PSYC301

NCEA Level 3 Psychology 301

Course Description

Teacher in Charge: Ms R. Lomax.

Social Sciences 301 Psychology
Psychology is the study of human behaviour. The emphasis of this course is on helping students understand the theoretical concepts and research methods associated with Psychology. The Year 13 Psychology programme will focus on

  • Sleep - Sleep cycles, theories of sleep, sleep disorders and sleep deprivation. Students take part in a 24 hours sleep deprivation experiment at school. Students participate and conduct experiments throughout the night. The experiment aims to test the impact of sleep deprivation on reaction time, memory, emotions and sociability. During the night, there is food supplied and a range of activities to keep students focused. All students are allowed to sleep if they feel they cannot continue with the experiment, and all students are excused from lessons the next day.
  • Helping behaviour - we look at factors that impact whether we help each other. Students then apply theory to conduct their own investigation in Wellington. Students have to pass an ethical committee before they are allowed to conduct their investigations.
  • Clinical Psychology -Students learn the theories of OCD and other mental health disorders and studies' ethical issues. Students will also learn about treatments and how they relate to theory.
  • Māori Psychology: The comparison of the definition of health between Māori and Pākehā, history of mental health in New Zealand, the ethnocentric nature of mental health diagnosis, and current psychological research around counselling in New Zealand.

UE Approved Subject

Course Overview

Term 1
Clinical Psychology -Students will discuss the definitions of abnormality and the history of the treatment of mental illness. They will also discuss the key idea of the reliability and validity of psychological diagnosis.
Psychology 3.2 - Analyse the significance of a key piece of research and its impact on society
Students will learn the Biological, Cognitive-Behavioural and Psychodynamic theories of OCD and the treatments and how they relate to theory. They will learn about how these theories interact to explain and treat OCD.
Psychology 3.1 - Analyse the interaction between psychological approaches

Term 2
Sleep - Sleep cycles, theories of sleep, sleep disorders and sleep deprivation. Students take part in a 24 hours sleep deprivation experiment at school. Students participate and conduct experiments throughout the night at set intervals. The experiment aims to test the impact of sleep deprivation on reaction time, memory, emotions and sociability.

Helping behaviour - we look at factors that impact whether we help each other. Students then apply theory to conduct their own investigation in Wellington.

Psychology 3.3 - Conduct independent psychological research with consultation

Term 3
Māori Psychology: The comparison of the definition of health between Māori and Pākehā, the role of language, history of mental health, how Māori are represented in mental health statistics, the ethnocentric nature of mental health diagnosis, and current psychological research around counselling in New Zealand.

Psychology 3.4 - Analyse how theories are applied within a field of psychological practice

Term 4
Māori Psychology: The comparison of the definition of health between Māori and Pākehā, history of mental health in New Zealand, the ethnocentric nature of mental health diagnosis, and current psychological research around counselling in New Zealand.

Psychology 3.5 - Analyse a significant issue in psychological practice

Recommended Prior Learning

The maturity to cope with all aspects of human behaviour in a classroom environment. In addition to this, gained level 2, with 12 or more credits from Achievement Standards in English or a Social Science course (i.e. History, Geography).

If you continue from PSYC201, you must have gained at least an Achieved grade in four of the five internals. 


Contributions and Equipment/Stationery

There will be one or more psychology trips within the Wellington region during the year. Total time out could be up to 2 days.

Credit Information

You will be assessed in this course through all or a selection of the standards listed below.

This course is eligible for subject endorsement.

This course is approved for University Entrance.

Total Credits Available: 22 credits.
Externally Assessed Credits: 3 credits.
Internally Assessed Credits: 19 credits.

Assessment
Description
Level
Internal or
External
Credits
L1 Literacy Credits
UE Literacy Credits
Numeracy Credits
A.S. 91872 v1
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.1 - Analyse the interaction between psychological approaches

Further assessment opportunities will not be offered for this standard in line with NZQA guidelines

Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 6
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 6r
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91873 v1
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.2 - Analyse the significance of a key piece of research and its impact on society

Further assessment opportunities will not be offered for this standard in line with NZQA guidelines

Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 3
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 3r
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91874 v1
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.3 - Conduct independent psychological research with consultation

Further assessment opportunities will not be offered for this standard in line with NZQA guidelines

Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 6
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 6r
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91875 v1
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.4 - Analyse how theories are applied within a field of psychological practice
Level: 3
Internal or External: Internal
Credits: 4
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 4r
Numeracy Credits: 0
A.S. 91876 v1
NZQA Info
Psychology 3.5 - Analyse a significant issue in psychological practice
Level: 3
Internal or External: External
Credits: 3
Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
University Entrance Literacy Credits: 3r,3w
Numeracy Credits: 0
Credit Summary
Total Credits: 22
Total Level 1 Literacy Credits: 0
Total University Entrance Literacy Credits: 22
Total Numeracy Credits: 0