Psychology

Course summary

Why study the subject If you study psychology you'll be able to hone your analytical and organisational skills and learn about scientific research methods, including collecting and working with data. Learning about human behaviour can also help to build your communication skills and improve your teamwork and leadership skills. Course Structure Year 12 An Introduction to Psychology: Social influence, Memory, Attachment and Psychopathology. Looking at Psychology in context; different approaches in Psychology, Biopsychology and Research methods. Year 13 Issues and Options in Psychology; Issues and Debates in Psychology, Relationships, Schizophrenia, Forensic Psychology – these options are subject to change Unit content Year 12 Social influence, Memory, Attachment, Psychopathology, Approaches in Psychology, Biopsychology, Research methods Year 13 Issues and Debates in Psychology, Relationships, Schizophrenia, Forensic Psychology, Subject to change Skills Acquired The 6 keys skills you will acquire are Communication, Numeracy, Research, Ethical understanding, Patience and Problem-Solving. Students suited to the course You don't need any prior knowledge of Psychology in order to start the A level course, but you do need a solid complement of GCSEs: with mostly 5 grades at GCSE you may well find Psychology very demanding, especially the Research Methods component of the course. The requirement to write essays, in which you present argument for and against an issue, means that you should also have a good grasp of the English. As Psychology is a science, a GCSE in Science (especially Biology) would be advisable, and you do need to be comfortable with numbers. Most important, though, is that you have a genuine curiosity about the way humans think and behave. What other subjects it combines well with Psychology is a broad subject and can be combined with many subjects. The subject is well suited to students who are both predominantly arts and humanities focused and/ or science focused; therefore the subject is often taken with subjects so as History, Geography, RS, Art, Government & Politics, Sociology, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Career or HE the course leads to Other than a degree in Psychology the A level develops many transferable skills which lend themselves to a variety of degree courses. Those who choose to continue studying the subject to degree level often enter professional fields such as Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Social worker, Counselor, Educational psychologist, human resource manager or even a teacher. Co-curricular Trip and visits.