48 / 136
What kind of person do I need to be?
Do you have an enquiring mind and a desire to
understand human behaviour? Do you want to build
a greater awareness of yourself and others? Are you
naturally sceptical and can be critical of theories or
information sources? Can you apply scientific principles
to studying the mind? If you can answer yes to these,
then studying this subject may be for you.
Psychology
What skills will I learn?
Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind
and behaviour. You could be finding out why people get
depressed, how memories are formed or how children
develop attachments. You will learn how to design and
test psychological theories, collect data and analyse
results. The subject will help you develop IT skills as you
test statistical data, engage your literacy skills as you
write essays and develop communication as you work
in a team on projects.
How do I get there?
To study the subject at A level you will need a good grade
in GCSE maths. The written work would benefit if you
have achieved English at C along with another humanity
or social science subject. A science subject or maths
at A level will help if you want to study this at degree
level but you don’t necessarily need to have studied the
subject at A level. Psychology graduates go on to careers
in education, human resources, marketing and youth
work. To work in the profession you will need to study
fur ther at postgraduate level.