Psychology is the science of mind and behaviour. It uses the research methods of the sciences (particularly experiments) to investigate the human mind and to find out about and make sense of human behaviour. It seeks answers to such questions as the following: why do people behave the way they do? Would you be likely to help someone if they collapsed on a subway train? Are the brains of taxi drivers different from the brains of non-taxi drivers? Why do people develop phobias? Will children imitate aggressive behaviour? There are three units: • Psychological Themes through Core Studies - You will look at ten different areas that psychologists have researched such as memory, responses to people in authority, moral development, understanding disorders, and regions of the brain. For each key theme, you will look at two pieces of research - a classic study and a contemporary study. • Research Methods - You will become familiar with research methods that psychologists use such as experiments, observation, questionnaires and correlation studies. You will carry out research of your own and analyse your findings. • Applied Psychology - You will study Issues in mental health and also look at two of the following areas in which psychological research has been applied in the understanding of real-world problems: - Criminal Psychology (e.g. what makes a criminal, police interviews, imprisonment) - Environmental Psychology (e.g. aircraft noise, shift work, territorial markers) - Child Psychology (e.g. intelligence, brain development, the impact of advertising) - Sport and Exercise Psychology (e.g. controlling anxiety, audience effects).
• You should have at least a grade 4 in GCSE maths. • You should have at least a grade 4 in GCSE English language. • You should have at least a grade 5 in at least one science course. • You should have at least a grade 5 in two writing-based subjects (e.g. GCSE English language, GCSE English literature, GCSE history, GCSE geography, GCSE business studies, GCSE religious studies etc.)
This is a linear A level course. Assessment will be through three exams at the end of the second year of the course. There will be one exam for each unit, and all exams will be two hours long. The ways in which you are assessed are quite varied: • Unit 1 (Research Methods) - the exam includes multiple-choice questions as well as questions in which you are asked to design a study of your own, and questions requiring you to analyse some 'dummy data' that you are given from a made-up study. • Unit 2 (Psychological Themes through Core Studies) - the exam includes short-answer questions about the detail of the Core Studies as well as a structured essay on one or more of the debates you will study (e.g. the nature-nurture debate; the debate about whether psychology is a science). You will also be given a novel source (e.g. a newspaper article) and invited to identify the psychological issues it raises, make (evidence-based) suggestions for the people in the article, and evaluate the suggestions you have made. • Unit 3 (Applied Psychology) - the exam includes structured essays on your two Applied Options (e.g. criminal psychology, and environmental psychology) as well as a variety of shorter questions on issues in mental health. Unit 1 is worth 30% of the A level as a whole, while the other two units are each worth 35%. There is no coursework.
About Education Provider
| Region | South East |
| Local Authority | Hampshire |
| Ofsted Rating | Outstanding |
| Gender Type | Co-Educational |
| Address | Prospect Avenue, Farnborough, GU14 8JX |
Psychology is the science of mind and behaviour. It uses the research methods of the sciences (particularly experiments) to investigate the human mind and to find out about and make sense of human behaviour. It seeks answers to such questions as the following: why do people behave the way they do? Would you be likely to help someone if they collapsed on a subway train? Are the brains of taxi drivers different from the brains of non-taxi drivers? Why do people develop phobias? Will children imitate aggressive behaviour? There are three units: • Psychological Themes through Core Studies - You will look at ten different areas that psychologists have researched such as memory, responses to people in authority, moral development, understanding disorders, and regions of the brain. For each key theme, you will look at two pieces of research - a classic study and a contemporary study. • Research Methods - You will become familiar with research methods that psychologists use such as experiments, observation, questionnaires and correlation studies. You will carry out research of your own and analyse your findings. • Applied Psychology - You will study Issues in mental health and also look at two of the following areas in which psychological research has been applied in the understanding of real-world problems: - Criminal Psychology (e.g. what makes a criminal, police interviews, imprisonment) - Environmental Psychology (e.g. aircraft noise, shift work, territorial markers) - Child Psychology (e.g. intelligence, brain development, the impact of advertising) - Sport and Exercise Psychology (e.g. controlling anxiety, audience effects).
• You should have at least a grade 4 in GCSE maths. • You should have at least a grade 4 in GCSE English language. • You should have at least a grade 5 in at least one science course. • You should have at least a grade 5 in two writing-based subjects (e.g. GCSE English language, GCSE English literature, GCSE history, GCSE geography, GCSE business studies, GCSE religious studies etc.)
This is a linear A level course. Assessment will be through three exams at the end of the second year of the course. There will be one exam for each unit, and all exams will be two hours long. The ways in which you are assessed are quite varied: • Unit 1 (Research Methods) - the exam includes multiple-choice questions as well as questions in which you are asked to design a study of your own, and questions requiring you to analyse some 'dummy data' that you are given from a made-up study. • Unit 2 (Psychological Themes through Core Studies) - the exam includes short-answer questions about the detail of the Core Studies as well as a structured essay on one or more of the debates you will study (e.g. the nature-nurture debate; the debate about whether psychology is a science). You will also be given a novel source (e.g. a newspaper article) and invited to identify the psychological issues it raises, make (evidence-based) suggestions for the people in the article, and evaluate the suggestions you have made. • Unit 3 (Applied Psychology) - the exam includes structured essays on your two Applied Options (e.g. criminal psychology, and environmental psychology) as well as a variety of shorter questions on issues in mental health. Unit 1 is worth 30% of the A level as a whole, while the other two units are each worth 35%. There is no coursework.