📚 Cambridge IGCSE Psychology Syllabus: A Complete Breakdown | IGCSE Cambridge 心理学:课程大纲全面解析
The Cambridge IGCSE Psychology course (subject code 0266) introduces students to the scientific study of mind and behaviour. It combines psychological theory, research evidence, and practical applications to help learners understand why people think, feel, and act as they do. The syllabus is designed to develop analytical skills, evaluation of evidence, and an appreciation of ethical issues in psychological research.
剑桥 IGCSE 心理学课程(科目代码 0266)引导学生科学地研究心理与行为。它结合心理学理论、研究证据和实际应用,帮助学生理解人们为何会有特定的思维、情感与行为。课程旨在培养分析能力、对证据的评价能力以及对心理学研究伦理问题的理解。
1. Syllabus Structure and Core Themes | 课程结构与核心主题
The Cambridge IGCSE Psychology syllabus is organised into six core topic areas plus a research methods strand. The six core topics are memory and forgetting, sleep and dreams, prosocial behaviour, visual perception, motivation and learning, and social influence. Research methods are woven throughout the course and assessed explicitly in Paper 2.
剑桥 IGCSE 心理学课程大纲分为六个核心主题领域和研究方法部分。六个核心主题是:记忆与遗忘、睡眠与梦、亲社会行为、视觉知觉、动机与学习以及社会影响。研究方法贯穿整个课程,并在 Paper 2 中单独考查。
Each core topic requires you to understand key theories, describe relevant psychological research, and evaluate strengths and weaknesses. You should be able to apply psychological concepts to everyday examples and consider cultural and ethical implications, not simply memorise definitions.
每个核心主题都要求你理解主要理论、描述相关的心理学研究并评价其优点与不足。你应当能够将心理学概念应用于日常事例,并考虑文化和伦理影响,而不仅仅是记住定义。
2. Assessment at a Glance | 评估方式概览
Candidates take two written papers. Paper 1 focuses on the six core topics through short-answer and structured questions. Paper 2 focuses on research methods, including experimental design, data interpretation, and evaluation of psychological studies. There is no coursework component, so all assessment is by written examination.
考生需要参加两份笔试。Paper 1 通过简答题和结构化问题考查六个核心主题。Paper 2 考查研究方法,包括实验设计、数据解释以及对心理学研究的评价。课程没有课程作业,所有评估均通过笔试完成。
| Paper | Focus | Question style |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Core topics | Short-answer and structured questions |
| Paper 2 | Research methods | Data response and method evaluation |
Because both papers demand clear written communication, you should practise explaining concepts in full sentences and using psychological terminology accurately. Marks are often awarded for explicit references to studies, methods, and evaluation points.
由于两份试卷都要求清晰的书写作答,你应当练习用完整句子解释概念,并准确使用心理学专业术语。考试中常因明确引用研究、方法和评价要点而得分。
3. Assessment Objectives and Command Words | 评估目标与指令词
The syllabus uses three assessment objectives: AO1 knowledge and understanding, AO2 application, and AO3 evaluation. AO1 questions ask you to define, describe, or outline concepts and research. AO2 questions ask you to apply knowledge to new scenarios, such as explaining a real-world behaviour or predicting an outcome.
课程大纲使用三个评估目标:AO1 知识与理解、AO2 应用和 AO3 评价。AO1 题目要求你定义、描述或概述概念和研究。AO2 题目要求你将知识应用到新情境中,例如解释现实行为或预测结果。
| Assessment objective | What it tests | Example command words |
|---|---|---|
| AO1 Knowledge and understanding | Recall and comprehension of theories, terms, studies | Define, describe, outline, identify |
| AO2 Application | Use knowledge in new situations | Apply, explain, suggest, predict |
| AO3 Evaluation | Weigh evidence, assess limitations, discuss issues | Evaluate, discuss, compare, justify |
AO3 evaluation is often the most challenging objective. When you see words like ‘discuss’ or ‘evaluate’, you must go beyond description and comment on strengths, weaknesses, ethical issues, validity, reliability, and alternative explanations.
AO3 评价通常是最具挑战性的目标。当你看到“discuss”或“evaluate”等词时,你必须超越描述,评论优点、缺点、伦理问题、效度、信度以及替代解释。
4. Core Topic 1: Memory and Forgetting | 核心主题一:记忆与遗忘
This topic explores how information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Students learn about the multi-store model of memory, including sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. They also examine explanations of forgetting such as interference, retrieval failure, and context effects, alongside key case studies and experimental evidence.
本主题探究信息如何被编码、储存和提取。学生将学习记忆的多重储存模型,包括感觉记忆、短时记忆和长时记忆。他们还会研究遗忘的解释,如干扰、提取失败和情境效应,并了解关键案例研究和实验证据。
Classic research such as studies of amnesia patients and reconstructive memory experiments helps learners appreciate how memory is an active process rather than a passive recording. You should be able to describe the aims, procedures, findings, and conclusions of relevant studies, and evaluate their ecological validity and ethical dimensions.
