Paper 1 - Introductory Topics in Psychology

Social Influence:

• Types of conformity: internalisation, and compliance. Explanations for conformity: informational social influence and normative social influence, and variables affecting conformity including group size, unanimity and task difficulty as investigated by Asch.
• Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and situational variables affecting obedience including proximity and location, as investigated by Milgram, and uniform. Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality.
• Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus of control.
• Minority influence including reference to consistency, commitment and flexibility.

Memory:

• The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration.
• The working memory model: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer. Features of the model: coding and capacity.
• Explanations for forgetting: proactive and retroactive interference and retrieval failure due to absence of cues.
• Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: leading questions, post-event discussion, and anxiety; the use of the cognitive interview.

Attachment:

• Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow.
• Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
• Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn.
• Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Effects of institutionalisation, including the English and Romanian Adoptees project.
• The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model.

Clinical Psychology and Mental Health:

• Definitions in the field of mental health; deviation from ideal mental health, deviation from social/cultural norms, failure to function adequately and statistical infrequency.
• The behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias: the two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding.
• The cognitive approach to explaining and treating depression: Beck’s negative triad and Ellis’s ABC model; cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), including challenging irrational thoughts.
• The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD: genetic and neural explanations; drug therapy.

Paper 2 – Psychology in Context

Approaches:

• Learning approaches: i) the behaviourist approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov’s research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner’s research; ii) social learning theory including imitation, identification, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura’s research.
• The cognitive approach: the study of internal mental processes, the role of schema, the use of models to explain and make inferences about mental processes.
• The biological approach: the genetic basis of behaviour: genotype, phenotype and evolution. Influence of biological structures and neurochemistry on behaviour. Cognitive neuroscience.
• The psychodynamic approach: the role of the unconscious, the structure of personality, that is Id, Ego and Superego, defence mechanisms including repression, denial and displacement, psychosexual stages.
• Humanistic Psychology: free will, self-actualisation and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, congruence, the role of conditions of worth.
• Comparison of approaches.

Biopsychogy:

• The divisions of the nervous system: central and peripheral (somatic and autonomic).
• The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons. The process of synaptic transmission, including reference to neurotransmitters, excitation and inhibition.
• The function of the endocrine system: glands and hormones.
• The fight or flight response including the role of adrenaline.
• Ways of studying the brain: scanning techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); electroencephalogram (EEGs) and event-related potentials (ERPs); post-mortem examinations.
• Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation: motor, somatosensory, visual, auditory and language centres; Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, split brain research. Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma.

Research Methods:

• Experimental method. Types of experiment, laboratory and field experiments; natural and quasi-experiments.
• Observational techniques. Types of observation: naturalistic and controlled observation; covert and overt observation; participant and non-participant observation.
• Self-report techniques. Questionnaires; interviews, structured and unstructured.
• Correlations. Analysis of the relationship between co-variables. The difference between correlations and experiments.
• Content analysis.
• Case studies.
• Scientific processes.
• A handling and analysis.
• Inferential testing.

Paper 3 - Issues and Options in Psychology

Issues and Debates:

• Gender and culture in Psychology – universality and bias. Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and beta bias; cultural bias, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
• Free will and determinism: hard determinism and soft determinism; biological, environmental and psychic determinism. The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.
• The nature-nurture debate: the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour; the interactionist approach.
• Holism and reductionism: levels of explanation in Psychology. Biological reductionism and environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism.
• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.
• Social sensitivity in psychological research.

Relationships:

• Factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships: self-disclosure; physical attractiveness, including the matching hypothesis; filter theory, including social demography, similarity in attitudes and complementarity.
• Theories of romantic relationships: social exchange theory, equity theory and Rusbult’s investment model of commitment, satisfaction, comparison with alternatives and investment. Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown: intra-psychic, dyadic, social and grave dressing phases.
• Online relationships: self-disclosure, use of deception, effects of absence of gating.
• Parasocial relationships: levels of parasocial relationships, the absorption addiction model and the attachment theory explanation.

Schixophrenia:

• Positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including hallucinations and delusions. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including speech poverty and avolition. Issues in diagnosis: co-morbidity, culture and gender bias and symptom overlap.
• Biological explanations for schizophrenia: genetics and neural correlates, including the dopamine hypothesis.
• Psychological explanations for schizophrenia: family dysfunction and cognitive explanations, including dysfunctional thought processing.
• Drug therapy: typical and atypical antipsychotics.
• Cognitive behaviour therapy and family therapy as used in the treatment of schizophrenia.
• The importance of an interactionist approach in explaining and treating schizophrenia; the diathesis-stress model.

