International A Level Psychology Course

Cambridge Specification

Awarding Body: Cambridge

Cambridge Course Code: 9990

Cambridge Exams: June & November ( March for India only)

Cambridge Study Hours: 300 – 360 hours

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)

This International A’ Level Psychology Course with Cambridge will help you develop your appreciation of the subject by exploring the ways in which psychology is conducted. As part of your studies, you also review important research; this provides an insight into the ways in which psychology has been applied, thereby leading to a better understanding of key approaches, research methods and issues and debates.

The syllabus reflects four core areas of psychology, namely biological, cognitive, learning and social; it also relates psychology to abnormality, consumer behaviour, health and organisations.

How will I benefit from the International A Level Psychology Cambridge course?

The aims of this course are to enable learners to develop:

• knowledge and understanding of psychological concepts, theories and research findings
• an understanding of psychological approaches, issues and debates and research methodology
• an awareness of the scientific method and range and limitations of psychological theory and practice
• improved skills in data analysis, evaluation and drawing conclusions
• an awareness of the relationships between psychological findings and everyday life
• an understanding of ethical issues in psychology
• an appreciation and understanding of individual, social and cultural diversity.

Key Concepts

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Psychology are:

Nature versus nurture

A key focus of contemporary psychology is to consider the relative contributions of nature versus nurture. Behaviours could be seen as resulting from innate, genetic factors (nature) or behaviours could be explained in terms of the environmental influences that begin to shape us from conception (nurture). Students should be aware of this debate while planning studies and evaluating studies as part of this course.

Ethics 

Ethics must be considered when planning a psychological investigation to ensure that data is gathered without compromising the wellbeing of the participant(s). The approach to ethics in psychological research has changed over time as our understanding has developed and attitudes towards ethical and moral implications change. As a result, some of the earlier studies that were the basis of the subject no longer meet the current guidelines. We should continually evaluate the ethical and moral implications of psychological research.

Research methods

Every research method has strengths and weaknesses, and a psychologist must evaluate how the method they have chosen contributes to the validity and reliability of their specific investigation as well as to wider psychological research.

No one view in psychology is definitive

Psychological research is influenced by the approach of the researcher and the time and context they are working in. Any topic is likely to be studied from the perspective of more than one psychological approach, and each approach has its own assumptions.

Relevance of psychology in contemporary society

By understanding psychology, we can improve how we live our lives and society in general. Every study is undertaken with a specific purpose in mind which can then be applied in everyday life – whether it is improving how we learn, understanding how groups of people behave or treating a disorder. Students should be able to recognise how psychological studies of a specific area can be applied to other scenarios in everyday life.

Cambridge Psychology Content Overview (Up to 2027 Exams)

YEAR 1 – IAS

The AS Level course consists of approaches, issues and debates and research methodology that underpin the study of psychology.

These fundamental aspects of psychology are taught and assessed through 12 compulsory core studies and the approaches, issues and debates and research methodology should be considered for each study as relevant.

Biological

Dement and Kleitman (sleep and dreams)

Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences)

Hölzel et al. (mindfulness and brain scans)

Cognitive

Andrade (doodling)

Baron-Cohen et al. (eyes test)

Pozzulo et al. (line-ups)

Learning

Bandura et al. (aggression)

Fagen et al. (elephant learning)

Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia)

Social

Milgram (obedience)

Perry et al. (personal space)

Piliavin et al. (subway Samaritans)

AS Level issues and debates

At AS Level, the issues and debates that learners will need to consider in relation to each of the core studies, where appropriate, are:

• the application of psychology to everyday life
• individual and situational explanations
• nature versus nurture
• the use of children in psychological research
• the use of animals in psychological research.

The core studies illustrate a wide range of research methods used in psychology, such as experiments, self-reports, case studies, observations, correlations and longitudinal studies. By exploring the relationship between the content of the study and the research methods, learners will gain a broad understanding of how psychologists study experiences and behaviours and why the research took place.

YEAR 2 – IA2

The specialist options introduced at A Level explore how psychology can be applied in a range of contexts.

Learners study how psychology is applied in two of the following areas:

• Clinical Psychology
• Consumer Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Organisational Psychology

A Level issues and debates

At A Level, the issues and debates that candidates will need to consider in relation to each of the specialist options, as appropriate, are:

• the application of psychology to everyday life
• individual and situational explanations
• nature versus nurture
• the use of children in psychological research
• cultural differences
• reductionism versus holism
• determinism versus free-will
• idiographic versus nomothetic.