Exam Board: Edexcel

AS Psychology

 

You will learn about five major approaches to psychology in the AS course. In each one you will discover a key topic of research, learn about important studies related to that topic, and find out how research is conducted in that area of psychology. You will learn to use statistical tests to help interpret data collected in class exercises.

 

Here is a short summary of each of the five Approaches:

 

Social Psychology investigates how our behaviour changes because of the way we relate to people around us. You will study two themes:

 

• What makes people obey orders, even when the orders are known to be wrong

• What prejudice is

 

In Cognitive Psychology you will again study two themes:

 

• Memory, how it is created and how it is organised

• Why people forget.

 

The remaining three approaches focus on how we develop, with a particular focus on gender. Within the Psychodynamic Approach you will study Freud’s view of how early childhood experiences and relationships with our parents create our personality and our gender identity.

 

In the Biological Approach you will learn why some psychologists see our genes as the main source of differences in thinking style and behaviour between males and females.

 

In contrast, other psychologists see differences between males and females as mainly due to learned behaviour. How such learning occurs is covered in the Learning Approach.

 

 

A2 Psychology

 

The A2 course gives you an opportunity to study some uses of psychology in the real world. You will discover how the Approaches you have learned about come together to explain human behaviour. In all areas, you will be encouraged to use recent evidence from events in the news.

 

You will study two optional Applications out of four that are available:

 

Criminological Psychology looks at psychological explanations for criminal behaviour, problems with eyewitness testimony and treating offenders.

 

Child Psychology looks at the development of relationships in infancy, as well as the impact of day care on young children.

 

Health Psychology considers the problems associated with the use of recreational drugs.

 

Sport Psychology looks at the reasons why individuals participate in sport, and why some give up sport at an early age. It also considers the reasons why some people excel in training and fl op on the big occasion, while for others the reverse is true.

 

You will also study Clinical Psychology where you will learn about explanations for mental illness, their diagnosis and treatment. You will study two disorders, including schizophrenia.

 

In the A2 course you will cover a section on Issues and Debates, where all the material you have covered is drawn together to develop an overview of the subject. You will look at the contributions psychology has made to society, what methods it uses and whether the research conducted is ethical. You will also address problems associated with psychological knowledge being used to control people’s behaviour, the influences of inheritance and upbringing and the question of whether psychology is really a science.

 

 

You do not need any previous knowledge to study psychology. However the nature of the course means that having both maths and English language, to grade C or better at GCSE level, is strongly advisable. The course involves some essay writing, data collection and interpretation of evidence.

The course is assessed through four Unit examinations, two for the AS units and two for the A2 units. As with all subjects, the AS level contributes half the marks to the final A level.

The most important quality for anyone wanting to study psychology is to find people fascinating. Are you intrigued by why people act in the way they do? If so, then psychology will capture your imagination and you will never look at people in the same way again. You will need to:

 

• be willing to have your opinions and values challenged

• be willing to listen to and take on board new ideas and novel arguments

• be able to see both sides of an issue and not reject one side simply because you initially believe it is wrong.

 

Psychology provides many opportunities to develop skills in assessing debates and arguments.