A Level Psychology

At St. Augustine's Catholic College, our Psychology curriculum encourages students to explore the scientific nature of the subject and engage in contemporary debates about human behaviour. Through studying diverse topics such as developmental psychology, social influence, aggression, and psychopathology, students develop awareness and respect towards all people, considering how behaviour is influenced by culture, upbringing, and biology. 

In KS5, students have nine lessons across two weeks and are expected to undertake five hours of independent study per week. Our teaching approach follows the TEEP cycle, ensuring students can construct meaning, apply knowledge, and review their learning throughout the process. Assessments include short-answer questions and extended essays to gauge students' understanding of key concepts and skills. 

The curriculum's impact on students includes developing methodological, literacy, and numeracy skills, along with fostering academic resilience in a supportive learning environment. Our approach to spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education encourages students to consider diverse viewpoints, ethical issues, and human behaviour across various societies and cultures. 

Psychology at St. Augustine's aims to develop transferable skills such as self-confidence, effective communication, critical analysis, and an understanding of the factors that affect human behaviour. We strive to prepare students for their future lives by nurturing their ability to ask questions, enact change, and serve their communities, ultimately enhancing the quality of human life. 

What will I study?

In year 1 of the course we look at 4 topics, as well as the different research methods used in psychological research and the different psychological approaches to explaining human behaviour. The topics are: Social influence; Memory; Attachments and Psychopathology.

Social influence is about how our behaviour is affected by other people. We will look at conformity, obedience and minority influence.

The topic of Memory involves looking at different types of memory, reasons why we forget and the accuracy of eye-witness testimony.

Attachments looks at the importance of early relationships with our primary care-givers and the effects of these relationships on our later lives.

Psychopathology involves finding out about different types of mental illnesses and treatments, these include: depression, phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We will also look at the origins of psychology and how it has developed as a science.

In year 2 we look at issues and debates in psychology e.g. whether our behaviour is a product of nature or nurture, and the issue of free will.

We will take a deeper look at biological psychology and find out about our biological rhythms. Knowledge and understanding of research methods will be also be developed.

We will also study three option topics, these are: Gender and explanations of how our gender develops. We will study the symptoms, possible causes, and treatments of schizophrenia. Finally, we will look at forensic psychology and offender profiling, and the different ways of dealing with offending behaviour.

See the full specification from AQA here: Psychology AQA specification

How will I be assessed?

It is assessed at the end of the second year in three 2-hour papers:

Paper 1: Introductory topics in psychology

• Social influence

• Memory

• Attachments

• Psychopathology

Paper 2: Psychology in Context

• Approaches in psychology

• Biopsychology

• Research methods

Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology

• Issues and debates in psychology

• Gender

• Schizophrenia

Where can Psychology take me?

Psychology is a very useful subject for any career where you interact with people. Occupations such as journalism, as well as nursing and marketing all welcome trainees who have studied psychology. Although psychology is a science, it sits on the boundary of science and arts subjects and combines elements of both. A psychology A Level shows a competence in scientific thinking and numeracy and also the ability to construct a well-argued essay. It is especially useful for careers in sport, education, business and medicine.