1. Welcome to
Psychology at
North Chadderton
Sixth Form

2. Aims
To be able to define Psychology as the scientific study of behaviour
Be able to give a variety of explanations for a behaviour
Know some of the behaviours that will be explained on the AS course and that Psychologists are interested in
Know the range of careers that Psychology may lead to

3. What is psychology?
Write down a short definition/ description of what you think is meant by psychology…
“If you asked this question of several different people, you would receive several different answers. In fact, if you asked several psychologists you would still get more than one answer. Psychologists are probably the most diverse group of people in our society to share the same title” (Carlson & Buskist 1997)

4. Psychology as a Science?
You may have noticed the word
‘scientific’ in the definition of psychology. What do we mean by this?
To answer this question you may like to think about some of the sciences that you know: chemistry, biology and physics for example. What do these have in common?
You will no doubt remember from school that they all involve conclusions and theories based on data and facts.
The data and facts derive from studies that are conducted using scientific method. You will be studying the ‘scientific method’ as part of the course.

5. What are psychologists interested in?
Can brain abnormalities lead people to commit murder?

6. What are psychologists interested in?
What causes prejudice and how can it be reduced?

7. What are psychologists interested in?
What makes people obey authority and follow rules?

8. What are psychologists interested in?
Is it possible that by watching violent videos people can become violent & aggressive?

9. What are psychologists interested in?
How does being brought up in a children's home affect a person’s ability to form relationships in later life?

10. What are psychologists interested in?
How do people develop phobias?

11. What are psychologists interested in?
How do children’s reasoning skills develop?

12. What are psychologists interested in?
Is memory an exact recording of events?

13. What are psychologists interested in?
How does the environment you live in influence the way you perceive visual illusions?

14. What are psychologists interested in?
Is it possible to teach sign language to a chimpanzee?

15. What are psychologists interested in?
What is ?

16. What are psychologists interested in?
How accurate are intelligence tests as a way to measure intelligence?

17. What are psychologists interested in?
What causes multiple personality syndrome, where there as many as 25 different personalities in the same person?

18. What are psychologists interested in?
How can you tell if someone is mentally ill?

19. What are psychologists interested in?
What happens during sleep that causes us to dream?

20. What are psychologists interested in?
What are the functions of the different parts of the brain?

21. What are psychologists interested in?
What causes us to experience different emotions?

22. What are psychologists interested in?
What stereotypes & social roles do we conform to in everyday life?

23. Careers in Psychology
With a degree in psychology you will be able to qualify as a Psychologist. There are a number of different fields in which Psychologists work:
Educational psychology
Clinical Psychology
Criminology
Sports psychology
Neuropsychology
Organisational Psychology

24. Careers with Psychology
Even if you don’t want to be a Psychologist, an A-Level in psychology is useful background to the following careers:
Media
Personnel Management
Advertising&Marketing
Teaching
Health care
Occupational therapy
Youth work
Probation
Social work
Medicine
Police
Law