The course looks at 5 areas of psychology, these are:

Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Social Psychology
Physiological Psychology
Individual Differences

Each area of psychology has 4 different key studies that you have to learn.
Lessons are planned out so that there is a practical session to introduce the topic area, the study is looked at in detail, the study is evaluated and the study is then planned in essay format for exam practice.

Exams
Core studies 1 which is a short answer paper, there are 20 questions one about each of the studies. Each question is worth between 2 and 4 marks.
Core studies 2 which is an essay paper, the questions will ask you to describe a study/studies, evaluate a study/studies and change something about the studies to make them better.
Practical investigations which is completing your own little experiments and writing them up in a psychology study format. Each exam is worth 16.7% of your overall mark.

Cognitive Psychology
This investigates topics such as:
Eye witness testimony and leading questions
Perception
Autism
Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee

Developmental Psychology
This investigates topics such as:
The ability of children’s thinking and reasoning
How children learn aggression
Relationships of ex-institutional children
Phobias

Social Psychology
This investigates topics such as:
Obedience
Prison behaviour
Helping behaviour
Discrimination

Physiological Psychology
This investigates topics such as:
Emotions
Sleep and dreaming
Split brain patients
Brain abnormalities in murderers

Individual Differences
This investigates topics such as:
IQ testing
Racial preference
Schizophrenia
Multiple personality

Practical Investigations
There is a practical element to the course also. You get the chance to conduct your own mini experiments on the unsuspecting victims around the 6 th form!
You have to do 4 practical activities:
An observation
A questionnaire
A correlation
A comparison of data between two variables

This is a separate exam to the studies you have to learn and you even get to take in the booklet you have filled in along the way for help and guidance!