Name:

Paget High School

Work for Potential Psychology Students

Before you embark on an A or AS Level Psychology course,you must demonstrate that:

●you have good English language, maths and science skills;

●you can follow written instructions;

●you can use your initiative to find information from different sources;

●you can write in paragraphs with logical chains of reasoning;

●you are willing to work hard and ask questions; and

●you are prepared to struggle with new concepts.

Your response to the following activities will tell us if you have some of the skills required to succeed at A Level Psychology. Read the instructions carefully and use any sources at your disposal to help you. If you have questions about the work, you can e-mail:

Maths

  1. Calculate the mean, median, mode and range for the data set below.

Show your working out.

Participant no. / Score
1 / 8
2 / 11
3 / 19
4 / 11
5 / 9
mean
median
mode
range
  1. For the same data set, follow the instructions for calculating the standard deviation.

Basic Calculator Method
1)Calculate the mean ()for the data set.
Add up the scores and divide by the number of participants to find
2)Calculate the deviation for each value.
Subtract the mean from each score.
3)Square the deviation for each value.
Find the square of each result in step 2.
4)Find the sum (Σ) of the squared deviations.
Add up all the results for step 3.
5)Substitute the values for and n(number of participants) into the formula and find the square root.
Divide the result of step 4 by n-1. Then find the square root.

Use this table to help you set out your work

Ppt no. / Score
(x) / Deviation
/ Deviation squared

1 / 8
2 / 11
3 / 19
4 / 11
5 / 9
Total /

Standard deviation is a measure of dispersion. It is tells us the average distance from the mean, of all the scores.

Here is the formula for calculating standard deviation:

Once you have found the value forin the table above, substitute it into the formula. Show your working out, step by step. Find the value of s to two decimal places.

Research and note-taking skills

1)Use at least three sources to investigate the Scientific Status of Psychology.

2)Identify the sources (e.g. book title and author; website address, YouTube address...)

3)Organise the information in a handwritten mind map. (If you need A3 or larger paper, see Miss Marriott.)

Here are terms that you must include:

●replicability / replication

●reliability

●validity

●reductionism

●falsification

●empiricism

●hypothesis testing

●use of controls

Here are terms that you may wish to include:

●objectivity

●holism

●positivism

●nomothetic

●idiographic

●inductive reasoning

●deductive reasoning

Writing Skills

Use the mind map that you have made, to plan and answer the following essay question. (handwritten or typed)

To what extent can psychology be considered scientific?

●Your answer (approximately 1,000 words) must be written in paragraphs, with logical chains of reasoning.

●Your essay should answer the following questions:

●What is a science?

●What aspects of psychology may be considered scientific and why?

●What aspects of psychology may be considered unscientific and why?

●Your final paragraph should present a balanced conclusion.