Aggression:

• Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression, including the roles of the limbic system, serotonin and testosterone. Genetic factors in aggression, including the MAOA gene.
• The ethological explanation of aggression, including reference to innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action patterns. Evolutionary explanations of human aggression.
• Social psychological explanations of human aggression, including the frustration-aggression hypothesis, social learning theory as applied to human aggression, and de-individuation.
• Institutional aggression in the context of prisons: dispositional and situational explanations.
• Media influences on aggression, including the effects of computer games. The role of desensitisation, disinhibition and cognitive priming.

Teaching and Learning Approaches

Explanations

High-quality explanations go beyond simply delivering content; they incorporate subject-specific vocabulary, clear examples, and real-life applications that connect psychological concepts to students’ own experiences and the wider world. Teachers break complex ideas into smaller steps and use analogies, case studies, and visual aids to make abstract concepts accessible. Understanding is continuously checked through formative assessment methods, such as mini-quizzes, class discussions, or questioning, to ensure all students grasp the content before progressing to new topics.

Questioning

Effective questioning strategies are designed to engage all learners and develop higher-order thinking. Teachers use retrieval practice to reinforce prior learning and craft questions aligned with specific assessment objectives, such as AO1 (knowledge), AO2 (application), and AO3 (evaluation). Techniques such as think–pair–share, cold-calling, and bouncing questions around the classroom encourage participation and peer learning. Questioning is adapted to meet diverse learning needs, ensuring that students of varying abilities, including those with SEND K, can respond, reflect, and succeed.

Modelling

Teachers model academic skills by breaking down assessment questions with students, helping them understand exactly what each question is asking. They demonstrate how to identify key command words, link questions to assessment objectives, and structure responses effectively. Scaffolds, such as sentence starters, writing frames, and step-by-step guides, are used to support students in applying these strategies independently. This approach helps students build confidence, develop exam technique, and gradually take ownership of producing high-quality, well-structured answers.

Challenge

All students are expected to meet the learning outcomes outlined in the scheme of learning, but tasks are adapted to ensure appropriate challenge for every learner. Students with SEND K are supported through adaptations in line with their pupil passports, while the most able are extended with opportunities such as wider reading, critical discussions and targeted questioning.

Marking and Feedback

Marking and feedback are structured to support continuous improvement. Students complete two summative assessments per half-term, which are carefully marked with detailed, constructive feedback highlighting strengths, areas for development, and clear next steps. Therapy work is given to allow students to consolidate learning and address gaps. Additionally, two pre-public examinations per year in Years 12 and 13 mimic real exam conditions, preparing students for formal assessment. Homework is routinely checked, with two pieces per half-term formally marked.

Teaching for Long-Term Memory

Teaching for long-term memory involves logically sequencing topics so that students build knowledge progressively and see connections across the course. Core psychological approaches and A02 application points are embedded throughout multiple topics, allowing students to consistently practice applying evidence and theory across different areas of the curriculum. Frequent retrieval of topics through both formative and summative assessments reinforces understanding and helps prepare students to confidently tackle questions under real exam conditions.

Homework

Homework is purposeful, substantial, and designed to support both learning and assessment readiness. Weekly tasks often include exam-style questions, research tasks, or reading articles on current affairs, accompanied by questions that encourage critical thinking and application of psychological concepts. Homework provides opportunities for independent practice, promotes time-management skills, and allows students to apply theory to real-world examples, ensuring learning continues beyond the classroom.

Assessment

Every three weeks, students’ complete assessments that mirror exam conditions, with personalised feedback and therapy sessions provided to address misconceptions and strengthen skills. Assessments cover knowledge, application, and evaluation, reflecting the demands of formal exams while enabling teachers to identify areas for intervention promptly.

Reading and Literacy

Reading and literacy are embedded across the curriculum to develop critical thinking, oracy, and subject-specific understanding. Students are encouraged to read a variety of texts, including recommended books, newspapers, journals, and online articles, to stay informed about current affairs. Oracy is promoted through student-led presentations and class discussions, reinforcing the use of academic language. Literacy development includes effectively using subject-specific vocabulary in both spoken and written work, ensuring students can communicate psychological ideas clearly and confidently.

