A Level Psychology

A Level Psychology Course Overview

Gain a valuable insight into peoples' actions and reactions.  Discover many things about yourself, and gain a real intellectual edge over those around you.  You'll learn about a very wide range of subjects, including social and cognitive psychology, child development, and the psychology that lies behind atypical behaviour – as well as an understanding all the main issues in psychological methods.

Pre-requisites

None

Qualification

‘A’ Level in Psychology

Specification

AQA A-Level Psychology B (2185)

Support and benefits

• Flexible terms times
• Stepped learning approach
• Access to a dedicated tutor and student advisors to guide you through your studies
• Access to the ICS online Student Community, allowing you to interact with other students and browse our resource library
  

A Level Psychology Key topics

Psychology A Level Unit 1 – Introducing Psychology

a) Approaches

• Key Approaches in Psychology
• Biopsychology - Physiological Psychology and The Genetic Basis of Behaviour

b) Gender Development

• Gender Development - Concepts and Explaining Gender Development

c) Research Methods

• Methods of Research - Planning Research, Experimental Methods and Non-experimental Methods
• Representing Data and Descriptive Statistics - Representing Data and Descriptive Data
• Ethics

Unit 2 - Social Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and Individual Differences

a) Social Psychology

• Social Influences
• Social Cognition

b) Cognitive Psychology

• Remembering and Forgetting
• Perceptual Processes

c) Individual Differences

• Anxiety Disorders
• Autism

Unit 3 – Child Development and Applied Options

a) Child Development

• Social Development - Early relationships and Later Relationships
• Cognitive Development - Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development and Alternative Approaches to Children's Cognition
• Moral development - Piaget and Kohlberg and Alternatives to Piaget and Kohlberg

b) Applied Options

• Cognition and Law - Recognising and Rembering Faces and Recalling Events
• Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders - Mood Disorders
• Stress and Stress Management - Stress and Illness and Stress Management

Unit 4 - Approaches, Debates and Methods in Psychology

a) Approaches in Psychology

• Biological, Behaviourist, Social Learning, Cognitive, Psychodynamic and Humanistic Approaches - Biological Approach, Behaviourist Approach, Social Learning Theory, Cognitive Approach, Psychodynamic Approach, Humanistic Approach, and Comparison of Approaches

b) Debates in Psychology

• Debates in Psychology

c) Methods in Psychology

• Inferential Statistics - Statistical Inference and Statistical Tests
• Issues in Research

A Level Psychology Course Code

H12

Technical Requirements

None

ICS Support Period

18 months

Assessment

AS Examinations

Unit 1 – PSYB1 Introducing Psychology

• 50% of AS, 25% of A Level
• Externally-assessed examination, 1 hour 30 minutes
• 60 marks
• Candidates answer three compulsory questions.
• Available January and June

Unit 2 – PSYB2 Individual Differences, Social Psychology and Cognitive Psychology

• 50% of AS, 25% of A Level
• Externally-assessed examination, 1 hour 30 minutes
• 60 marks
• Candidates answer three questions.
• Available January and June

A2 Examinations
 
Unit 3 – PSYB3 Child Development and Applied Options

• 25% of A Level
• Externally-assessed examination, 2 hours
• 60 marks
• Candidates answer three questions.
• Available January and June

Unit 4 – PSYB4 Approaches, Debates and Methods in Psychology

• 25% of A Level
• Externally-assessed examination, 2 hours
• 60 marks
• Candidates answer three questions.
• Available in June only