The Crypt School Psychology Department POS 2025-26 A Level Psychology (AQA) – Subject to change dependent on number of teachers
YEAR 12 PSYCHOLOGY
Paper 1 Topic of Study & Content
Paper 2 Topic of Study & Content
Paper 3 Topic of Study & Content
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Memory (models, types, forgetting, eyewitness testimonies, cognitive interviews)
Social Influence (conformity, obedience, minority influence and social resistance )
Attachment (theories, studies, cultural variation,) deprivation, privation, institutionalisation, adult relationships)
The Cognitive Approach (Schema, models, cognitive neuroscience)
The Behaviourist Approach continued (Classical & Operant Conditioning, Social Learning Theory))
Research Methods (Observations) Research Methods (Experiments, validity, reliability, Case Studies)
Term 4
Psychopathology (defining abnormality, phobias, depression, OCD)
Term 6
Social Influence Continued
End Point To be able to: ● describe ● evaluate … all research evidence (70+) and theory from the 4 topics in Paper 1. To be able to: ● describe ● evaluate ● apply
Biopsychology (the nervous system, neurons, the endocrine system)
Research Methods (Self-Reports)
Psychology as a Science (paradigms, objectivity, reliability, hypothesis testing, falsification)
Issues & Debates The Nomothetic vs Idiographic debate
Term 5
Issues & Debates Culture Bias
The Biological Approach (genetic basis for behaviour, genotype, + phenotype, evolution and natural selection)
The Humanistic Approach (Congruence, SelfActualisation, ClientCentred Therapy)
The Psychodynamic Approach (Personality, Ego defence mechanisms, Consciousness, Psychosexual Stages)
Research Methods (Correlational analysis, statistical testing)
Issues & Debates Nature v Nurture debate
…behaviourist, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic and humanistic approaches to research and theory. To be able to: ● describe the biopsychological processes of neuronal communication, the nervous system, the endocrine system and the fight / flight response To be able to: ● identify ● describe ● evaluate research methods and techniques that psychologists use to investigate behaviour. To be able to: ● apply
Issues & Debates Determinism v Freewil
… these debates when evaluating research and theory in Paper 1 exam questions