What you will learn
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Unit 1 - Social influence
- Types of Conformity
- Explanations for obedience
- Resistance to Social Influence
- The role of social influence processes in social change
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- The Multi-Store Model
- Explanations for forgetting
- Interference theory
- Retrieval failure
- The Cognitive Interview Technique
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- Caregiver-infant interactions
- Stages of attachment
- Multiple attachments and the role of the father
- Cultural variations in attachment
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- Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of disorders
- Depressive and bipolar disorders
- OCD and anxiety disorders
- The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias
- The cognitive approach to depression
- The biological approach to OCD
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Unit 5 - Approaches in psychology
- Origins of psychology
- Social learning theory
- Cognitive approaches
- Biological approaches
- Psychodynamic approaches, including Freud and the Structure of Personality
- Humanistic approaches
- The eclectic approach
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- The Nervous System
- The Endocrine System
- The Fight or Flight Response
- Localisation of brain function
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Unit 7 - Issues and debates in psychology
- Gender
- Culture
- Free will and determinism
- Nature vs nurture
- Holism and reductionism
- Idiographic and nomothetic approaches
- Ethics
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- Partner preferences
- Factors affecting attraction in romantic relationships
- Filter theory
- Virtual relationships
- Parasocial relationships
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- Neural mechanisms and the limbic system
- Hormonal mechanisms
- Genetic factors and the MAOA gene
- Twin studies and aggression:
- Ethological and evolutionary explanations
- Social psychological explanations
- Dispositional and situational explanations
- Media influences
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- Classification of schizophrenia
- Different types of schizophrenia
- Biological explanations for schizophrenia
- Psychological explanations for schizophrenia:
- Treatments for schizophrenia
- Defining mental illness
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Unit 11 - Research methods in psychology
- Lab experiments
- Field experiments
- Natural experiments
- Quasi experiments
- Types of observation
- Self-report techniques
- Sampling
- Experimental design
- Ethical issues
- The BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct
- Peer review
- Types of data
- Distributions
- Choice of statistical testing
- Report writing
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Preparing for the examinations
Now is the time to get yourself ready for the big day and do some exam preparation.
Awarding Body
AQA qualifications are internationally recognised and taught in 30 countries around the world, highly valued by employers and universities and enable young people to progress to the next stage of their lives. AQA qualifications suit a range of abilities and include GCSE courses, IGCSE courses and A-level courses.
View our other AQA qualifications.
Endorsed by
Course Outcome
After you’ve passed your exams, you’ll be awarded an A-level Psychology qualification issued by AQA. Your certificate is identical to that issued to students at any other school, college or university.
This syllabus (7182) has been chosen specifically because it is best suited to distance learning.
How is this course assessed or examined?
You will be required to complete the three written exams:
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- Paper 1: 2 hours, 33.3% of A-level, 96 marks.
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- Paper 2: 2 hours, 33.3% of A-level, 96 marks.
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- Paper 3: 2 hours, 33.3% of A-level, 96 marks.
As an Oxbridge student, you are guaranteed access to one of our exam centres located across the country, saving you time and stress and allowing you to concentrate on getting prepared. Your tutor will also provide you with all the resources you need for A-level Psychology revision; whether you prefer working from past papers or a more visual way of revising, we’re here to help you succeed.
Entry requirements
It is strongly recommended that you have at least one science GCSE or equivalent, preferably a GCSE in Psychology. You also need to be comfortable dealing with numbers. This AQA A-level Psychology syllabus is a difficulty level three: an A-level or BTEC equivalent difficulty, usually suitable for most learners of all ages.
