Psychology Learning Day
On Tuesday 28th March, Year 13 Psychology students participated in an extra-curricular Psychology Learning Day. During the day, they took part in four sessions; an online webinar with the Freud Museum London, an in-depth look and Dr Zimbardo’s work, a forensic crime scene investigation and a psychology-themed escape room.
The online session with the Freud Museum was hosted by psychoanalyst Stefan, who discussed schizophrenia from a psychoanalytic perspective. This involved discussion around the causes and characteristics of schizophrenia, the triggering of an acute psychotic crisis, hallucinations and delusions, stabilisation, and the role of therapy. Students were able to hear anecdotes from Stefan’s several years’ clinical experience working with patients experiencing psychosis. Stefan thanked the Year 13 students for their thoughtful and inquisitive questions on this topic! Students said it was a “very insightful session, offering a new perspective on schizophrenia” (Kelis Carver) and “it was interesting to hear from someone so invested in psychodynamic beliefs” (Umaira Mohammad).
In session two, students watched a TED talk on the ‘Psychology of Evil’ delivered by Dr Phil Zimbardo, researched the work of the Heroic Imagination Project and discussed the statement, ‘the opposite of a hero is not a villain; it’s a bystander’ and how we could combat the bystander effect as individuals and in society.
During the third session, students applied their knowledge of Forensic Psychology to solve the murder of Deid Mann. Students analysed the data; gathering evidence from the crime scene, listening to interviews of suspects and used assimilation to develop a profile of the potential offender. When they believed they had solved the case, they presented their theory and supporting evidence to the Chief Inspector (Miss Daniels, Head of Psychology). Students were really engaged with this and said “I enjoyed the interactive element, putting our forensic knowledge into practice” (Emma Shaw).
During the final session, students were given the task of revealing the evil mastermind behind some new unethical research. All they knew was that there was a plan to kidnap people’s pets and take them to a secret laboratory to conduct various experiments on them. Students had to apply their knowledge of Psychology (from all A-Level topics) to solve the clues to figure out the name of the researcher, the number of pets they planned to kidnap, the location and country of the secret lab and ultimately the combination of the lock so they could escape and go home!
It was a day thoroughly enjoyed by all and we now wish the Year 13 students the best of luck with their upcoming exams.
