A Level Psychology

About this A Level Psychology Course

In this Psychology A Level you will study numerous topics including social, cognitive, clinical, biological and child psychology. Each unit covers a variety of case studies and famous findings from psychologists in their field. At the end of the course, students will have a much broader knowledge of psychological practices and how these apply to job roles in psychology. Once completed, this course can help to move on to further study at university or help lead to a psychology based career.

To get the full Edexcel Psychology A Level, students must enter themselves as a private candidate for the exam.

Qualification

The Edexcel A Level Psychology qualification is available both in the UK and internationally and is seen as a global standard for knowledge in psychological theory. The course is accredited with Edexcel, an industry leader with decades of expertise in academic qualifications. For more information regarding Edexcel, click on the Edexcel tab further up this page.

Course Content

Included in this A Level Psychology course are the following units:

Unit 1: Social psychology

This first unit will introduce you to the area of social psychology including various studies on how people behave in social situations.  You will first focus on obedience and look at theories which attempt to explain why individuals will carry out orders given by authority figures even when the consequences will harm someone else.  The second area you will look at is explaining prejudice, again to assess whether personality traits or environmental factors lead individuals to have negative attitudes towards groups which they are not part of. Key questions such as how we can use the research to make individuals act as heroes rather than passive agents will be considered.

Unit 2: Cognitive psychology

Next we will explore cognitive psychology which is related to memory and how we store information in the brain.  Firstly, we will consider models of memory which aim to explain how information is received, processed and stored for later use. We will consider whether what we recall is a reconstruction based on what is true or if we reconstruct our memories using knowledge and experiences. 

Unit 3: Biological psychology

Biological psychology looks at the various structures in the brain and central nervous system which can affect a persons behaviour. We will compare a range of different views that biopsychologists hold and compare these to a very different view, the ideas of Sigmund Freud, to determine the positives and negatives of these varying approaches. e will also explore the methods used by these psychologists to gain data, including the use of animals, brain scans, twins and adoption studies. We will discuss the objectivity and practical issues of these different techniques.

Unit 4: Learning theories

Next we will look at various theories of how people learn including phobias and conditioning. In this section of the course we will focus on the idea that human behaviour is learnt through associations, rewards and copying the behaviour of role models. We will see that a lot of learning theory has been tested on animals, as behaviourists (also called learning theorists) do not view this as an issue and believe that research involving animals can be used to explain human behaviour. We will focus on some key studies in this field to consider how well the theories have been tested and answer the key question of whether companies should be responsible in assisting customers with phobias to overcome their fears so they can access services.

Unit 5: Clinical psychology

This unit focuses on something which affects one in four people in the UK within their lifetime – mental illness. You will study one of the most common mental illnesses, unipolar depression, and one of the most misunderstood, schizophrenia. This topic has four key studies which provide further understanding of the issues of diagnosing, explaining and treating such complex disorders. 

Unit 6: Child psychology

In our final unit of the course we will look at child psychology including short and long term effects of different childhood experiences. We will look at theories of how attachments in children form by considering the work of Bowlby and Ainsworth. To understand why attachments are needed, we will investigate the negative effects of deprivation and privation on children and consider if a lack of attachments can also cause problems in adulthood.

Maths skills and exam techniques

This final part of the course focuses on the mathematical skills need for complete your exams. The section also covers what to expect in your exams and techniques to answering different question types. The Psychology A Level with Edexcel carries the option to study 3 potential topics for unit 6. In our course we preselect Child Psychology for this section and the course only covers this area.

Online study and instant enrolment

All of our students are given access to our Online Campus through their own personal login and password. As soon as you complete your enrolment, you would have immediate access to your account which allows you to make a start working through the lessons. Tackle your assignments as your own pace and contact your tutor to access any help and support you need. The course itself is set out in a very simple layout, making it easy to work through the topics and complete your assessments.

Our Online Campus includes:

• Instant enrolment – access everything on your course from the moment you enrol.
• Personal account logins – login any time, 24/7.
• Full support throughout – message your tutor, use our online chat or give us a call.
• Online assignment submissions – upload work online from the comfort of home.
• Self-led learning – study at your own pace so you can pass much faster.
• Safe e-portfolio system – store all of your work in your account.
• Progression tracking – easily see what assignments you have left to complete.
• Details help centre – get instructions and guidance every step of the way.
• Unlimited attempts – submit as many attempts at your assignments as you need.

Unlimited assessment submissions

All of the assessments for this course are completed through our Online Campus. You can attempt each one as many times as needed to ensure you pass. After every attempt, your tutor will provide detailed feedback and tips on how you can improve going forward. Quickly see your progress during your studies by checking your progress bar and seeing the remaining assessments you need to complete.

On this Psychology A Level course you are required to enter yourself for the Edexcel examinations. This means that you will need to contact an Edexcel centre local to you in order to sit your exam and pay any fees that are required for this. Exam fees can vary between centres but are much cheaper when organised early so we advise to book your exams long before the actual examination date.

Get full tutor support

Throughout your enrolment with the Online Learning College, you can access support at any time you need. All students are assigned a personal tutor who will mark all of your work and provide detailed feedback after every submission. Your tutor will be an industry expert with a full knowledge of the course content and will be able to help you at any point along your learning journey. One of the best tools at your disposal is your tutor – you can ask as many questions of them as you wish to and they will be happy to help at any time.

We also have a brilliant support team on hand and available through email, online chat and over the phone. This team is there to help with any questions which are more generic, such as providing support in submitting work through your account or getting your certificate when you have completed your course. We pride ourselves on ensuring the support you receive is the best in the business – help and guidance is fast and detailed every time you contact a member of the team.

Enrolment Length

All of our courses are allocated plenty of time for students to complete their studies and all materials are self-led so that you can complete the course at your own pace, but you have access to the course on the Campus for 24 months from your enrollment date. Should you require additional time on one of our courses you can extend your enrolment by 30 days for an additional fee of £60. As well as this we operate a 14 day money back guarantee on every one of our qualifications- that’s how confident we are of how you will love studying with us!