The A Level offers an introduction to a variety of areas within the discipline of Psychology. In Year 12, the following core fields are covered. Social Psychology focuses on the social interactions people have with each other. Amongst other issues, this course explains why we conform and why we are likely to obey authority figures. Cognitive psychologists are concerned with internal mental processes, and how those processes are involved in the development of behaviours such as perception and intelligence. One of the most important topics is memory. Developmental Psychology considers how people develop and change from before they are born, throughout their lives. At A Level, the focus is on the development of an infant’s attachment to a primary care giver, and the problems that occur when this does not happen. Psychopathology explores the diagnosis, causes and treatments of mental disorders, such as OCD, phobias and depression. Within these core areas, the major perspectives or approaches in Psychology are interwoven. Finally, in order to find things out psychologists use a variety of research methods and A Level Psychology deals with how investigations are designed, implemented and the data analysed. In Year 13, Biopsychology looks at the role of evolutionary forces and genetics in behaviour. We investigate how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, and how changes in these can affect behaviour. The three option topics of addiction, gender and schizophrenia are also covered, allowing students to engage with contemporary issues such as risk factors in the development of addiction, the influence of culture and media on gender roles, and reliability and validity in diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia. Finally, the Issues and Debates topic explores the impact that gender bias, culture bias and ethical issues have on theory and research and how debates such as the nature versus nurture debate and the free will versus determinism debate have shaped our understanding of behaviour.