§-Psychology syllabus
QLD · QCAA← Psychology
Psychology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the QLD Psychology syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Unit 3: Individual thinking
Module overview →How do brain trauma and neurological disorders disrupt individual thinking, and how does the brain attempt to recover?
Explain how acquired brain injury and neurological disorders affect cognition and behaviour, and describe how neuroplasticity supports recovery of function
How does a child's thinking change in stages from birth to adolescence according to Piaget?
Describe Piaget's stages of cognitive development and explain the processes of assimilation, accommodation and equilibration that drive movement between stages
How do social interaction, culture and language shape the development of a child's thinking according to Vygotsky?
Explain Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development, including the zone of proximal development, scaffolding, the more knowledgeable other and the role of language
How do psychologists define what is normal and use classification systems to diagnose psychological disorders?
Explain how normality and abnormality are defined, and describe how classification systems such as the DSM are used to diagnose psychological disorders, including the issues this raises
What is emotional intelligence, how does it differ from general intelligence, and can it be measured?
Explain the concept of emotional intelligence, describe its components and models, and evaluate how it relates to and differs from cognitive intelligence
How does the structure and function of the brain explain individual thinking?
Describe the localisation of function in the cerebral cortex and explain how lesion, split-brain and neuroimaging evidence links specific brain regions to cognition
How do psychologists model the structures and processes that allow us to encode, store and retrieve memories?
Describe the multi-store and working memory models of memory and explain the brain structures and processes involved in encoding, storage and retrieval
How does the brain change its structure and reorganise its function in response to experience and injury?
Explain neuroplasticity, including developmental and adaptive plasticity, the mechanisms of synaptic change, and how the brain reorganises after injury
How do bottom-up and top-down processes shape what we perceive and attend to?
Explain the role of bottom-up and top-down processing in perception, and describe how selective and divided attention determine which information reaches awareness
How do competing theories define and measure intelligence, and how reliable and valid are intelligence tests?
Compare theories of intelligence including general intelligence and multiple intelligences, and evaluate how intelligence is measured and the reliability and validity of intelligence testing
How do classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning explain changes in behaviour?
Describe classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning, and explain how each accounts for the acquisition of behaviours including learnt fear
Unit 4: The influence of others
Module overview →How are attitudes structured, how do they form, and what makes them change?
Describe the tri-component model of attitudes and explain how attitudes form and change, including cognitive dissonance and persuasion
Why do individuals change their behaviour to match a group or comply with authority?
Explain conformity and obedience as forms of social influence, and describe the situational and individual factors that affect them using classic studies
How does being in a group change the way individuals think, feel and behave?
Explain how group membership affects cognition and emotion, including group polarisation, groupthink, deindividuation and the bystander effect
What makes people help others, and what makes people behave aggressively or fail to help?
Explain the factors that influence prosocial behaviour and the factors that influence antisocial behaviour and aggression, using studies such as Bandura's and the bystander research
How does belonging to a group create stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, and how can intergroup hostility be reduced?
Explain social identity theory and how it produces stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, and evaluate strategies for reducing intergroup conflict
How do status, power and assigned social roles shape the way individuals think, feel and behave?
Explain the concepts of status and power, describe the bases of social power, and analyse how status and assigned roles influence behaviour using studies such as Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment