Have you ever wondered how your memory works? Or why people are so obedient? How reliable are eye witnesses? Or countless other questions about human behaviour?
A Level Psychology is an exciting, challenging and popular subject at St Mary’s sixth form. During in your study we will investigate many different areas of human behaviour and attempt to gain a better understanding of what makes us tick.
You will develop an understanding of different areas of psychology such as cognition, development, social and individual differences and also learn the fundamental scientific skills required for conducting psychological research.
An ideal introduction to the world of psychological research methods – students conduct 4 small scale investigations of their own in order to prepare for the examination. Through this module, you will be introduced to carrying out research in a practical setting.
Covers the classic, exemplar studies in psychology and demonstrates how learning about behaviour has influenced our thinking today. You will learn about 15 studies, 3 each from the 5 psychological approaches: social, cognitive, physiological, developmental and individual differences. You will use these studies to explore issues, debates, perspectives and methods.
Options in applied psychology
Gives you the opportunity to learn about how psychological theory is applied in real life situations. You will study the following options:
Forensic psychology
Psychology of education
Approaches and research methods in psychology
Draws together everything you have learnt into a whole. In particular you will look at approaches and develop aspects of research methods that will have been introduced in previous units. You will be required to design a practical project, using all that you have learned in psychology.
Teaching will involve a mix of all styles from traditional lecture based, to group work, presentations, ICT based research (through departmental laptops), study visits (Chester Zoo, Hull Prison, Crime Conferences), drama and role-plays.
All formal assessment for A level Psychology is by exam. Throughout the course, you will also be assessed by your teacher. This informal assessment will consist of written work, project work, presentation and discussions.
If you choose to study Psychology at University you will find a large number of courses to choose from, some of them covering the traditional areas of the subject and some with a narrower focus. After graduation many avenues are open, both in specialist areas of Psychology and in the wider market place. Clinical, Educational, Counselling, Occupational and Health Psychology are just some of the specialist fields.
If you would like any further information on the course please e-mail Rtuffin@staff.st-marys.hull.sch.uk or come and see me in F9/S3.