The A2 course gives you an opportunity to study some uses of psychology in the real world. You will discover how the approaches you have learned about come together to explain human behaviour. In all areas you will be encouraged to use recent evidence from events in the news.

There are two units (further to units 1 and 2 which you will have completed in your AS course), one that will be examined in January and one in June.

In unit 3 you will study two topics chosen from the following.

Criminological Psychology looks at psychological explanations for criminal behaviour, problems with eyewitness testimony and treating offenders.

Child Psychology looks at the development of relationships in infancy, as well as the impact of day care on young children.

Health Psychology considers the problems associated with the use of recreational drugs.

In Unit 4 you will study Clinical Psychology where you will learn about explanations for mental illness, their diagnosis and treatment. You will study two disorders, including schizophrenia.

In the A2 course you will cover a section on Issues and Debates, where all the material you have covered is drawn together to develop an overview of the subject. You will look at the contributions psychology has made to society, what methods it uses and whether the research conducted is ethical. You will also address problems associated with psychological knowledge being used to control people’s behaviour, the influences of inheritance and upbringing and the question of whether psychology is really a science.