Psychology

This very popular A level option will appeal to people with either a scientific or humanities interest. It goes well with many other A level combinations and is the fastest growing A level in the country, now the third most popular choice.

Students will develop an understanding of the main areas of psychology: cognitive, developmental, physiological, comparative and social as well as an understanding of psychological research methods.

The course is designed to offer students opportunities to develop knowledge and understanding of psychological concepts and theories carry out studies taking account of the ethical, reliability and validity issues in the subject. The course followed is the AQA Specification A.

The AS units comprise:

Cognitive and developmental psychology
Physiological psychology and individual differences
Social psychology and research methods

The A2 units comprise:

Social, physiological, cognitive, developmental and comparative psychology
Individual differences and perspectives
Coursework based on an experimental design

All students should purchase a copy of the textbook Essential AS Psychology for AQA.

We follow the OCR syllabus Link here.

The AS course in Year 12
G541	Examination 1hr	30% AS 15% GCE	Psychological Investigations – Learners become familiar with four techniques of collecting/analysing data: self-report, experiment, observation and correlation.
G542	Examination 2hr	70% AS 35% GCE	Core Studies- Learners build knowledge and understanding of 15 psychological studies. These cover Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Social Psychology and the Psychology of Individual Differences.
The A2 course in Year 13:
G543	Examination 1 hr 30 mins	25 % of GCE	Options in Applied Psychology- Students will focus on how psychology is used in two applied areas: Forensic Psychology and Health and Clinical Psychology.
G544	Examination 1 hr 30 mins	25% of GCE	Approaches and Research Methods- Now familiar with research methodology and techniques covered at AS, candidates learn how to apply this and other material learnt in everyday settings. Learners bring together critical thinking skills to look at topical arguments in psychology in the form of perspectives, issues and debates.

The AS course in Year 12

G541

Examination

1hr

30% AS

15% GCE

Psychological Investigations –

Learners become familiar with four techniques of collecting/analysing data: self-report, experiment, observation and correlation.

G542

Examination

2hr

70% AS

35% GCE

Core Studies-

Learners build knowledge and understanding of 15 psychological studies. These cover Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Social Psychology and the Psychology of Individual Differences.

The A2 course in Year 13:

G543

Examination

1 hr 30 mins

25 % of GCE

Options in Applied Psychology-

Students will focus on how psychology is used in two applied areas: Forensic Psychology and Health and Clinical Psychology.

G544

Examination

1 hr 30 mins

25% of GCE

Approaches and Research Methods-

Now familiar with research methodology and techniques covered at AS, candidates learn how to apply this and other material learnt in everyday settings. Learners bring together critical thinking skills to look at topical arguments in psychology in the form of perspectives, issues and debates.