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Queen's College

Psychology

Why study Psychology?

Psychology looks at the ways people think, act, react and interact. It is a fascinating subject that will help you understand human (and animal) behaviour and will allow you to better comprehend how we think and feel.

Psychology is an interesting but challenging A-level and you will need to have a good balance of both scientific and written skills to access the content. Both hard work and good organisation will be important throughout the course.

What will I study? How will I be assessed?

By studying Psychology at A-level you will learn about numerous different aspects of psychology including social influence, memory, attachment styles, biopsychology, mental health disorders and the scientific research process.

Students complete three examination papers at the end of the A-level. The method and length of each assessment are included in the table below:

Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology

  1. Social Influence

    • Conformity (Asch, Zimbardo)
    • Obedience (Milgram)
    • Minority influence
    • Resistance to social influence

  2. Memory

    • Types of memory (MSM, WMM)
    • Coding, capacity, duration
    • Eyewitness testimony
    • Forgetting

  3. Attachment

    • Animal studies

    • Theories of attachment

    • Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
    • Maternal deprivation

    • Romanian orphan studies

  4. Clinical Psychology and Mental Health

    • Definitions of abnormality
    • Phobias, depression, OCD
    • Behavioural, cognitive, biological explanations of Phobias, depression, OCD
    • Behavioural, cognitive, biological  treatments of Phobias, depression, OCD

Paper 2: Psychology in Context

  1. Approaches in Psychology

    • Behaviourist
    • Social learning theory
    • Cognitive
    • Biological
    • Psychodynamic
    • Humanistic
    • Comparison of approaches

  2. Biopsychology

    • Nervous system

    • Endocrine system

    • Fight or flight

    • Ways of studying the brain

    • Brain structures & localisation
    • Plasticity & recovery 

       

  3. Research Methods

    • Scientific processes

    • Data analysis (stats, graphs)

    • Designing a study

    • Maths skills (important!)

Paper 3: Issues & Options in Psychology

  1. Issues and Debates
    • Nature vs nurture
    • Free will vs determinism
    • Reductionism vs holism
    • Gender & cultural bias
    • Ethical implications
  2. Forensic Psychology (Paper 3 option)
    • Offender Profiling
    • Biological Explanations of Offending Behaviour
    • Psychological Explanations of Offending Behaviour
    • Dealing with Offending Behaviour (Treatments)
  3. Gender

    • Sex, gender, androgyny

    • Biological explanations

    • Gender Identities

    • Cognitive explanations

    • Social learning theory

    • Gender Incongruence​​​​​​​

  4. Schizophrenia (Paper 3 option

    • ​​​​​​​Diagnosis and symptoms

    • Biological Explanations

    • Psychological Explanations

    • Drug Therapy

    • Psychological Therapies

    • Interactionist Approach

Assessment

  • Written exam: 2 hours
  • 96 marks in total
  • 33.3% of A-level

Multiple-choice, short answer and extended writing

What skills will I gain? Where can Psychology lead?

Studying Psychology will equip you with a number of different skills. These include, but are not limited to, critical thinking, analytical skills and written and verbal communication skills.

Students who study Psychology can go on to a wide variety of future careers. Jobs can range from roles such as clinical, educational and occupational psychologists, to positions in marketing, management and HR. The skills from Psychology are easily transferable and so open many doors to students.  

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