Do you reccomend A level AQA Psychology???

I take this subject and I find it very interesting. In Unit 1, you will study Social Influence (in very basic terms, things like why people conform to social roles, why people follow a majority and how minority groups can cause social change- but there is more to it and it's more interesting than I've made it sound, most people like this and it's one of the easier topics), Memory (types of memory, memory stores, eye witness testimony, cognitive interview- used by the police- some of this can be boring but most of it is very interesting and it's one of the easier topics), Attachment (how children and animals form bonds with their parents, what happens if they don't etc) and Psychopathology (4 ways of classifying mental health problems, you'll also study OCD, Depression and Phobias, causes for depression, treatments including CBT therapy and medication. This is a really interesting topic especially if you're interested in mental health and mental illness, it probably has some of the hardest content from Unit One as it has some biology in it but I don't find it too hard).

Then in Unit 2 you'll study Research Methods (most people studying the subject find this less interesting as it's not so much psychology but generally vital to studying a subject like psychology, some of it is easy that you'll have learnt before, some of it is interesting, and some of it can be quite hard. You need fairly good maths skills, but don't worry too much as your teacher will help you. This is also the biggest part of the course as it has a whole section in the Unit 2 exam that is worth a lot of marks and it can appear in other sections in all three units, but if you learn it well its easy marks to gain!). You'll also study Biopsychology (this looks at biological explanations, a lot of things like how the brain changes and basically is the most science based part of the course. I won't lie, I got a B in Biology at GCSE and really enjoyed it and I still find this bit hard but it's one difficult part and it is interesting which helps with learning it. There'll be parts of any course that you won't like so the main thing is to make sure around 80% of what you study interest you and you'll be fine) and then finally Approaches (looks at Cognitive, Biological, Humanstic, Psychodynamic (Freud), Learning Theory, Behaviourism approaches- I may have missed one- basically it looks at many many aspects of psychology and kind of brings it together as a whole. This topic is also interesting, but I'd say it's one that people think is easy because you kind of learn things from it in other topics, but it actually requires a bit of work to properly understand it.).

Unit 3 is where there's options- everyone studies Issues and Debates which I can't really give you info on as it's the last topic I have to study, but then the others are chosen by your teacher- so I'd suggest finding out what they'll be choosing. The options are varied but I study Schizophrenia (what is it, how is it diagnosed, how is it treated etc- some sciencey parts but a very very interesting topic that I love, just need to revise it lots), Cognition and Development (basically how infant and adolescents develop, you'll study some key researchers, it is interesting and you also get to look at things like autism briefly, but this is my least favourite Unit 3 topic I study) and then Addiction which again, I love (you study gambling addiction, nicotine addiction, alochol addiction and various treatments- some of it is sciencey but I wouldn't say it's too difficult and it is really interesting!).

Overall I'd say I enjoy most of it, there is a lot of content to remember, but if you revise it well and go over your notes and write up class notes, you should be fine. Unit 1 is the easiest unit supposedly (which I find) and Unit 3 is the hardest. Some people find Unit 2 easier than 1, it just depends. Unit 3 is almost defintely the hardest, you have to really know how to answer the questions with the correct info but my teacher has been great and you'll get lots of practice, and it's also been running the new course for a few years now so the teachers will understand it better, unlike geography for example where I'm the first year of the course and we've all been struggling because the teachers weren't sure how to teach the new course. I got As in Physics, Chemistry and Maths and Bs in Biology and Statistics at GCSE (to be honest Biology is the only relevant science but if you're not doing triple they usually expect a B overall in double science I think). I'd say I found Biopsych hard and some of Research Methods hard but apart from that I've found it find and I think as long as you have a B in Biology/Science and Maths you'll find it okay.

Also, it's no coursework, which can be stressful because it relies entirely on exams, but I have had coursework for English Lit and Geography and it's so time consuming, I personally wish I had done 2 exam based subjects and only 1 coursework based subject! But don't worry too much, for example, my friend is going to dance school and did around 15 hours of dance per week during Year 12, plus did A Level Art, English (with coursework) and Psychology and she's coped fairly well, you just have to be well motivated and use your time wisely! Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into this. No I will definitely take Psychology as it seems interesting and I like biology but didn't want to take it at A level. Thank you again

You’re welcome! It’s a great subject and as you like Biology it will be even better!