Psychology Department

Facilities

Psychology is taught within the Social Sciences Department suite of classrooms. Each classroom has a data projector linked to a computer and a visualiser. At A level the textbook series used is Psychology: The Complete Companion published by Folens Limited.

Sixth Form

AS and A2 Psychology (specification AQA Psychology ‘A’ 2180)

Students wishing to study Psychology must have achieved at least Grade C in GCSE English, Mathematics and Science (Double Award).

Psychology is the study of mind and behaviour, and bridges the gap between the academic study of the social sciences and the natural sciences. Students are encouraged to develop an understanding of psychological research; the ability  to apply this knowledge to real life situations; critically analyse and evaluate the value of psychological research and its credibility as an explanation of human behaviour.

The study of A level Psychology will appeal to students who are curious about people and are interested in exploring the reasons for their behaviour. Psychology students need to be sensitive, open minded and willing to accept that there are no ‘right or wrong’ answers. Psychology is a science with cutting edge research that can be applied to issues we see in everyday life, such as psychological disorders, stress and aggression. 

AS Psychology

The two units which are studied for the AS course are both assessed by a 1½ hour examination consisting of a mixture of short answer questions and a structured essay. Each unit contributes 50% to the final AS grade and 25% to the full A level grade.

Unit 1: Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Research Methods

  • Stress explores the causes of stress and the relationship between stress and physical illness, in addition to the psychological & physiological methods that people use to manage stress.
  • Social Influence explores why people are influenced by majority groups, the factors that lead to blind obedience to authority and the reasons why people are able to remain independent.
  • Abnormality explores definitions and different psychological perspectives on the cause of psychological abnormality. Students will also research a range of therapies that are used to treat people with psychological disorders.

Unit 2: Biological Psychology, Social Psychology and Individual Differences

  • Stress explores causes of stress and the relationship between stress and physical illness. Students research psychological & physiological methods to manage stress.
  • Social Influence explores the reasons why people are influenced by majority or minority groups and investigates the factors that lead to blind obedience to authority.
  • Abnormality explores definitions of psychological abnormality and investigates the different perspectives on the cause of abnormality. Students research therapies used in the treatment of psychological abnormality.

A2 Psychology

The two units which are studied for the A2 course both contribute 50% to the final A2 grade and 25% to the full A level grade. Unit three is assessed by a 1½ hour examination, which consists of three essay questions, each relating to one of the three topic areas studied. Unit four is assessed by a 2 hour examination which consists of short answer and structured essays questions relating to the three topics studied.

Unit 3: Topics in Psychology

  • Relationships explores why people are attracted and fall in love, in addition to reasons why relationships are formed, how they are maintained and why they breakdown. 
  • Aggression explores the social and biological causes of human aggression, in addition to explanations of lynch mob behaviour and football hooliganism.  
  • Eating Behaviours explores factors which affect attitudes to food and eating behaviours, in addition to the biological and psychological causes of eating disorders.

Unit 4: Psychopathology, Psychology in Action and Research Methods

  • Psychopathology explores the clinical characteristics, biological and psychological causes of OCD, in addition to the various therapies that are available to help treat people.
  • The Psychology of Addictive Behaviour explores reasons for addictive behaviours such as smoking and gambling, in addition to investigating biological and psychological types of intervention which help addicts step out of the cycle of addictive behaviour. 
  • Psychological research and scientific method builds on the research methods unit students were introduced to during the AS course.