Psychology
|
 |
Events
Working with children with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
On Friday 25th April Dr Georgina Krebs, a clinical psychologist and a former student of Oxford High School, came to Oxford High School to talk about her work with children with OCD at a specialist clinic at the Maudsley Hospital in London. Dr Krebs gave a fascinating insight into the difficulties experienced by some of the children that she works with, described effective treatments that she helps to deliver and answered questions from the large audience of Year 10-13 students and staff.
The Truth about Hypnosis
On Wednesday 23rd April an enthusiastic group of Year 11, 12 and 13 students visited Science Oxford to hear Dr Peter Naish from the Open University explore the science of hypnosis and take part in a group demonstration to see if they were responsive!
Science Oxford is currently running an exciting series of events entitled “Into the Brain.” Future events that students interested in Psychology would enjoy are:
“What is Intelligence?” Tuesday 29th April
“The Teenage Brain” Wednesday 7th May
See Dr Squire or contact Science Oxford directly for tickets.
Two lunchtime Psychology Clubs (alternate weeks) will be running on Wednesday lunchtimes in 2007. Psychology Club offers an opportunity for Years 7-11 to explore the fascinating subject of our minds and behaviour. Psych-Soc is open to sixth formers who would like to find out more about Psychology (or broaden their A level knowledge), discuss topical studies and issues in psychology, read popular psychology books or help organise psychology events in school.
Outside speakers are also invited into school to talk about their research and about pursuing
careers in Psychology. In the past, speakers have included Professor Miles Hewstone (Professor of Social
Psychology, University of Oxford) and Dr Judith Samuel (Consultant Clinical Psychologist).
Also look out for “This Week’s Psychology” notice board!
Trip to Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research, February 2008
For the first time this year, Year 13 Psychology students have studied the Brain and Behaviour topic at A2 level, and have been learning about methods of studying the brain. We were very privileged that we were able to see brain imaging in action at the JR hospital in February. Dr Norbury gave us a talk and a safety briefing (the girls were most concerned that participants undergoing a brain scan must remove all jewellery and make-up!), and we then entered the main console room. The girls were able to communicate with their volunteer via the control centre while “live” images of his brain appeared on screen!
Psychology Conference, March 2008
Oxford High School hosted an A level Psychology conference in March 2008 and were delighted that students from Cheney School were able to join us – Oxford High School has never had 70 A level psychologists in the building before! We were very fortunate that both Professor Charles Spence (a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Oxford) and Dr Simon Green (the chief examiner for our A level course, author of parts of our text books, and lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London) were able to run sessions. Professor Spence talked about some of the exciting applications of his Crossmodal research, including his collaborations with Heston Blumenthal (as seen on TV…), wine tasting, the use of mobile phones in cars, vibrating car-seat warning signals, and the effect of different scents when rating attractiveness (ask a sixth form psychologist!) On a more exam-focused note, Dr Green had excellent advice for students on improving their evaluation of research in essays and achieving a top grade, as well as some amusing stories about exam howlers…
Look at the BBC website to see Charles Spence’s work with Heston Blumenthal and to try out some experiments of your own!
Why Psychology?
“Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind
and behaviour.”
(British Psychological Society, 2007)
“…The discipline embraces all aspects of the human experience — from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged.” (American Psychological Association, 2007)
Students who are intrigued by the way people think and behave, enjoy the rigour of science subjects and are ready to challenge findings and to discuss theories are bound to enjoy Psychology.
Why people do the things they do is an age-old question. The roots of modern Psychology go back to the ancient Greek Philosophers in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. However, Psychology—the science concerned with behaviour—only became established as a discipline in its own right around 125 years ago. One of the exciting things about this is that the studies and theories that students learn about at A level are relatively new, and we are often learning about work that has only been carried out in the last few decades.
A level Psychology has become an increasingly popular choice among students in the UK in recent years and was introduced at Oxford High School in 2005. Although a relatively new subject, it is a successful one. In 2007, one third of the students at Oxford High School who studied the subject at A2 enjoyed it so much that they applied to read Psychology at University.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Psychology Club 2007-2008
This year activities have included testing short term memories and investigating visual illusions such as the Necker cube.
