What is A Level Psychology? It’s a question many students who are new to the subject ask. A Level Psychology is the study of the human mind and behaviour. It is one of the most popular A Level subjects in the UK, and for good reason.
It is endlessly fascinating, directly relevant to everyday life, and develops a wide range of skills including critical analysis, research design and essay writing. Whether you’re interested in a career in mental health, medicine, education or business, A Level Psychology gives you a strong foundation.
What do you study in A Level Psychology?
AQA A Level Psychology is assessed across three papers, each covering a different area of the subject.
Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology
Your first paper covers four core topics that introduce you to the breadth of psychological research.
Social Influence looks at how and why people conform to group norms or obey authority figures. You’ll study Milgram’s famous obedience studies and Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment, and evaluate what they tell us about human behaviour under social pressure.
Memory examines how we store, retain and retrieve information. You’ll explore models of memory including the Multi-Store Model and the Working Memory Model, and look at the research of psychologists like Baddeley and Hitch.
Attachment explores the bonds formed between infants and caregivers, and what happens when those bonds are disrupted. Bowlby’s theory of attachment and Ainsworth’s Strange Situation are central to this topic.
Psychopathology introduces you to mental health: what it means for behaviour to be considered abnormal, and how conditions such as depression, OCD and phobias are understood and treated.
Paper 2: Psychology in Context
Paper 2 goes deeper into the theoretical and scientific foundations of psychology.
Approaches in Psychology traces the history of the subject from the early behaviourists through to the cognitive, biological and humanistic approaches. Understanding these perspectives is essential for evaluating any psychological study or theory.
Biopsychology examines the relationship between the brain, the nervous system and behaviour. You’ll study the structure of neurons, the function of the brain’s key regions, and how biological processes influence the way we think, feel and act. An understanding of biology is useful here.
Research Methods is one of the most important topics in the entire course. Psychology is a science, and examiners expect you to understand how psychological research is designed, conducted and evaluated. This section rewards careful study, underpinning every other topic on the course.
Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology
Paper 3 combines a compulsory section on Issues and Debates with a choice of optional topics. Core Debates ask you to think critically about psychology as a whole. Questions are drawn from the topics of gender bias, cultural bias, the ethics of research, and the debate between nature and nurture.
The optional topics typically include Relationships, Schizophrenia, Eating Behaviour, Stress, Aggression, Forensic Psychology and Cognition and Development. Your school or college will choose which options to teach, so make sure you know which ones are on your syllabus.
How is A Level Psychology assessed?
AQA A Level Psychology is assessed entirely through three written exams at the end of sixth form. Each paper is two hours long and worth one third of your final grade. There is no coursework, so consistent revision and recall throughout the two years is important.
Questions range from short-answer and multiple choice through to extended essay responses. Research Methods questions can appear on any paper, so it’s important not to treat it as a Paper 2-specific topic.
Is A Level Psychology hard?
As with all other A Level subjects, Psychology is a demanding subject, particularly because of the volume of studies and theories you need to know. The research methods component catches many students off guard too. It requires a level of mathematical and biological thinking that not all students expect from a social science. This is why a strong GCSE in Maths and Biology is recommended to study Psychology at A Level.
That said, students who keep up with the content throughout the course and practise applying their knowledge to exam questions consistently tend to perform very well. The subject rewards genuine engagement and curiosity.
How to revise for A Level Psychology
The two most important revision habits for A Level Psychology are learning the key studies in depth and practising exam questions regularly. For every key study, you should know the aim, procedure, findings and conclusions — and be able to evaluate it critically in terms of methodology, ethics and application.
Research methods deserves dedicated revision time. Work through past paper questions on this topic specifically, as it carries significant marks across all three papers. We also have a dedicated course on Psychology Research Methods to help you understand the topic in more depth.
You should also check out the Study Dog Psychology courses, which cover the full AQA specification. With course notes, keyword portfolios, flashcards and practice papers, Study Dog is here to help you unlock your A* potential in A Level Psychology.
