Psychology

Course Leader:

Ms B Wright – bwright@sackvilleschool.org.uk

Exam board: AQA
Guidance: Grade 5 in GCSE science, maths and English
Course Start Date: 09/2024
Course length: 2 Years
Course description

If you are interested in exploring human experience and behaviour, how they interact, develop and function with each other, then psychology is for you.

Course units

In psychology year 1 you will investigate the scientific research methods psychologists use as well as the different theoretical approaches to explain behaviour and discover what treatments the approaches offer. Along with these, you will study: social influence (conformity and obedience), memory (different types of memory, theoretical models and eyewitness testimony), attachment (early childhood relationships and how these affect adulthood) and psychopathology (abnormal behaviours such as anxiety and depression). You will also begin to understand the biological links to behaviour such as synaptic transmission and how our bodies respond to stress.

Year 2 deepens your understanding of biopsychology, which looks at different areas of the brain and their functions. It also revisits more detailed research methods such as inferential statistics. The optional topic areas we study are: Relationships, Schizophrenia and Forensics.

Assessment

Three two hour examinations:
Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology including Social Influence; Memory; Attachment and Psychopathology.
Paper 2: Psychology in Context: Approaches in Psychology; Biopsychology; Research Methods.
Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology: Issues and Debates; Relationships; Schizophrenia; Forensics.

What can I do with this qualification?

An A level in psychology is viewed as providing excellent grounding for a very large number of university courses, including those offered by the Russell Group. It may be seen as either a science or an arts subject and a number or our students have used this subject to go on to follow a career in medicine.

Careers that link with psychology include: clinical, educational, occupational psychology, teaching, management, personnel, social work, marketing, police work.. Much of the knowledge gained about people and how we work can be used in any area of employment.

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