| Exam Board | AQA |
| Qualification | A Level |
| Entry
Requirements |
Grade 6 in English Language and Mathematics |
| Content
(Outline of Course) |
You will study a range of introductory topics in Psychology in Year 12. They include social influence, which looks at why people conform and obey; memory, which explores how people remember and why they forget; attachment, which investigates how bonds form and why they are important; and psychopathology, which explains how we define, explain, and treat various mental health disorders. Psychology in context will also be considered by looking at the different approaches that psychologists use to explain human behaviour, and the methods used in psychological research. Finally, Year 12 will also entail focusing on biopsychology to address how our physical state influences our thoughts and behaviours. In Year 13, issues and debates are studied, including assessing the influence of nature and nurture on behaviour and the importance of acknowledging the role of free will and individual differences when explaining actions. You will also focus on schizophrenia by looking at how we describe, explain, and treat this chronic illness. To build on your knowledge of how we develop, you will study cognition and development to understand further how we grow as humans over our lifetimes. The final topic you will study is addiction, to give you an understanding of how we can address this complex issue to reduce its effect on society. |
| Assessment | A-level Psychology is assessed through three two-hour papers. These are:
Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology, worth 33.3%. This assesses your knowledge of social influence, memory, attachment, and psychopathology. Paper 2: Psychology in Context, worth 33.3%. This assesses your knowledge of approaches, biopsychology, and research methods. Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology, worth 33.3%. This assesses your knowledge of issues and debates, schizophrenia, cognition and development, and addiction. |
| Careers Guidance | Psychology develops a range of valuable skills, including critical analysis of theories and research, independent thinking, and the planning of investigations. In developing these skills, Psychology will prepare you for a range of careers or university courses including Psychology and other social sciences. Due to the transferable skills that are taught through this course, it will also be useful for further studies that lead to careers in occupational health, marketing, business development, nursing, teaching, law and, of course, various areas within Psychology.
Recent graduate information has shown people with an A-Level in Psychology have progressed into employment with roles such as a research assistant and psychologist. |
Key Information
Transition Work
The transition work for Psychology can be found below.
Students should attempt to complete one task weekly over the summer ahead of the start of the course.
Booklet
