GCSE (for first teaching in 2009) Psychology - J611

What are the changes?

While we've made some important changes and improved our GCSEs, we haven't changed everything. Here you can see which aspects of GCSE Humanities are changing, and which will stay the same.

 

What changes?

What stays the same?

Structure
  • Moderated coursework has been removed, and a research unit added.
  • Three-unit structure
  • Same unit weighting (40%, 40%, 20%).

Content
  • The new core studies are:
    • Bickman: social power of a uniform
    • Diamond: sex reassignment at birth
    • Haber and Levin: independence of size and distance perception
    • Hazen and Shaver: romantic love conceptualised as an attachment process
    • Mednick, Gabrielli and Hutchings: genetic influences in criminal convictions
    • Piaget: child's conception of number
    • Terry: serial position effects in recall of TV commercials
    • Van Houtte and Jarvis: role of pets in preadolescent psychosocial development
    • Watson and Rayner: conditioned emotional reactions
    • Yuki Maddux and Masuda: cultural differences in recognising emotions
  • New approach to research
  • New topics include: non-verbal communication and the self.
  • The specification retains some theories and concepts
  • Familiar topics include: phobias, gender and cognitive development.

Assessment
  • 100% examination assessed
  • No coursework
  • January sessions now available.
  • Two units on Studies and Applications in Psychology assessed by examination