Psychology

Course summary

Psychology is the scientific study of mind, brain and behaviour. Psychologists employ the scientific method: formulating theories, testing hypotheses through observation and experiment and using statistics to analyse their findings. You don't need to have studied GCSE psychology to study the A level but you will need an interest in biology and a good grasp of maths, (particularly arithmetic, data handling, algebra and graphs). Psychology can be used in a wide variety of people-oriented careers and will give you a great set of transferable skills including communication, analysis and research and problem-solving skills. Year 1: (All topics include research methods.) • Social psychology including obedience, prejudice and discrimination. • Cognitive psychology including the structure and function of memory. • Biological psychology including the structure and function of the brain. • Learning theories including the role of conditioning in phobias and eating disorders. Year 2: (skills including research and debates) • One compulsory topic of Clinical psychology. • A choice of one topic from Criminological psychology, Health psychology or Child psychology. There will be teacher led sessions, class-based discussion, student-led presentations, films and podcasts and individual research. You will need to undertake private study, read around the subject and complete regular homework tasks to stay on track. Psychology builds on skills developed in the sciences and humanities, and enables you to move on into a wide range of other subjects. It is useful for a wide range of people-orientated occupations in health, industry and commerce. There are higher and degree apprenticeship opportunities in healthcare, education and in business. To work as a professional psychologist in any of the branches of psychology you will need a minimum of a degree in psychology.