Psychology syllabus, dot point by dot point

The behaviourist approach: assumptions (blank slate, classical conditioning, operant conditioning), the named therapy (aversion therapy/systematic desensitisation), application to behaviour, and evaluation. AS content.

The biological approach: assumptions (genes, brain structure and localisation, neurochemistry, evolution), the named therapy (drug therapy/chemotherapy), application to behaviour, and evaluation. AS content.

The cognitive approach: assumptions (information processing/computer analogy, internal mental processes, schemas), the named therapy (cognitive behavioural therapy), application to behaviour, and evaluation. AS content.

The positive approach: assumptions (free will and the good life, focus on the positive, the three pillars, signature strengths and the role of flow), the named applications (mindfulness, building signature strengths), and evaluation. A2 content.

The psychodynamic approach: assumptions (unconscious mind, tripartite personality, psychosexual stages, defence mechanisms), the named therapy (psychoanalysis/dream analysis), application to behaviour, and evaluation. A2 content.

Classic research for the cognitive approach: Bartlett (1932), War of the Ghosts (reconstructive memory and schemas). Aim, method, results, conclusions and evaluation.

Classic research for the psychodynamic approach: Freud (1909), Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old boy (Little Hans). Aim, method, results, conclusions and evaluation.

Classic research for the positive approach: Myers and Diener (1995), Who is happy? Aim, method (review of subjective wellbeing research), results, conclusions and evaluation.

Classic research for the biological approach: Raine et al. (1997), Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by positron emission tomography. Aim, method, results, conclusions and evaluation.

Classic research for the behaviourist approach: Watson and Rayner (1920), Conditioned emotional reactions (Little Albert). Aim, method, results, conclusions and evaluation.

Contemporary debate for the behaviourist approach: using conditioning techniques to control the behaviour of children. Arguments for and against, with a judgement.

Contemporary debate for the biological approach: the ethics of neuroscience. Arguments for and against using brain science to explain, predict and modify behaviour, with a judgement.

Contemporary debate for the cognitive approach: the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Arguments that it is and is not reliable, with a judgement.

Contemporary debate for the psychodynamic approach: the mother as the primary caregiver of an infant. Arguments for and against, with a judgement.

Contemporary debate for the positive approach: the relevance of positive psychology in today's society. Arguments for and against, with a judgement.

Correlation (co-variables, positive, negative and zero correlations, correlation coefficients, scattergrams, correlation does not equal causation) and case studies (in-depth study of an individual or small group, qualitative data, strengths and weaknesses).

Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), measures of dispersion (range, standard deviation), levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval), percentages and ratios, and presenting data (tables, bar charts, histograms, scattergrams).

The experimental method: types of experiment (laboratory, field, natural, quasi), independent and dependent variables and operationalisation, hypotheses, extraneous and confounding variables and controls, and experimental designs (independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs).

Inferential statistics: probability and significance ($p \le 0.05$), the null and alternative hypotheses, choosing the correct test (the binomial sign test, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, Spearman's rho, chi-square) from design and level of measurement, observed versus critical values, and Type I and Type II errors.

Non-experimental methods: observation (naturalistic, controlled, participant, non-participant, overt, covert; behavioural categories and sampling) and self-report (questionnaires and interviews; open and closed questions; designing good questions).

The two personal investigations: designing and conducting two studies using different methods (aim and hypothesis, variables, design, sampling, ethics, procedure), analysing the data with appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics, writing up, and applying research-methods reasoning to a novel scenario.

Reliability (internal and external; test-retest, inter-observer; how to assess and improve it) and validity (internal and external; face, concurrent, ecological, temporal and population validity; demand characteristics and investigator effects; how to assess and improve it).

Sampling (target population, sample, random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified sampling; bias and generalisability) and ethics (the BPS principles: informed consent, deception, right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality, and dealing with ethical issues).

Addictive behaviour: explanations from the approaches (biological, learning/behaviourist, cognitive), the concept of addiction (dependence, tolerance, withdrawal), and methods of modifying behaviour (drug treatments, behavioural and cognitive interventions). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Autistic spectrum behaviour: the features of autism, explanations from the approaches (biological/genetic, cognitive theory of mind and weak central coherence), and methods of supporting or modifying behaviour (behavioural and educational interventions). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Bullying behaviour: the nature of bullying (including cyberbullying), explanations from the approaches (evolutionary/biological, learning/social learning, individual differences), and methods of reducing it (anti-bullying programmes and interventions). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Criminal behaviour: explanations from the approaches (biological/genetic and neural, learning/social, cognitive), and methods of modifying behaviour (treatment and rehabilitation, anger management, restorative justice). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Schizophrenia: symptoms (positive and negative), explanations from the approaches (biological - dopamine and genetics; psychological - cognitive and family), and methods of treatment (antipsychotic drugs and psychological therapies such as CBT). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Stress: the body's stress response and the sources of stress, explanations and effects (the physiology of stress, life changes and daily hassles, workplace stress), and methods of managing stress (biological - drugs; psychological - CBT, biofeedback, stress inoculation). One of six Component 3 behaviours.

Controversy: cultural bias in psychology. Ethnocentrism, the etic-emic distinction and the imposed etic, alpha and beta bias, the WEIRD-sample problem, examples, and how to reduce cultural bias, with a judgement.

Controversy: ethics in psychological research. The conflict between scientific value and participant welfare, with arguments and examples (Milgram, Zimbardo), the role of ethical guidelines and cost-benefit analysis, and a judgement.

Controversy: gender bias and sexism in psychology. Androcentrism, alpha and beta bias, examples (Freud, all-male samples), the consequences of gender bias, and how to reduce it, with a judgement.

Controversy: the scientific status of psychology. The features of science (objectivity, control, replicability, falsifiability, paradigms), arguments that psychology is and is not a science, the place of different approaches, and a judgement.

Controversy: the use of non-human animals in psychological research. Scientific and ethical arguments for and against, the regulations (the 3Rs and the law), and a judgement.