Psychology

Psychology
Psychology is a stimulating and challenging subject. Put simply, it is the study of behaviour. Psychologists however, do not just measure and observe behaviour, they try to understand why people behave in certain ways. In order to achieve this understanding it is necessary to consider internal processes and motives.There are various branches of Psychology and during the course you will study key pieces of research and topics from a range of these areas (e.g. individual differences, developmental psychology). You will also look at one area of applied Psychology where the practical implications of the subject are studied (e.g. abnormal psychology).The course is divided into four units, two at AS and two at A2.

AS content
Unit 1: Approaches in Psychology. (20%) This unit focuses on the study of four major psychological approaches: The Biological, Psychodynamic, Behaviourist and Cognitive approaches.

Unit 2: Core Studies and Applied Research Methods (30%) Ten core studies cover research drawn from the main areas of psychology (social, developmental, cognitive, physiological psychology and individual differences). The research aspect requires students to apply knowledge of research methods to a novel situation.

Assessment
Unit 1: 1hr 15 mins written paper - exams available in January
and June

Unit 2: 1 hour 45 mins written paper - exams available in May

A2 content
Unit 3: Research Methods (20%)
This unit develops a deeper understanding of the candidate's knowledge, application and evaluation of research methods acquired in unit 2. The unit assesses the candidate's knowledge, understanding and evaluation of research methods and data analysis. This includes the consideration of ethical issues in the design and implementation of an investigation.

Unit 4: Topics, Applications and Controversial Issues (30%) This unit tests the ability of candidates to describe and evaluate understanding of topics, applications and controversial issues in Psychology. This unit will look at controversies in Psychology from a range of options, e.g. gender bias, ethics; a topic from a range of options such as Memory, Levels of Consciousness, Intelligence; an application from a range of options such as Abnormal Psychology, Educational Psychology and Forensic Psychology.

Assessment
Unit 3: 1 hour 30 mins written paper - exams available in January
and June

Unit 4: 2 hour 30 mins written paper - exams available in JunePsychology is useful for a range of university courses and careers including: clinical psychologist, educational psychologist, forensic psychologist, lecturer, health psychologist and occupational psychologist.

Results
SUMMER 2009
A - C grade : 62%
Highlights : 49% of learners achieved'A' or'B' grades, well above the national figure.

Examination Board WJEC