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Should I take psychology as an AS level?

Hi, I am just coming to the end of my first year at College. I have decided that I want to go to University to study sport once I have finished College.

After researching the best Universities for sport, I have noticed that many of them require you to take a science based subject at AS/A level. I am not doing a science subject (apart from PE but only some Universities count 'PE' as a science).

Anyway, some Universities count psychology as a science so I am thinking of taking psychology in my second year for an AS level.

Psychology does sound mildly interesting to me. I may go and study a 'sports psychology' course at Uni although it is unlikely. It is more lilkely that I will choose a course such as 'Sports management', however doing psychology at AS level will just widen my options and give me the opportunity to go down more routes in sport as I can do more courses at Uni.

I am wondering what you think of my idea of taking psychology next year?

Also, I am worried that if I pick up psychology next year, it may affect my grades in the subjects I am currently doing because there are many facts to learn in psychology.... what is your view on this?

1 more question..... I have heard that to succeed in psychology, you need to be good at remembering facts as well as good at writing essays. I am great at remembering facts but not very good at writing essays. This is because my English teacher at GCSE was terrible, and also I am not doing any subjects at the moment where I have to write essays. How much of an issue will this be (would I be able to improve my essay writing skills throughout the year)?

Reply 1

Carrby

There are lots of essays in Psychology. Homework is generally essay writing and when it comes to the exam you'll have a 12 marker and an 8 marker to answer usually, (along with some 6 markers and shorter answer questions), so if you're not very good at essays that's something to think about. It's just about being able to structure your ideas coherently.

The subject itself I find really interesting, and it's a popular choice. Most people I know find it really interesting, so if it's something that you want to learn about, it's not too hard to get the ideas into your brain.

There is a lot to know, but if you pay attention the first time round and go over the notes you make after each lesson for a couple of minutes, it's really no big deal when it comes to revision because it's in your head already. A lot of it is common sense because it's so relative to real-life.

Obviously I can only speak for my own experience with AS Psychology, but I hope that helped you make your decision a little bit :smile:

EDIT: Also, I know people that disliked English GCSE that really enjoy Psychology AS level, so I'm sure the essay thing isn't a big deal!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

Obadetona

I can safely say it is the worst subject I've ever done. Don't really mind having lots of essays, but they're SO easy (especially with the book) that it just gets boring. We did only one practical and the ones we did in other lessons were so much more interesting. But by far the worst thing about this subject is that getting an A isn't based on how well you understand it, just how many facts you can remember.

Spoiler

Reply 3

an_end_has_a_start

depends what you think psychology entails... when I did it, it wasn't what I expect at all, it was my most hated subject

Reply 4

WhatYouKnow

I've finished AS Psych and it's been a bit hit and miss with me...it wasn't what I was expecting at all (I was expecting to learn about mental illnesses and stuff like that, but luckily that's what we do at A2). You don't really have to understand what you're learning - it's about remembering 2373496023490 case studies/experiments/pieces of research/background knowledge and it is daunting having to revise for it. Don't let that put you off though, as A-levels are hard no matter what subject you pick and they require a lot of detailed knowledge. Essay writing is something you can quickly develop throughout the course of the year so don't worry about that either OP, you'll get used to how to structure the longer questions to hit the top AO1 and AO2 bands :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 5

dylantombides

Original post by Carrby

EDIT: Also, I know people that disliked English GCSE that really enjoy Psychology AS level, so I'm sure the essay thing isn't a big deal!

Thanks. I did an ICT exam which had 120 marks - there was a 12 marker, 8 mark and a few 1/2/3/4 mark questions. Is this basically the same as psychology? If so... that is not too bad. Do you have to write with a proper structure for the essays in psychology? I am good at just writing loads and most of the time it works, but does not work when you get marked on how you present your essay. Also, do you have to give your own opinions on the essays or is is just factual?

Original post by Obadetona

Spoiler

Sounds just like a subject I am doing at the moment.

Original post by The Dark Lord

In my opinion, it would be wrong to take psychology. How does that make you feeeeel?

Are you actually being serious or trying to make a bad joke?

Original post by an_end_has_a_start

depends what you think psychology entails... when I did it, it wasn't what I expect at all, it was my most hated subject

Hmmmm, it seems as if some love it and some hate it. I'm not sure if I will love or hate it...... :/

Original post by WhatYouKnow

Thanks very much. Could you look at what I wrote to reply to the first person.

EDIT: I will just post it here for you... its easier!

I did an ICT exam which had 120 marks - there was a 12 marker, 8 mark and a few 1/2/3/4 mark questions. Is this basically the same as psychology? If so... that is not too bad. Do you have to write with a proper structure for the essays in psychology? I am good at just writing loads and most of the time it works, but does not work when you get marked on how you present your essay. Also, do you have to give your own opinions on the essays or is is just factual?

