Sutton Grammar School students can study Psychology at A-Level. The subject has proved very popular throughout the time it has been available to Sixth Form students.
Psychology is the science of the mind and of human behaviour.
It is a science, and is looked upon favourably by universities as a worthwhile A-Level subject. By its nature, psychology helpfully prepares students for life beyond education.
In the first year of study students are taught the basics of psychology and given a broad grounding in this new subject.
They will look at 5 different areas in psychology and 2 perspectives these are:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Biological Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Individual differences
- The Psychodynamic perspective
- The Behaviourist perspective
These are taught by looking at historical and contemporary studies
During this year pupils are also taught how to conduct studies and will complete a number of psychological investigations, these will include; experiments, observations, self-assessments and correlation studies. After performing the studies the emphasis turns to report writing where pupils will be taught how to write a psychological report correctly.
There is also a mathmatical element to the study of psychology as pupils will be required to perform statistical tests on data collected from studies.
In year 2 of the course the focus is narrowed to look at specific areas of Psychology, these are:
- Medical Psychology
- Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Criminal Psychology
In addition to this the pupils will continue to perform their own studies and write full Psychological reports on these.