There are few areas of life that are not influenced by some aspect of Psychology. From the changes in our behaviour as we grow older to the influences that might make some people turn to crime or the way advertisers seek to modify our purchase decisions all are the subject of psychological investigations. The A Level Psychology course provides a broad introduction to the major areas of interest to psychologists in their attempts to understand the functioning of the brain and resulting human behaviour. Psychology is therefore a research-based subject and employs techniques closely allied to other sciences. Five different branches of Psychology are investigated: cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, social psychology and the psychology of individual differences. A key feature of the course is the use of original research papers, which allows students to gain a real feel for psychological research and providing opportunities to evaluate research that has contributed to our understanding of human behaviour.