Psychology is one of the most popular subjects to study at A-level, despite the fact that most schools do not offer it as a GCSE subject. Therefore, many 15- and 16-years olds may have selected it because it matches their interests or aspirations, but aren’t quite sure what to expect. Here is an overview for anyone starting an A level course in September.
Psychology teaches you essential academic techniques
During the course, you will learn about the importance of research and experiments. These are the key tools of the psychologist, and depending on the syllabus that you study, you may even have the chance to design, conduct, and evaluate an experiment of your own. You’ll certainly be a whole lot more familiar with the process by the end of the course.
You’ll learn about the human condition
What more valuable way to spend your time here on earth learning all about the human condition? It’s the key to understanding and interpreting the world around us, from our closest friends and family to foreign cultures. It can prove to be enriching and help you manage your own relationships better.
Understanding how and why we have evolved to think in the way we do can give you more insight into yourself, and your patterns of behaviour, as well. It can be very useful to help identify positive and negative traits in ourselves, and learn how to manage them successfully.
It will develop your critical thinking skills
At A level, you will be expected to do a lot more than passively absorb and regurgitate information. You will need to become an active and independent thinker, and probe information for its veracity, prejudices, and weaknesses.
In short, by the time you have finished the course, you will be able to critically deconstruct any piece of information that you come across. An invaluable skill in today’s world, where there is a mass of information available, but not necessarily a lot of quality control to go with it!
You will learn about moral complexities
The more of the subject you learn, the more that you will realise that nothing is black and white. You will have the opportunity to tackle ethical questions and issues, about how research and experiments are conducted, and also wider problems facing society. In a world of increasingly polarised and angry opinions, this is a very valuable tool.
You will have a basic grounding in scientific topics
Some of the branches of science that are relevant to psychology, such as biology, will usually be included in the syllabus. You won’t need to be studying other science A level topics to be able to understand it, so don’t worry if you think that this is not going to be your thing.
You will be a better all-round student
The course includes core topics on how the memory works, and this will help you in all of your studies. You will learn how to focus and how to revise effectively for exams. There are also a lot of written assignments to hone your English and grammar skills.
For more information about resources for psychology, please get in touch today.