KS5 Overview

Year 12

Paper 3 - Introduction to Issues and Debates	Outline: Nature vs Nurture Free will vs Determinism Reductionism vs Holism
Paper 2 - Approaches	Outline, apply and evaluate: The Behaviourist Approach Social Learning Theory The Cognitive Approach The Biological Approach Psychodynamic Approach Humanistic Approach Compare and contrast approaches
Paper 1 - Memory	Outline, apply and evaluate: Coding, Capacity and Duration including studies of STM and LTM The Multi-store Model of Memory The Working Memory Model Explanations of Forgetting: Interference Explanations of Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony: Leading Questions, Anxiety & Post-Event Discussion The Cognitive Interview
Paper 2 - Research Methods Part 1	Outline, apply and evaluate: Types of experiments Aims, hypotheses and variables Controlling variables Experimental designs
Paper 1 - Social Influence	Outline, apply and evaluate: Types of conformity Explanations of conformity Studies of conformity and variables affecting conformity Study of obedience: Milgram Situational variables affecting obedience Social psychological explanations of obedience Dispositional explanation of obedience Resistance to social influence explanations Minority influence
Paper 2 - Research Methods Part 2	Outline, apply and evaluate: Sampling Ethical issues and ways of dealing with them Pilot studies
Paper 1 - Attachment	Animal Studies of Attachment Explanations of Attachment: Learning Theory Explanations of Attachment: Bowlby’s Theory Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Cultural Variations in Attachment Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation English And Romanian Adoptee Project Influence of Early Attachment on Later Relationships
Paper 2 - Research Methods Part 3	Observations Self-reports Correlations
Paper 1 - Clinical Psychology	Statistical deviation Deviation from social/cultural norms Failure to function adequately Deviation from ideal mental health Characteristics of phobias The behavioural approach to explaining phobias The behavioural approach to treating phobias Characteristics of depression The cognitive approach to explaining depression The cognitive approach to treating depression Characteristics of OCD The biological approach to explaining OCD The biological approach to treating OCD
Paper 2 - Research Methods Part 4	Data analysis: Primary and secondary data Data analysis: Descriptive statistics Data analysis: Measures of dispersion Data analysis: Graphs Mathematical content Peer review Psychology and the economy
Paper 2 - Biopsychology Part 1	The Nervous System and the Endocrine System Neurons and Synaptic Transmission Fight or flight Localisation of function

Year 13

Paper 2 - Biopsychology Part 2	Outline, apply and evaluate: Brain Plasticity Functional Recovery of the Brain after Trauma Split-brain Research into Hemispheric Lateralisation Ways of Investigating the Brain
Research Methods Part 5	Outline, apply and evaluate: Case Studies Content analysis Reliability Validity
Paper 3 - Aggression	Outline, apply and evaluate: Neural and Hormonal explanations of Aggression Genetic explanations of aggression Evolutionary explanations of aggression The Ethological explanation of aggression Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis Social Learning Theory De-individuation Institutional Aggression in Prisons (Importation and Deprivation Models) Media Influences on Aggression The Effects of Computer Games (Desensitisation, Disinhibition and Cognitive Priming)
Research Methods Part 6	Levels of measurement Probability Errors Sign test Mann-Whitney test Wilcoxon test Unrelated t-test Related t-test Spearman’s Rho test Pearson’s Rho test Chi-square test
Paper 3 - Relationships	Self-Disclosure Physical Attractiveness Filter Theory Social Exchange Theory Equity Theory Rusbult’s Investment Model Duck’s Phase Model) Online Relationships and Social Media Parasocial Relationships
Paper 3 - Schizophrenia	Characteristics of Schizophrenia Genetic Explanation of Schizophrenia Neural correlates The Dopamine Hypothesis Psychological Explanations of Schizophrenia Drug Therapies for Schizophrenia Psychological Therapies for Schizophrenia The Interactionist Approach to explaining and treating Schizophrenia
Research Methods Part 7	Design a study questions: Experiment, observations, self-reports and correlations Reporting psychological investigations Features of science
Paper 3 - Issues and Debates	Nature vs Nurture Reductionism vs Holism Free Will vs Determinism Social sensitivity Gender Bias Culture Bias Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches