GCE A Level Psychology (AQA) Yr11 Taster Day Information Pack

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1 GCE A Level Psychology (AQA) Yr11 Taster Day Information Pack Name: T.G.: How to find more information on the specification: The AQA website: George Abbot School Psychology Department FROG page: Key Text Book AS Psychology/ Year 1 of A level: Illuminate Publishing ISBN-13:

2 What is Psychology? The word Psychology is derived from two Greek roots: Psyche, meaning mind or soul and Logos, meaning study of. Psychology, therefore, literally means study of the mind. However, a more recent definition by Atkinson et al (1991) suggests that psychology is The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Just giving this simple definition, however, is slightly misleading, since psychologists now and throughout their history have not only disagreed about the definition of psychology, but have also strongly disagreed about what should be studied and how it should be studied. Complete the table below to identify which of the following topics you think Psychologists should study and those they should not. What is the purpose of dream sleep? Why do people suffer irrational phobias? Is Euthanasia acceptable? Are individuals capable of telepathy or clairvoyance? What happens to a person during hypnosis? Why do we forget? Is there a ruling class in Britain? Does the portrayal of violence on TV produce acts violence in real life? Do babies need a mother? Does God exist? Do football fans hate opposing fans? Do we only learn by reading information? Psychology Not Psychology The first topics that you will learn about in Psychology include Social and Cognitive Psychology. How many words could you remember from the list? Why do you think there may be differences between what you and others can remember? Can you think of any ways to improve the experiment that we just did? 2

3 The History of Psychology WHERE DID PSYCHOLOGY COME FROM? Psychology developed from three-main areas of study: PHILOSOPHY Many of the problems which psychology has investigated were first most clearly outlined by Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in the 5th century Be. Two, more recent philosophical influences on the development of psychology as a science were: 1 Empiricism - which argued that humans shou Id only measure data that is objectively observable, such as behaviour. 2 Positivism - which argued that the methods and principles of science should be applied to human behaviour. BIOLOGY Biology has had two important influences: 1 Evolution - Darwin's suggestion that humans have evolved from other animals. The discoveries in genetics that followed from his evolutionary theory have had many important implications for the study and understanding of behaviour. 2 Physiology - the discoveries, mostly by the medical profession, of the structure and function of the brain, nervous, and endocrine systems have significantly contributed to the understanding of behaviour. PHYSICS A subject that because of its great success has been adopted as the ideal model by scientists in psychology, who have borrowed its scientific methods and principles. Physicists, such as Fechner, started applying their subject to human behaviour and experience (psychophysics) in the nineteenth century, with some success. WHEN DID PSYCHOLOGY START? The date 1879 is usually said to be the start of psychology as a separate scientific discipline, since it was when Wilhelm Wundt created the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Wundt is, therefore, regarded as the 'founding father' of psychology, although Americans tend to suggest that William James should have this honour since his 1890 book (which took 12 years to write) entitled Principles of Psychology was a major landmark in psychology's literature and he began teaching a course on the relationship between physiology and psychology at Harvard University in Functionalism- the approach William James advocated. James was influenced by Darwin's views and argued that the workings of the mind are functional, to survive and adapt, so we should investigate what behaviour and thoughts are for. Manyof James's insights remain valid, today, but functionalism was superseded by the next two very powerful approaches that both started around the turn of the century. HOW DID PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOP? Behaviourism - Behaviourists, such as John Watson, wereextremely critical of all the approaches that concerned themselves with 'minds', and proposed that psychology should only investigate observable behaviour if it wanted to be "an objective science. This approach dominated experimental psychology until the 1950s, when a strong resurgence of interest in the 'mind' developed in the form of the cognitive and the humanistic approaches. Psychoanalysis - was in fact a method of therapy developed by Sigmund Freud in Austria, but in many major books, such as The interpretation of dreams (1900), Freud began describing in detail an underlying theory of the human mind and behaviour that has 'had an enormous (and confroversial) impact on psychology. Freud argued that the proper object of psychological investigation should be the unconscious mind, and that our behaviour is determined by processes.of which we are not aware. The Biological approach has advanced evolutionary, physiological, and genetic explanations for human behaviour throughout the history of psychology. 3 Cognitive psychology. aims to investigate the mind by using computer information processing id eas to arrive at testable models of how the brain works, and then applying scientific methods to confirm these models. The Humanistic approach, however, has had less of an impact on psychology, since it has deliberately adopted a less scientific view of the human mind by arguing that psychology should focus on each individual's conscious experience and aims in life.

4 Task: Find out who these Psychologists are. Write the name of each psychologist next to the picture. As an extension, also name a piece of research that they have carried out. 4

5 Careers in Psychology For all careers in Psychology, an undergraduate degree in Psychology that is accredited by the BPS (British Psychological Society) is necessary. These courses are offered at many UK Universities. Professional jobs include: Forensic Psychology Forensic psychology is concerned with the psychological aspects of legal processes in courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological psychology: applying psychological theory to criminal investigation, understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour and the treatment of criminals. Key tasks include modifying offender behaviour and giving evidence in court. Clinical Psychology Clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being. A wide range of psychological difficulties are dealt with, including anxiety, depression, relationship problems, learning disabilities, child and family problems and serious mental illness. They will assess needs and provide therapies. Educational Psychology Educational psychologists tackle the problems encountered by young people in education, which may involve learning difficulties and social or emotional problems. Reports may be written about children for allocation of special educational places or as part of court proceedings or children's panels. Occupational Psychology Occupational psychology is concerned with the performance of people at work and with how individuals, small groups and organisations behave and function. Its aim is to increase the effectiveness of the organisation and improve the job satisfaction of individuals. Counselling Psychology Counselling psychologists work in health and social care, prison service, educational and academic settings, organisations (commercial and industrial), and management consultancy. They provide counselling and psychotherapy, training, consultancy, research, and supervision. Health Psychology Health psychologists work in hospitals, health centres, universities, work organisations and research units. Their work can involve research, teaching, and consultancy. Health psychology is the practice and application of psychological research into: the promotion and maintenance of health; prevention and treatment of illness; the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation. Sport and Exercise Psychology Sport and exercise psychologists work in private and public organisations, consultancies, sports centres, with professional sports teams and with individuals in personal training. Their work varies from helping athletes and coaches with psychological preparation; coping with injury; motivation; stress; training demands; and goal setting. Visit for more information. 5

6 Ethics and Psychology The British Psychological Society (BPS) regulates psychologists and their work ( One purpose of BPS is to ensure that people involved in psychology, including clients and research participants, are treated ethically. Psychologists and students alike must follow the ethical guidelines set down by the BPS in all research. So of the guidelines include gaining consent, briefing and debriefing participants, and not deceiving participants, allowing them to withdraw from research and ensuring research staff are competent. In the following examples, if you were the psychologists in charge, would you go ahead with the study? You are studying why people are obedient. You choose to set up a situation where one person is told to give another person an electric shock that may kill them. You test different situations which might make them obedient. Ethical or not, and why? You are testing the relationship a patient has with their psychologist. You decide to give false information to the patient via their psychologist to test their response? Ethical or not, and why? 6

7 Psychology work for the summer Find out who the psychologists in the pictures are in p4 of this booklet and if possible, name a piece of research they have carried out. Complete the page on ethical guidelines in this booklet. Research the three types of experiment: laboratory, field and natural. Write a paragraph describing each one. Research Stanley Milgram s obedience research. He is a famous psychologist so there is lots of information on the internet. Task: Create a factsheet about his research. Extension: Write a paragraph to explain how this relates to the ethical guidelines psychologists must follow. Do you think Milgram s work was ethical? 7