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Social Sciences

Sociology

Sociology is an exciting and fascinating subject that explores society, the people in it ie us, and why people behave the way they do.  Are you interested in finding answers to the following questions?

  • Why do some students do better in school than others?
  • Why do some people turn to crime, whilst others don’t?  
  • Why do some families function better than others? 
  • Is there such a thing as a new man?
  • Is childhood disappearing “at a dazzling speed”?
  • Why are people living longer than ever before?
  • Why are both marriages and births on the decline?
  • Do people behave differently if they know they are being observed?-Think Big Brother?
  • What happens to researchers who lie in order to infiltrate inner-city gangs?

If you are, then consider Sociology as an A level option.

And now the formal bit……………………..

The department

Psychology is taught by 2 members of staff, Mr Watton and Mr Reynolds, whilst Sociology is taught by 3, Mrs Pickering, Mr Lam and Mr Reynolds.  All of us are enthusiastic and committed teachers, with high expectations of our students. 

The courses

Currently, both subjects are taught at Key Stage 5 at AS and A2 level.  Psychology follows the OCR syllabus and consists of 4 units:
AS-students take exams in Investigations and Core studies
A2-students take exams in Methods and approaches and Forensic/Sport psychology

Sociology follows the AQA syllabus and consists of 4 units:
AS-Families and households and Education combined with Theories and Methods
A2- Religion and Crime and Deviance combined with Theory and methods

Resources

There is an on-line bank of resources made up of handouts and lesson plans.  There is a wide range of model answers available to facilitate learning and help with exam practice.  All students will have access to a text book and Psychology students have CD Rom to help with revision.

Additional provision

Standard tutorials are set for students in order to extend and consolidate learning, these usually take place in coursework clinic time.

Social Science Vision

Within Psychology, students are expected to develop their evaluation skills and critical thinking.  Within Sociology the emphasis is on indentifying, assessing and explaining.  Both subjects encourage independent learning.   We want our students to be better prepared learners who can transfer their skills from unit to unit, and subject to subject.

Other links

As you can see from the units mentioned above, if you have an interest/ability in Humanities, Biology or PE then Psychology and Sociology are for you.  You also need a good standard of written English - BOTH SUBJECTS REQUIRE A LOT OF WRITING.

We would expect students to have a GCSE Grade B or above in English for Sociology and a GCSE Grade B or above in Science for Psychology.
 

Psychology

Moving Still picture

Psychology is the study of the mind, people’s behaviour, the criminally insane and whether you would electrocute someone if you were told to!

It has produced some amazing facts you know….

  • Chimpanzees can talk! Amazing but true, A study by Savage and Rumbaugh has found that chimpanzees can use American Sign Language and have even taught other chimpanzees to use it!
  • Dr Alan Hirsch has found surprising links between perfectionism and the urges to munch tortilla chips and even a connection between introversion and the consumption of cream crackers! (I wonder what eating lots of chocolate means?)
  • Elizabeth Loftus has found evidence that by simply changing how we ask a question we can actually change people’s memory! People who watched a car crash reported seeing broken glass even though it wasn’t there! Why? By simply telling them that the car smashed into the lamp post rather than just hitting it!
  • There is something called the ‘screw you’ effect! Apparently if you are asked to answer some questions it is possible that you will answer incorrectly on purpose just to stop the person asking the questions getting the answers they want! This may explain why students give the wrong answers to simple questions!
  • The amount of saliva you produce after putting a drop of lemon juice on your tongue might tell you something about your personality! If you produce a lot of spit then you are an introvert (quiet) and in if you produce only a little bit of spit then you are an extrovert (loud)!
  • A study in 1963 by Stanley Milgram found people of all ages and backgrounds will electrocute a person if they are told to by someone in a lab coat! You may think that this isn’t too bad however all participants who were in this study electrocuted a person up to 300 volts! (that’s enough to kill someone!)

If all these interesting and lets be honest strange facts have got you thinking you should definitely consider Psychology at A-level!
 


Click here for more information on the exams taken at Coppice.


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