Most of us accept standardised testing as part and parcel of our compulsory education. Granted, we can leave school without sitting any General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. However, our future prospects are dim if we go that route.
Furthermore, even if we sit GCSEs, we must continue our formal education for two more years. This relatively recent rule has provoked furious discussion. Any views Superprof might have on that topic are for another article. For now, we only need to mention that, since that change, the number of students sitting A-Levels keeps growing, year-on-year.
Those statistics prove that more students are turning to Advanced-Level learning. Do they do so with an air of resigned acceptance, or have they embraced their mandate? Not so long ago, a meme about A-Levels crossed my social media feed. It might give us an idea of where the sentiments lie:
The leap from GCSEs to A-Level is like going a round at paintball and then being airdropped into Syria to fight terrorists.
Anonymous
This sentiment seems to indicate that students have resigned themselves to the further education mandate. Whoever crafted that observation sounds like they might have appreciated some sort of guidance over their advanced education. This article aims to do just that. But, you might wonder, what does all this have to do with psychology?
Quite a lot, in fact. In these few paragraphs, we've touched on behaviour and conditioning, emotions, and a popular form of mass communication. We've also posted statistical information, which, by sheer coincidence, reveals that A-Level Psychology is the second most popular A-Level subject. All of these are areas of psychological study.
As you're reading this, you too must be thinking about Psychology as an A-Level subject selection. If so, you need this input to make an informed decision. As that's the case, Superprof outlines:
- the benefits and challenges of becoming a psychologist
- the perceived difficulty of this subject
- the topics you must master to earn high marks
- how best to use study resources for maximum exam scores
How to Become a Psychologist
Most people think of counsellors and therapists when they think about a career in psychology. Those positions certainly fall under that umbrella, but psychology offers a much broader range of fields to work in.
Many trained psychologists don't do clinical work. They might focus on research or study a different profession entirely. For instance, a marketing psychologist might help design adverts and spearhead surveys.
The first step to becoming a psychologist is determining the type of work you want to do. The field of psychology is broad, and touches on many other disciplines. For instance, an engineering psychologist uses their problem-solving skills to help design more worker-friendly machinery. By contrast, a community psychologist studies community health issues and helps develop social programs.
As early as Year 9, future psychologists should choose courses that will lead to their desired careers. The type of psychologist that conducts behavioural studies needs different skills than a clinical psychologist. That is one reason why deciding as early as possible which type of psychology work you want to do is important. You must pick subjects that will build relevant skills.
The standard pathway is Psychology A-Level, undergraduate studies and then, specialising at the graduate level. However, you might be surprised to discover that you don't need to take Psychology at the A- or undergraduate levels. However, you must study either Maths or a Science to qualify for graduate psychology studies.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) permits students who've taken their conversion course to access graduate-level psychology courses.
Such students must present a history of maths (or science) studies and relevant work experience to qualify for that course.
How Hard is A-Level Psychology?
The meme we mentioned in this article's introduction suggests that A-Levels are universally gruelling. Thus, singling out Psychology A-Level as a difficult subject misses the point. The question should be whether the work will deliver the desired results.
Considering that Psychology is the second most popular A-Level subject, It can't be that difficult a subject. However, it is intensive, and you will have to put in the work to meet the requirements your career plans demand.
The question of difficulty is subjective. What's hard for some people comes easily to others. Furthermore, nobody knows what you consider difficult, except you.
In fact, questioning this a-Level's difficulty is more philosophical than practical. After all, if something brings great rewards, the difficulty in attaining it means nothing.
From an objective point of view, the rewards of psychological studies are many. Such learning paves the way to many exciting careers. The skills future psychologists master apply to other work environments, too. As a critical thinker and a problem solver, your transferable skills would be in great demand.
In many ways, A-Level Psychology is a course like all others. You'll study this discipline's history and explore its theories. You'll make intuitive leaps and discuss your conclusions. You'll sit two exams: the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced-Level.
In other ways, it's a course unlike any other on offer. It's your chance to gain the inside track on the human condition and the influences that drive our behaviour. You'll explore relationships and social structures, and discover why and how they go so badly wrong.
If these topics fascinate you, and they lead you to the career you want, A-Level Psychology won't be hard at all. Should you still not know whether the risk is worth the reward, perhaps hard data can help you decide.
Key Topics of A-Level Psychology
Your A-Level Psychology course covers a lot of ground. You will learn about statistics and research methods, as well as this discipline's history. You'll discover famous psychological studies and how their results inform today's psychological practice.
That might seem like a lot, but you'll hardly notice the number of topics you're learning about. They all mesh well together, such that one aspect of your studies leads to your next area of curiosity.
You will learn a lot about various psychological concepts during your two-year course. Your first year focuses on social influence, memory, and attachment - parent-child bonds and the like. You'll also learn the fundamentals of research and approaches to psychology, including humanistic, biological and cognitive approaches.
You will touch on the basics of research methodology, too. You'll revisit these seven topics during your second year, and get an introduction to biopsychology. This key topic explores the brain and various body systems' impacts on human psychology.
For many students, this key topic is the most revealing. People don't typically think about their endocrine or nervous system having a direct effect on their psychological state. You'll discover that when you study issues and debates in psychology - your eighth key topic to know.
Along the way, you'll examine other psychological topics, such as mental health, relationships and forensic psychology. You'll find that this A-Level subject is less about memorising knowledge and more about case studies.
You'll need some maths skills, because analysing psychological data is a vital component for this topic. However, you don't need to be a maths whiz as long as your basic arithmetic and numbers sense are well honed.
Maths and statistics aside, you might struggle to decide which key psychological topic most engages you. Perhaps even this snippet kindles your desire to study them all. An in-depth report on each psychology topic will help you define where your passion lies in the field of psychology.
Using A-Level Psychology Past Papers for Revision
Every student preparing for A-Level exams knows that past papers and marking schemes are their top revision resources. What's less clear is how to use them for maximum benefit.
Most students wait until the 'standard' revision time to download and print past papers. That's typically two to three months ahead of their exams. Rather than wait that long, download them when you start your course to get the most use out of them.
Often, the focus is on past papers and marking schemes; students tend to overlook the examiners' reports. All three documents have value. However, as you start your course of study, the latter report is vital.
This paper describes what the past group of students did well - and not so well, on their exams. It points to systemic failures, such as time management and not understanding the questions' intent. It also lays out where and how students fail to answer the questions completely.
Make note of these deficiencies at the start of your course. That way, you'll have the whole year to train yourself to avoid those pitfalls. Of course, going over several years of past papers and marking schemes that early is also a good idea.
You don't have to sit mock exams or try to answer past papers' questions until much later in your course. But getting familiar with the question papers and referring to them throughout your course is one of the best ways to use past papers.
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