Psychology

Course summary

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and how it influences our behavior. Throughout the two years you will develop psychological knowledge, understanding, and skills by learning the AQA A Level Psychology specification. Unit 1: Introductory Topics You will study four topics: Social Influence; Memory, Attachment, and Psychopathology. Unit 2: Psychology in Context This unit is designed to explore the origins of psychology and the scientific nature of the subject. You will study Approaches, Biopsychology, Research Methods, and Statistics. Unit 3: Issues and options in psychology This unit is designed to introduce you to three contemporary topic areas (Gender development, Schizophrenia, and Aggression) and the main issues and debates within psychology. Throughout each unit, you will develop an understanding of the scientific nature of psychology and look at a range of concepts, theories, studies, and applications as well as evaluative issues relating to them. Some of the key questions we will explore include: How do you treat OCD? What might lead humans to commit genocide? How does attachment in infancy affect adult relationships? What causes schizophrenia? To what extent is gender identity genetic or learned? Throughout the course, you will also develop your research skills by carrying out a range of practical investigations. This will enable you to develop your knowledge of research methods, statistics, and the scientific method. However, we will go beyond the AQA specification (in class and through extra-curricular opportunities) to prepare you more widely for the next steps in your education and employment. For example, we will develop your understanding of your own brain and mental processes, teach how to learn and teach effectively, offer you opportunities to participate in research with wider bodies/Universities, and gain work experience. We will also explore a few of the most recent psychological research findings and enable you to search for and read journal articles.