§-Psychology syllabus
SA · SACE Board← Psychology
Psychology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the SA Psychology syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Topic 1: Psychology of the Individual
Module overview →What is intelligence and how can it be measured?
Explain competing definitions of intelligence and evaluate how it is measured, including IQ testing and issues of reliability, validity and bias
How do psychologists explain and describe personality?
Compare the main theoretical approaches to personality, including psychodynamic, humanistic, trait and social-cognitive perspectives
Topic 2: Psychological Health and Wellbeing
Module overview →How do we define and explain mental health and disorder?
Compare models used to define and explain mental health and mental disorder, including the biopsychosocial model and approaches to classifying normality
What is stress and how do people cope with it?
Explain the physiological and psychological responses to stress and evaluate strategies for coping
How are psychological disorders treated, and what makes an intervention effective?
Describe and evaluate biological, psychological and social treatments and interventions for mental health problems.
Topic 3: Organisational Psychology
Module overview →How does being part of a group change the way people behave and perform at work?
Explain how group processes such as cohesion, roles, groupthink and social loafing affect behaviour and performance in the workplace.
What motivates people at work, and what makes leadership effective?
Explain theories of work motivation and styles of leadership, and evaluate how they affect performance and satisfaction.
Topic 4: Social Influence
Module overview →How do attitudes form and change, and how do we explain the causes of behaviour?
Explain how attitudes are structured and changed, and describe attribution processes and common attribution errors.
Why do people change their behaviour to match a group or obey an authority figure?
Explain conformity and obedience using key studies (Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo) and the factors that increase or reduce them.
What causes prejudice and discrimination, and how can they be reduced?
Explain the causes of prejudice and discrimination and evaluate strategies for reducing them.
Topic 5: The Psychology of Learning
Module overview →How do we learn to associate one stimulus with another?
Explain classical conditioning using Pavlov's and Watson's research, including acquisition, extinction, generalisation and discrimination.
How do we learn by watching others rather than by direct experience?
Explain observational learning using Bandura's social learning theory and the four processes of attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
How do the consequences of behaviour change how likely we are to repeat it?
Explain operant conditioning, including reinforcement, punishment and schedules of reinforcement, using Thorndike and Skinner.