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Year 11 and 12 Psychology

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Prerequisites​​​

Minimum Level of Achievement required:

  • General ​Science B result​​ or Psychology B result​
  • English C result

Co​​​requisites ​​

General English

Subject Description

Psychology provides opportunities ​for students to engage with concepts that explain behaviours and underlying cognitions. ​

In Unit 1, students examine individual development in the form of the role of the brain, cognitive development, human consciousness and sleep. In Unit 2, students investigate the concept of intelligence, the process of diagnosis and how to classify psychological disorder and determine an effective treatment, and lastly, the contribution of emotion and motivation on the individual behaviour. In Unit 3, students examine individual thinking and how it is determined by the brain, including perception, memory, and learning. In Unit 4, students consider the influence of others by examining theories of social psychology, interpersonal processes, attitudes and cross​-cultural psychology.

Weekly workload in hours ​

4+ hours

Structure​


Unit 1
Unit 2​ Unit 3​ Unit 4
Individual developm​ent
Individual beh​​aviour
Individual thinking
The influence of others
Topic 1
The role of the brain
Topic 1
Intelligence
Topic 1
​Brain function
Topic 1
Social psychology
Topic 2
​Cognitive development
Topic 2
Diagnosis
​​​Topic 2
Sensation and ​perception​
Topic 2
Interpers​onal processes
​Topic 3
Consciousness, attention, and sleep
​Topic 3
Psycholog​ical disorders and treatments
​Topic 3
​​​Memory
​Topic 3
Attitudes

​​​​
Topic 4
Emotion and motivation​
Topic 4
​​Learning
​​
​Topic 4
​Cross-cultural psychology​

Assessment

Schools devise assessments in Units 1 and 2 to suit their local context. In Units 3 and 4 students complete​ four summative assessments. The results from each of the assessments are added together to provide a subject score out of 100. Students will also receive an overall subject result (A–E).

Summative assessment

​Unit 1
Unit 2​
Formative internal assessment 1 (FA1):
Data test
10%​​Formative internal assessment 3 (FA3): Research investigation​20%​
Formative internal assessment 2 (FA2):
Student experiment​
20%​
Formative internal assessment (FA3):  50%
Examination ​​​​

Unit 3​​
​Unit 4​​
​​​Summative internal assessment 1 (IA1):
Data test
​​10%​​​

​​Summative internal assessment 3 (IA3):​
Research investigation
​​


​20%​ ​​
​Summative internal assessment 2 (IA2):​
Student experiment
​20%
​​​​​​Summative external assessment (EA): 50%


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Last reviewed 20 May 2025
Last updated 20 May 2025