失忆症患者研究和重构记忆实验等经典研究帮助学生认识到记忆是一个主动过程,而非被动记录。你应当能够描述相关研究的目的、程序、发现和结论,并评价其生态效度和伦理维度。
5. Core Topic 2: Sleep and Dreams | 核心主题二:睡眠与梦
This topic covers the stages of sleep, including REM and NREM sleep, and the functions of dreaming. Students evaluate theories such as the restorative theory of sleep, Freud’s wish-fulfilment view of dreams, and the activation-synthesis model. They also consider sleep disorders and the effects of sleep deprivation on behaviour.
本主题涵盖睡眠的各个阶段,包括快速眼动睡眠(REM)和非快速眼动睡眠(NREM),以及做梦的功能。学生将评价睡眠恢复理论、弗洛伊德的愿望满足理论以及激活-整合模型等。他们还会探讨睡眠障碍和睡眠剥夺对行为的影响。
Questions in this area often ask you to compare biological and psychological explanations, or to discuss whether dreams have meaning. Use evidence from sleep laboratory studies, case reports, and brain imaging where appropriate to support your arguments.
这一部分的题目常要求你比较生理学和心理学的解释,或讨论梦是否有意义。在适当的情况下,运用睡眠实验室研究、个案报告和脑成像证据来支持你的论点。
6. Core Topic 3: Prosocial Behaviour | 核心主题三:亲社会行为
This topic examines why people help others, focusing on altruism and the bystander effect. Learners study factors that influence helping behaviour, such as diffusion of responsibility, perceived cost and reward, and social norms. Classic field and laboratory studies are used to illustrate how situational and personal factors interact.
本主题考察人们为何帮助他人,重点关注利他主义和旁观者效应。学生将学习影响助人行为的因素,如责任分散、感知成本与回报以及社会规范。经典现场研究和实验室研究被用来解释情境因素与个人因素如何相互作用。
A common exam task is to explain why a bystander might not intervene in an emergency. You should link concepts such as pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility, and audience inhibition to the specific details of the scenario rather than giving a generic answer.
考试中常见的任务是解释为什么旁观者可能在紧急情况下不采取行动。你应当将多元无知、责任分散和观众抑制等概念与情境的具体细节联系起来,而不是给出泛泛的回答。
7. Core Topic 4: Visual Perception | 核心主题四:视觉知觉
This topic distinguishes sensation from perception and examines how the brain constructs a three-dimensional view of the world. Students learn about monocular and binocular depth cues, visual illusions, and the debate between constructivist and direct theories of perception, including top-down and bottom-up processing.
本主题区分感觉与知觉,并研究大脑如何构建三维世界。学生将学习单眼和双眼深度线索、视错觉,以及知觉的建构主义理论与直接理论之间的争论,包括自上而下和自下而上的加工。
Visual illusions such as the Müller-Lyer and Ponzo illusions provide useful evidence for evaluation questions. You can use them to discuss whether perception is mainly learned or innate, and whether context and expectation alter how we interpret sensory input.
穆勒-莱尔错觉和庞佐错觉等视错觉为评价类题目提供了有用的证据。你可以用它们来讨论知觉主要是习得的还是先天的,以及情境和期望是否会改变我们对感觉输入的解释。
8. Core Topic 5: Motivation and Learning | 核心主题五:动机与学习
This topic introduces key learning theories: classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning theory. Students study reinforcement, punishment, schedules of reinforcement, and the role of modelling and vicarious reinforcement. They also explore the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and apply these ideas to behaviour change.
本主题介绍主要的学习理论:经典条件作用、操作性条件作用和社会学习理论。学生将研究强化、惩罚、强化程式以及示范和替代性强化的作用。他们还会探究内在动机与外在动机的区别,并将这些理念应用于行为改变。
When answering on learning theories, you may need to identify unconditioned and conditioned stimuli, or explain how positive and negative reinforcement differ from punishment. Be precise with terminology and use examples from human or animal studies to demonstrate understanding.
在回答学习理论题目时,你可能需要辨别非条件刺激和条件刺激,或解释正强化、负强化与惩罚有何不同。请准确使用术语,并用人类或动物研究的例子来展示理解。
9. Core Topic 6: Social Influence | 核心主题六:社会影响
This topic focuses on how individuals are shaped by groups and authority. Students examine conformity, compliance, and obedience, and evaluate classic studies such as Asch’s line experiments and Milgram’s obedience research. They also discuss factors that
Published by TutorHao | IGCSE Psychology Revision Series | aleveler.com
更多咨询请联系16621398022(同微信)
屏轩国际教育cambridge primary/secondary checkpoint, cat4, ukiset,ukcat,igcse,alevel,PAT,STEP,MAT, ibdp,ap,ssat,sat,sat2课程辅导,国外大学本科硕士研究生博士课程论文辅导Cancel reply