Psych Soc 2007-2008
This year in Psych Soc, we are reading and discussing the Royal Society Science Book if the Year 2007, “Stumbling on Happiness” by Daniel Gilbert. All 6th form are welcome. Come along and discuss whether you find the book entertaining or irritating!
Personnel
MA Cantab, Natural Sciences, DPhil. Oxon, Experimental Psychology
Dr Sarah Squire joined Oxford High School as Head of Psychology in September 2007 and also teaches
science.
She is passionate about Psychology! Prior to becoming a teacher, she lectured and gave tutorials
in Psychology while carrying out research at the University of Oxford. Her main interests
are cognitive developmental psychology, parent-child interactions and eating disorders. She maintains
links with the university and will be inviting speakers into Oxford High School as well as taking
psychology students to see research “in action”.
Facilities and Resources
The Psychology department has a wide range of text books, videos and DVDS which are used to bring psychology “to life” and to supplement students’ learning. This is complemented by a collection of books (both textbooks and popular reading) and the latest issues of Psychology Review in the School Library.
Psychology lessons are taught in two teaching rooms, each equipped with a networked PC and digital projector which facilitate the use of relevant video clips, websites and interactive resources. Discussion, debate, and practical investigations also form an integral part of Psychology lessons. Psychology involves a wide range of skills – everything from essay writing to statistics - and students learn in different ways; the varied activities adopted in lessons reflect these facts.
Curriculum
The current course details are summarised below, but further details about the new specification that we are likely to follow in September 2008 are available from Dr Squire, or can be found on the internet.
AS Level Psychology
- Unit 1: Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology.
- How do we remember things?
- How and why are some things forgotten?
- Can we rely on eye witness testimonies?
- Do all children form similar attachment relationships with their parents and those around them?
- Does day-care have any effect on children’s development?
Unit 2: Physiological Psychology and Individual Differences.- What is the biological response to stress?
- What factors affect stress, and how can stress be managed?
- How do we draw the line between what’s “normal” and what’s “abnormal” behaviour?
- What are eating disorders, and why do they develop- is it nature or nurture?
Unit 3: Social Psychology and Research Methods.- Why do people change their behaviour or attitude as a result of peer pressure? Why do people obey authority?
- What scientific methods can be used to study people’s behaviour?
- Is it ever ethical to observe people without their knowing?
- Can you deceive people about the purpose of your study?
Each of units 1-3 is assessed in a 1 hour written examination.
A2 Level Psychology
- Unit 4: Social, Physiological, Cognitive, Developmental & Comparative Psychology.
- Students study several topics taken from different areas of Psychology. A typical selection would be:
-
- Brain and Behaviour (What do different areas of the brain do? How do we know?)
- Cognitive Development (How do children develop logic? Is intelligence genetically determined?)
- Pro- and Anti-Social Behaviour (Does the media influence aggressive behaviour? Why might someone behave in an altruistic way?)
- Unit 5: Individual Differences and Perspectives.
- In this unit, students’ general understanding of psychology, the approaches used and the applications of psychology are assessed. There are three main components.
-
- Individual differences- three main psychological disorders are studied
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- Anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias).
- Applying the main approaches in psychology (e.g., the biological, behavioural and cognitive approaches) to explaining particular behaviours.
- Social, cultural and contemporary issues which concern psychologists: the use of animals in psychological research, ethical issues arising from using human participants, gender and culture bias.
Units 4 and 5 are assessed in written examinations.
Unit 6: Coursework.- Students plan and implement their own psychological investigation and write a psychological report. Last year, some of the questions investigated by students at Oxford High School were:
-
- Do people tend to be more attracted to members of the opposite sex who look physically similar to themselves than those who look different?
- Does it take people longer to perform a task in a distractive environment than in an empty, silent classroom?
- Does the perceived ugliness of an animal affect how scary it is perceived to be?
- Is there a difference between men and women in the ability to recognise emotions in the expressions of the eyes?
- Is an aggressive face recognised faster than a happy face when it is presented amongst neutral faces?
