PSYCHOLOGY
Exam Board: AQA
Specification A
Faculty of Science
Faculty Head:
Teachers with responsibility for Psychology:
Miss Kara Telfer
Mrs Amelia Willoughby &
Miss Rose Hawthorn
These qualifications are linear. Linear means that students will sit all the AS exams at the end of
their AS course and all the A Level exams at the end of their A Level course.
Content: AS Level
1. Social Influence; 2. Memory; 3. Attachment; 4. Approaches in Psychology;
5. Psychopathology; 6. Research Methods.
AS Assessments
Paper 1—Introductory Topics in Psychology
What’s assessed: content 1—3 above. Written exam 1 hour 30 minutes worth 72 marks in total and
50% of AS level.
Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Paper 2—Psychology in Context
What’s assessed: content 4—6 above. Written exam 1 hour 30 minutes worth 72 marks in total and
50% of AS level.
Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Content: A Level
1. Social Influence; 2. Memory; 3. Attachment; 4. Psychopathology; 5. Approaches in
Psychology; 6. Biopsychology; 7. Research Methods; 8. Issues and Debates in Psychology; 9.
Relationships; 10. Schizophrenia; 11. Addiction.
A Level Assessments
Paper 1—Introductory Topics in Psychology
What’s assessed: content 1—4 above. Written exam 2 hours worth 96 marks in total and 33.3%
of A Level.
Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section D: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Paper 2—Psychology in Context
What’s assessed: content 5—7 above. Written exam 2 hours worth 96 marks in total and 33.3%
of A Level.
Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 48 marks
Paper 3—Issues and Options in Psychology
What’s assessed: content 8—11 above. Written exam 2 hours worth 96 marks in total and 33.3%
of A Level.
Questions
Section A: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section B: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section C: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Section D: multiple choice, short answer and extended writing. 24 marks
Requirements:
You will need to be able to communicate in a clear and effective manner, to analyse and evaluate,
to design, conduct and report psychological investigations and to collect and draw conclusions from
data. You will also need to be able to select and use a form and style of writing appropriate to the
subject matter.
Expectations:
You will be expected to:
- make observations and produce facts (data about the world)
- construct a theory to account for a set of related facts
- generate expectations (hypotheses) from the theory
- collect data to test expectations
- adjust theory in response to data collection
Pattern of Work:
A mixture of short written answers and extended writing each week
Outside the Classroom:
There will be investigations to conduct
Career possibilities:
Psychology leads to a wide range of careers, such as counselling, educational psychology, sport
psychology, forensic psychology or business psychology. It also develops a range of skills—
accurate analysis, logical thinking, interaction with others—that will be an asset in a great many
careers. It will also improve your understanding of yourself and others.
Common Questions:
What is Psychology?
It is the scientific study of behaviour and experience
Isn’t it just ‘common sense’?
No, because you need to collect objective and verifiable facts about behaviour and construct
empirically based theories.
Is it better to wait and study it from scratch at University?
The advantage of studying it at school is that you can gain some idea of what it is all about before
committing yourself to a University course. It will also give you a head start if you do decide to
continue at University.
What is Cognitive Psychology?
The study of how we learn, remember and think.
What is Developmental Psychology?
Learning about how people change through the course of their life as a result of what they inherit
and what they experience.
What is Physiological Psychology?
Seeing the way we behave as the functioning of our nervous system.
What is Social Psychology?
Studying how far we are influenced by others and how we relate to them.