Context - GCSE Psychology Definition

Reviewed by: Claire Neeson

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In GCSE Psychology, 'context' refers to the various situational and environmental factors that surround an event or a subject and can influence behaviour, perception, and interpretation. Context can include physical settings, social norms, cultural background, and historical time periods that provide a framework for understanding psychological phenomena. Recognising the context is crucial for psychologists as it helps in comprehending how different circumstances can affect individual thoughts, feelings, and actions, leading to more accurate analysis and application of psychological theories and principles. Understanding context aids students in interpreting psychological experiments and studies more effectively by considering these external influences.

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Claire Neeson

Reviewer: Claire Neeson

Expertise: Psychology Content Creator

Claire has been teaching for 34 years, in the UK and overseas. She has taught GCSE, A-level and IB Psychology which has been a lot of fun and extremely exhausting! Claire is now a freelance Psychology teacher and content creator, producing textbooks, revision notes and (hopefully) exciting and interactive teaching materials for use in the classroom and for exam prep. Her passion (apart from Psychology of course) is roller skating and when she is not working (or watching 'Coronation Street') she can be found busting some impressive moves on her local roller rink.

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