Psychology A level suggestions

[Sewingbea]

Hello All.
DD was to have taken her GCSEs this summer and is now drifting. She plans to take psychology A level from September and would be happy to do some preliminary reading. She's emailed her prospective teacher about this, but as the teacher is SLT she's got more important things to worry about, which I fully understand. Can anyone suggest good reading matter for her please? She didn't take psychology for GCSE so I feel that getting a handle on subject specific terms would be useful. Thank you.

My eldest is in Y12 studying Psychology - she would recommend Opening Skinner’s Box by Laurn Slater, she enjoyed reading it and it has been referred to in college.

Thank you, I've ordered a copy.

@PhoebeFriends do you know the exam board she is following?

I don't teach A-level psych, but it's my degree subject. I would suggest The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sachs which is fascinating, Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean a bit harder going, but still very interesting, The Nurture Assumption by Judith Rich Harris and How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker. Happy to recommend more if needed!

Bit of a boring suggestion, but for AQA we use the 3rd textbook down here: www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/as-and-a-level-psychology-textbooks - the one with the girl with the green hair on the front. It's written in a pretty accessible way and has a lot of the key words in it.

Simply psychology has a lot of interesting articles, as well as revision notes here: www.simplypsychology.org/

Nature via Nurture by Matt Ridley is an interesting and accessible book that looks at how genes and our environment both affect our behaviour.

It's also worth doing a bit of biology revision on the nervous system/endocrine system, as well as making sure she understands things like independent/dependent/control variable.

Thank you for all of the suggestions, they are very helpful. I completed an Open University psychology qualification - the Diploma for Postgraduates- when I was contemplating retaining as an Ed Psych but that was nearly twenty years ago so I feel very out of touch now. I'll be able to read along with her and discuss things, it's very helpful to have current ideas for reading. She's planning to take A level biology too and I've ordered a step up to A level biology book for her already.
I feel very sorry for her at the moment, it feels as if all year 11s have hit a brick wall due to this awful virus. She's spending a lot of time drawing and sewing a prom dress for a prom that probably won't happen. I know that there are many more terrible things happening with this virus but, at a low level, it's still pretty grim when you're only fifteen. And she's being very mature about it all.

Op I know what you mean. We have a prom dress hanging up, just hope it will get worn at some point.