Reply 6

iammichealjackson

Biology would probably be more ideal than psychology for sport... psychology is easier though. Psychology requires alot of essay writing, although essays are not as complex at history essays or english essays.

Reply 7

dylantombides

Original post by iammichealjackson

I can't do biology at AS level because I only got a C at GCSE and at my College I had to get a C or above at GCSE to take it at AS/A2.

Reply 8

iammichealjackson

Original post by dylantombides

I can't do biology at AS level because I only got a C at GCSE and at my College I had to get a C or above at GCSE to take it at AS/A2.

Oh, well psychology is assessed mainly through essays, only you can decide if your up for that. Essays in science are a lot different to english lit essays, they are kept simple.

If you want to know what the essays are like here is one i did for AS:

A psychodynamic explanation of OCD is concerned with conflict between the id, ego and superego. When the id produces disturbing, sexual and aggressive thoughts, the superego causes feelings of guilt to be caused at these thoughts. In order to reduce anxiety caused by this conflict, the ego employs defence mechanism. Reaction formation is an example of a defence mechanism, am example of this is joining a charity in response to aggressive thoughts- doing behaviour opposite of that of the obsessive thoughts. A similar response and defence mechanism to the obsessive thoughts, is undoing, where a person behaves in a way which tries to undo the thoughts, such as compulsive washing may undo the unacceptable, sexual thoughts. These defence mechanisms allow an individual to cope with the conflict between id/superego, and also the anxiety it causes, but does not get rid of it, but the defence mechanisms result in OCD.
The claims made by psychodynamic psychologists are not falsifiable, so no empirical, scientific tests can be conducted in order to test their validity. Evidence comes from a limited number of case studies, which are subjective and therefore not good evidence. Psychodynamic treatment, which is based on this theory, has not proven to be successful in treating OCD.
There are a number of Biological explanations of OCD. McKeon and Murray (1987) found that O.C.D. was twice as common with relatives as in a control group, indicating a genetic factor in causing OCD. However, one could argue that the increased chance in having O.C.D is caused by learning the behaviours of those around us, rather than inheriting them. There anatomical differences have also been found between individuals with the disorder and those who don’t. Low levels of serotonin in the brain has been linked with O.C.D, as well as abnormalities in the orbital frontal cortex of the brain, and the basal ganglia. PET scans have shown that these two areas of the brain are more active compared to control groups, however it is not clear whether these factors cause O.C.D or are the result of having O.C.D. It is also not clear what the abnormal functioning of areas of the brain affect in getting O.C.D, though it has been hypothesised that either the basal ganglia causes inappropriate triggering of motor actions, or that it subconsciously sends messages that were under threat, and being aware of no such threat, we adopt compulsive behaviours as a coping strategy.
Biological explanations of O.C.D. are more useful compared to psychodynamic explanations, since it provides methods of treating O.C.D. SSRI’s, such as Prozac, which increases our levels of serotonin in the brain, is known to alleviate O.C.D. symptoms. However only 50% of patients taking them report an improvement, and a psychodynamic psychologist would argue that it does not treat the cause of O.C.D. More constraints of SSRI’s is that they take 4-12 weeks to take effect, and may lead to dependence. There is also much opposition to genetic explanations of O.C.D, since it would be too reductionist to explain O.C.D solely through genes, since concordance rates between MZ twins are not 100%, and it is very difficult to evaluate many studies that claim a genetic basis of O.C.D., since in twin and family studies, there is a very unique environment.
Cognitive Explanations of focus on thought processes. Clark (1996) developed an explanation of based on the idea that phobics think in a distorted way, and have catastrophic thoughts, when a person thinks something bad will happen to them. Cognitive psychologists believe that people with O.C.D. have the following characteristics, which make them more prone to obsessive thoughts: more likely to suffer from depression, high moral standards and high levels of conduct, they believe that their thoughts are capable of harming others and they believe that they should have perfect control over their thoughts. There are more explanations as to why obsessive individuals have catastrophic thoughts so often. They are hypervigilant, meaning that their attentions system is overly active, so individuals are excessively careful and watchful. Sher et al found that people with O.C.D has poor memories for actions, and Trivedi found that sufferers had low confidence in their memories- a cognitive explanation as to why some behaviours may be repeated over and over again. This sort of explanation is valuable since it is falsifiable, which increases its validity and the efficacy of treatments focusing on cognition.

Reply 9

dylantombides

Original post by iammichealjackson

Thanks for that. I was going to look at a few psychology past papers and see if they look difficult.

What grade is that essay you wrote, and is that one paragraph or the whole essay?

By the way the essay seems really good and you seem clever :rolleyes:

Reply 10

Carrby

Original post by dylantombides

Ah yeah, that sounds similar to the Psychology exams I've done. I doubt you'd get a question any higher than 10 marks, so you should be fine. It's only when you get to A2 level Psychology when the big essays start, so don't worry about that! :smile:

The structure of the essays are usually explaining an aspect of Psychology using research that you'll learn in the course, then an evaluation, so no opinions don't really come into it. The evaluation is where the essay skills come in, because you need to almost write an argument, like for example, why a piece of research is good/relevant and why it's also got issues that make it a bit rubbish. Better candidates will probably have a more structured essay because it shows they've really understood the research, but structure is easy when it comes to Psychology essays in my opinion.

