Specification = AQA Psychology A, AS 5181, A level 6181

Introduction to A level Psychology

What is psychology? Psychology is the study of mind, brain and behaviour in human and non-human animals. It is about you and me, how we think, how we interact, why we love, why we hate; what it is to be human. Many people find this subject fascinating and because it is so relevant to the things we do everyday, you will probably remember some of this course for the rest of your life. It could help you understand yourself and others.

Some psychologists regard it as a science, others don’t. It is accepted as one of the A levels you can take to enter medicine or the biological sciences but it is also useful if you are taking English, Media studies or Art. It is an academic subject containing aspects of science but it also contains more philosophical aspects.

The syllabus – we will be studying the AQA (A) syllabus. This is for several reasons; universities and colleges seem to respect this syllabus more than some others, it will give you a good grounding in all major aspects of psychology and it gives results that are both reliable and valid.

At AS you will study 6 major areas in psychology which are grouped into 2 papers of 1.5 hours each.

Paper 1 consists of cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and research methods. This is grouped into 2 sections; cognitive and research methods, developmental and research methods. For each section 36 marks are available.

Paper 2 consists of biological psychology, social psychology and individual differences (abnormality). This paper has 3 sections; biological, social and individual differences with 24 marks available for each section.

How scientists explain psychological phenomena is assessed in all sections.

The format – is similar to GCSE in that you are given an answer book. There are some multiple choice questions and some questions require longer answers. In each paper you will be asked to do a piece of extended writing – this is about a one page answer and it can relate to any of the sections in that paper.

The skills – 3 skills are assessed at AS:

AO1 – is knowledge and understanding of psychology and science, the concepts, theories and studies.

AO2 – is application of the knowledge and understanding of psychology and science and how they work. It relates to analysing and evaluating knowledge and processes, applying knowledge to unfamiliar situations and assessing the value of information, theories etc.

AO3 – is concerned with how science and psychology work and it includes describing the techniques used to investigate psychology, ethical concerns, communicating the results of investigations, interpreting results and looking at their impact.

In paper 1 there are the same marks for each of these 3 skills (24 marks each). In paper 2 30 marks are available for AO1 and AO2, 12 for AO3.

A2 will be taught in the second year and it consists of 2 papers/units:

Unit/paper 3 consists of 3 essay style questions on the topics of relationships, eating behaviour and aggression. These particular topics have been chosen as they are normally the ones students find most interesting.
1 hour 30 mins is allowed for this exam.

Unit/paper 4 consists of 3 sections:

Section 1 (psychopathology) for this section we will study depression.
Section 2 (psychology in action) for this section we will study anomalistic psychology which includes many areas of parapsychology.
Sections 1 and 2 require essay-type answers.
Section 3 (psychological research and scientific method) consists of one compulsory structured question. Topics covered are the application of scientific method in psychology, designing psychological investigations, data analysis and reporting of investigations.

How it will be taught – the course emphasises the practical aspects of psychology so we will be carrying out our own investigations whenever possible. For each investigation we will be filling in a `research planning’ sheet.

In addition to the course text book, you will be given a complete set of notes for the syllabus which we will use as the basis of our lessons. Teaching is quite informal with plenty of time for discussion of the topics.

One piece of homework will be set each week but it would be of enormous benefit to you if you read as much psychology as possible.

You will be given help with study skills such as how to write good answers, time management and how to revise for tests and exams.

Resources – you will initially be given a copy of Psychology for AS by Gross and Rolls. This is an excellent book so please use it often. It is very student-friendly and it also contains a CD-Rom with interactive learning, which you will benefit greatly from using.

I will give you a list of good websites, some of which are specifically geared to this course.

Our library has a good psychology section (face the librarian and it is behind her on the left) – many of the books were donated by a Professor of Psychology who used to attend Friend’s. I would encourage you to use this valuable resource.

We are collecting videos which relate to the course and I will draw your attention to useful programmes on the TV.

Psychology is not an `easy option’ but it is relevant to whether you are studying the arts or sciences. It is relevant to our lives so hopefully you will find it really interesting and enjoyable.