practice
work in a group to design a method for a simple experimental investigation, organize the investigation and record the required data for a simple experiment
write a report of a simple experiment
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