Examination Board: AQA 

What Will I learn?

Psychology is the study of people, behaviour and the mind. It has recently been reclassified as a science subject, and this is reflected in the A-Level curriculum. 

Psychology is a broad subject, with many different areas and a number of different approaches towards explaining behaviour. Not all psychologists agree with each other!

Psychologists observe human behaviour, create theories to explain the behaviour, and then carry out research to test these theories. 

Psychology is a challenging subject, requiring commitment and hard work. Ultimately though, the hard work is rewarded with a deeper understanding of people and society and perhaps even yourself.

How Am I Assessed?

Paper 1 -  In this module, we look at some of the main approaches in psychology: Social Influence, Memory (Cognitive) and Attachment (Developmental) and Psychopathology. The approaches are different fields of psychology, each with its own explanations of human behaviour.    This exam will be taken at the end of Year 13 and will be worth 33.3%. It is 2 hours in length. 

Paper 2 -  Here we study the areas of Approaches in Psychology, Biopsychology and Research Methods.  You will learn about the different research methods psychologists use to investigate behaviour. This exam will be taken at the end of Year 13 and will be worth 33.3%. It is 2 hours in length.

Paper 3 -  This module develops the knowledge of research methods from Year 12, and also looks at ethical issues raised by psychological research and looks at various issues and biases in psychology. The exam is worth 33.3%. The topics and applications take psychological theory and apply it to a real world issue. These include: Schizophrenia, Forensics , Gender and Issues and Debates. The exam is worth 33.3%. It is 2 hours in length. 

All papers consist of short answer questions, multiple choice and 16 mark essay type questions.
 

What Career Options Do I Have?

Psychology can be useful in a wide range of careers that involve dealing with people e.g. teaching, social work, police, business, management and the health service etc. Specific careers in psychology are: forensic, occupational, educational, clinical psychology and different kinds of therapy and counselling.