Anyone know about psychology A level

Posters saying why teenagers are drawn to psychology for slightly misguided reasons are on the money.

It's science-based, but at A-level stage isn't enormously highly regarded. It's viewed as a bit 'lite' compared to other sciences or maths, and number of very academic schools don't offer it at A-level for this reason. It might be a recommended subject, but a lot of unis don't require it as an A-level, even for psychology degrees.

This is a myth. Not sure where you got it from, frankly.
All Psychology degrees are accredited by the BPS and include statistics.
I really wouldn't recommend a science A level without an old style C/5 in GCSE science.

I think the first stem could be looking at course specifications and trying to figure out if it's doable.
For example, Pearson BTEC in applied psychology has Research Methods as Unit 2, and you would usually need a good understanding of statistics for research methods even in social sciences (psychology is not necessarily close to social sciences, it can be nat sci heavy so even more research background would be required).

I think the majority of teenagers are drawn to the subject by a) pop psychology and b) wanting to fix themselves.
Then they either adapt to the harsh reality of the actual psychology undergrad or drop out.

I’m a psychology lecturer at a uni. There is a subset of students who are drawn to the subject because they think it’s all personality profiling, crime drama, and helping people. They want to fix themselves and learn about extra sensory perception. I would bet my life that if we ran a degree that did all that and mixed it with a bit of counselling, animal behaviour, and horoscopes, we’d be inundated with applications.

In actual fact, there’s A LOT of statistics, biology, and biochemistry. I started out at uni doing biochemistry and genetics and switched to psychology which I’d taken as an option and loved. It’s not all Freud and the deep thoughts, though there is a bit of that. You do need to clued up scientifically, and be able to do statistics AND write essays. It’s seen be some as an easy touch, but I’ve known students doing joint maths and psychology who had to switch to single honours maths because they couldn’t get to grips with the essay requirements.

Psychology A level is hard is all I will say. My son found it really difficult and very theoretical

Btec and t levels are an option and have psychology units

all I know is that it’s a difficult A Level

Re: my above post - how do I break this to her? She’s mentioned Sociology and Criminology but would these also be a bad idea without strong Maths and Sciences?

This is exactly what dd thought GCSE Psychology would be like, influenced by pop culture Psychology! She’s in year 10 and is struggling with the Maths / statistics side as she has dyscalculia. Her school does the BTEC version of Psychology (not A Level) in sixth form and I’m thinking even that will be too challenging for someone with Maths and Sciences as their weakest subjects

I loved psychology A level but then I find scientific methodology and research fascinating and it really taught me to question everything I read.

I found if you mention you’ve studied psychology to someone, they look at you quizzically and voice the concern that you’re going to psychoanalyse them.

Because of the way popular psychology is portrayed, some people (I.e. younger me) think it’s going to be all the “sexy” stuff, like interpreting body language and diagnosing personality disorders.

You have hit the nail on the head with this @MostlyGhostly . DD thought that A level psychology would be how you describe and was disappointed at how deadly boring she found it. So many people swapped to a different subject within the first two weeks, and those who started with 4 subjects just dropped it.

This is always the issue with an untried subject.

Maybe have a chat with her about what she thinks it is and why she wants to do it. Psychology is very research based, which means understanding statistics and scientific methods. Because of the way popular psychology is portrayed, some people (I.e. younger me) think it’s going to be all the “sexy” stuff, like interpreting body language and diagnosing personality disorders. I studied psychology at degree level and was very surprised when I realized how science- heavy it was and tbh, I struggled. But did however go on to do a masters and PhD and became a chartered psychologist, but that was back in the olden days when uni entry requirements weren’t as tough. I had to be tenacious and put a lot of work in to get through the quantitative research methods modules. Loved the qualitative and excelled at that which kept me going.

Have you been to any college open days with DD? It might be better if she hears about the content of the courses directly from tutor to find out if she would be a good fit and be able to stick the 2 years.

I don’t have maths GCSE yet I coped well with the stats.

A 3 is a fail.

I concur. And as you said previously, chemistry would be useful in case of further studying Clinical Psych at uni as need to understand pharmacological effects, but not essential otherwise.

@Villanousvillans that’s why i write “applied maths” :) no need for any pure maths, but a solid maths brain is absolutely required. I would say a 7 in maths gcse should be fine, similar for biology. chemistry and physics- not an issue if that’s the 3 (although very unusual to be competent at maths and that low in physics)

I’m not good at maths yet I was able to handle the statistics involved with A level psychology. I studied A level psychology and sociology in just one school year and I achieved an A in both subjects.

100 percent this. Don’t under estimate how good their maths also needs to be. Stats is a big part of it

There's also the question of even if she makes it through a notoriously hard course, what grade she'd come out with.

I teach Economics and we require 5 in Maths and 6 in English and those are lowish requirements as the school is inclusive.

That means that although headline results are excellent, some students come out with CDE every year and there is the occasional U.

What would your daughter do with an E or U in Psychology. Would she still feel it had been worth it?

For psychology, you need a very solid understanding of applied maths (statistics ), and biology.
Understanding of scientific methodologies is an absolute must as well.
A basic understanding of chemistry is handy, but you don’t have to be a genius.

My dd is also y11 and has also chosen psychology as one of her four options for alevel. (They choose 4 to drop one).

We’re in the gcse revision trenches at the moment. She is predicted 8s for bio and physics and 7s in maths and chemistry.

School sixth form (independent school) insist on minimum 7s in all sciences for psychology alevel. That in itself makes me nervous if she “just gets a 7” that she’ll find the course hard.

My DD's best friend has applied to do A Level Psychology and both the 6th forms she has applied to want her to have 6s in sciences and maths to take it. These aren't really selective or competitive 6th forms, they just say that they know what background you need to have a chance at success in the A Level.

A grade 3 is a really low grade. If your dd is considering A Levels at all, then she surely has the ability to pull this up with study and revision before the exams?

Just to add, I also did sociology A level at the same time. I absolutely loved psychology, I found it absolutely fascinating. I didn’t enjoy sociology as much. I found it quite dry.