Qualification: A level

Examination Board: AQA

The course is linear and will be examined entirely at the end of 2 years’ study. There is no assessed course work component.

Introductory topics in Psychology

Social Influence: Why do people obey? Why do people help others? How do people form groups?

Memory: How do we store and retrieve information? What are the implications for eyewitness testimony?

Attachment: How do children form attachments to their care-givers? What differences are there in attachment between cultures?

Psychopathology: What is normality? How can we define abnormality? Where do phobias come from?

Psychology in Context

Approaches in Psychology: How does the social approach see behaviour? What do psychologists study in the developmental approach?

Biopsychology: What parts of the brain are responsible for our behaviour? How do neuro-transmitters work?

Research Methods: How do we conduct research studies? How can we use inferential statistics? What makes a psychological study reliable?

Issues and Options in Psychology

Issues and Debates in Psychology: Is behaviour due to nature or nurture? What ethical considerations are there when conducting psychological research?

Cognition and Development: How do children develop intellectually? What are the applications to understanding the cognitive differences of autism, for example?

Schizophrenia: What are the relative merits of different theories of the causes of schizophrenia? How effective are different treatments of schizophrenia?

Forensic Psychology: What makes some people more likely to commit crime? Is there a ‘violent gene’?

Assessment

Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology

Duration: 2 hours

Weighting: 33.3% of total A level

Paper 2: Psychology in Context

Duration: 2 hours

Weighting: 33.3% of total A level

Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology

Duration: 2 hours

Weighting: 33.3% of total A level

Skills needed for the course:

The ability to remember details.

The ability to analyse, be critical of research and suggest solutions. The ability to write detailed evaluative short essay answers.

To be organised and meet deadlines.

What kinds of students are most suited to this course?

Students who are curious! Who question, explore and examine human behaviour in detail, who can think about things from different points of view and who can discuss issues. Psychologists ask questions such as:

·     “What causes humans to behave the way they do?”

·     “How do children learn to think?”

·     “How can people develop their memory?”

·     “Who are the normal people?”

These all start out from simple observations of everyday human experience. You might see a news report about people panicking in a fire or about a new way of dealing with young offenders. Or you might notice a young cousin having difficulty with spelling. The Psychologist will ask:

·      “How can I understand that better? What can I do about it?”

What other courses often combine successfully with this?

Almost anything: humanity subjects and science subjects complement the skills required for Psychology particularly well.

What career or higher education options might this course lead to?

Higher Education Courses: Degree (BA/BSc/Honours) in Psychology or subjects such as Criminology or Social Policy; Degree (BSC/ honours) in Mental Health Nursing; PhD in Clinical Psychology or Educational Psychology.

Career options:

Forensic Psychology; Speech Therapy; Teaching; Child Psychology; Clinical Psychology; Sport Psychology; Nursing; Journalism; Probation Service; Politics; Human Resource Management; Media; Social Services; Counselling; Management; Educational Psychology ; Law; Advertising; Research; Prison Services; Civil Service; Occupational Psychology and Health Psychology.

What extra-curricular activities support this course?

Researching and reading around the course material. Keeping up-to-date with relevant current issues that relate to the course.  Subject trip in year 13. [Destination to be confirmed]

Student Quotes:

“It involves a lot of hard work and a good memory, there is an incredibly wide variety of stuff to learn about.”

“A challenging but rewarding course. It made me learn a lot about myself and others’ thoughts and actions”.

“It’s a challenge, I thought it might be easy but it turns out you have to work. It’s good though, you learn a lot about life and why we do the things we do. Keep on top of the work.  If you get behind it’s hard to keep up”.

“It’s really interesting and I am excited about studying Psychology at university.”