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 |
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G541
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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
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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: |
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G543
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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.
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G544
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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. |