Just think, Psychology is a brand new subject for most people (because I've never heard of GCSE Psychology!) so you learn a lot of the basic stuff like how to write a good essay quite early on in the course. :smile:

Reply 11

iammichealjackson

Original post by dylantombides

10/10 I think. You could simplify that essay down a little and still get an A though. you basically have to make 5 Ao1 points (describing studies/theories) and 5Ao2 points (evaluating theories/studies) to get an A. Im doing spec B AQA though which may be slightly different to spec A which most people seem to do.

In psychology all the essays have to be simple, there is no point over complicating for it for examiners. For example if it was an essay saying describe two theories of forgetting, your plan would be:

1) decay theory
2) interference

Paragraph one: One theory of forgetting is that memory traces decay over time...

Paragraph two: One theory of forgetting is that memories interfere...

Compare that two an english essay begining sentance:

'In Introducing Metaphor, the authors state that a creative metaphor must express ‘a particular idea or feeling... which a reader needs to deconstruct’. In John Keats’ narrative poem ‘The Eve of St Agnes’, the omnipresence of religious metaphors...'

So maybe fears of writing essays shouldn't matter that much for psych. Its a science (mostly) so as long as you can write grammatically correct that's all you need really.

Remembering the studies/evaluations is hard about psychology AS, but you'll get used to the essay-writing hopefully!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 12

WhatYouKnow

Original post by dylantombides

I did an ICT exam which had 120 marks - there was a 12 marker, 8 mark and a few 1/2/3/4 mark questions. Is this basically the same as psychology? If so... that is not too bad. Do you have to write with a proper structure for the essays in psychology? I am good at just writing loads and most of the time it works, but does not work when you get marked on how you present your essay. Also, do you have to give your own opinions on the essays or is is just factual?

Yeah that's exactly what it's like, in each paper you always get a 12 mark and 8 mark question :smile:

. Well on the 12 marker you're assessed on your quality of written communication so it's important to make sure you can organise your points clearly/spell correctly or you will get marked down, and never give your own opinion! You won't get any marks for that. :smile:

Reply 13

Colour Me Pretty

Personally, I regret taking Psychology. It's so much work in terms of remembering everything. Although,If my centre had allowed us to do a January exam I'd probably feel differently.

I hated the subject by the end of the first year and by the end of the A2 it was pure loathing, which has been intensified by the fact I think it's going to cost me my uni place.

Reply 14

iammichealjackson

Original post by Colour Me Pretty

Maybe you should have researched the subject before taking it or dropped it at year 13, rather than blame a subject?

Reply 15

Colour Me Pretty

Original post by iammichealjackson

Maybe you should have researched the subject before taking it or dropped it at year 13, rather than blame a subject?

Erm, I did? And I carried it on because I got an A in it.
I had a taster session and everything. Unfortunately, one lesson isn't representative of the entire subject. Also, I think if you look around the psychology forum you'll see a lot of people disliked this subject especially after the exams we just had.

Reply 16

iammichealjackson

Original post by Colour Me Pretty

I'm not saying psychology at a level is amazingly fun or anything...

but if you've got a selection of over 10-20 a levels, blaming subject choice isn't really a good excuse. To be honest i hate my fourth a level of english lit, but i know that's mostly my fault for not taking something i would enjoy and be good at, and not dropping it for my a levels. I know im not interested in the subject rather than the subject not being interesting. Psychology is one of the most popular a levels and its clear that most people just don't have a clue what it entails.

Do you do AQA spec A? For spec B that last exam has very little new content, all your revision could go on one page. People who do spec A always complain about the number of things to remember lol...

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

ChoYunEL

What I found with my Psychology lessons
Death by powerpoint.
Teacher who didn't notice me sleeping.
Teacher who liked me because I would answer questions.
Studies after studies which has a lot of flaws to talk about.

I liked the theories in psychology but when it came to learning about it - it was so boring...
Ask people in the school year above you and ask what they think of the teachers etc.

AQA PSYA AS exams are so... meh...
If you like writing essays - you have to wait till A2

Reply 18

dylantombides

Original post by ChoYunEL

Thanks for that, generally most people have seemed to find the subject boring on TSR which has put me off a bit. Maybe this is just the fact that THEY do not like the course, or THEIR teachers are not very good. I will ask people at my College who do psychology what they think because I am most likely to have the same teacher as them.

Reply 19

TitchTheAntiHero

I personally LOVE psychology, I'll admit the first Unit was a bit boring, but the second one was amazing, and Year 13 only looks even better :biggrin: