Starting A-Level Psychology can feel slightly strange because, unlike many other A-Level subjects, plenty of students have never studied it before.

You may have chosen it because you enjoyed a psychology taster lesson, found a particular topic interesting or simply wanted to understand why people think and behave in certain ways. Whatever brought you to the subject, it helps to know what you are walking into.

Psychology is fascinating, but it is not simply a matter of discussing people’s behaviour or giving your own opinion. There is quite a lot of content to learn, research to understand and exam technique to develop.

The good news is that nobody starts the course knowing how to do all of that.

There will be more science than you might expect

A-Level Psychology is a social science. You will study topics such as memory, attachment, social influence, mental health and approaches to explaining behaviour, but you will also learn how psychological research is carried out.

That means becoming familiar with experiments, observations, questionnaires, correlations, sampling methods, ethical issues and data analysis.

There is some maths involved, but don’t panic. You are not suddenly taking another maths A-Level. Most of it is manageable once somebody explains what the question is actually asking you to do.

Research methods can seem dry at first, but they run throughout the course and appear regularly in exams. Getting comfortable with them early will make life much easier later.

Knowing the content is only part of the job

One of the biggest surprises for new Psychology students is that remembering the information is not enough.

You also need to apply your knowledge to scenarios, explain research clearly, compare theories and evaluate psychological ideas and studies.

This is where the different assessment objectives come in:

• AO1 is your knowledge and understanding.
• AO2 is applying that knowledge to the question.
• AO3 is analysis and evaluation.

Students often know more Psychology than their marks initially suggest. The problem is usually that they have not yet learned how to turn that knowledge into the kind of answer the examiner wants.

That is a skill, and it improves with practice.

You will meet a lot of studies

Psychology uses research evidence to support and challenge explanations of behaviour, so you will encounter plenty of named studies.

You do not need to memorise every tiny detail the first time you see one. Start by understanding the basic story:

• What were the researchers investigating?
• What did they do?
• What did they find?
• What did they conclude?
• What were the strengths and weaknesses?

Once the overall study makes sense, the detail becomes much easier to remember.

Your first answers probably won’t be perfect

That is completely normal.

A-Level Psychology has its own vocabulary and style of writing. Early answers can be too descriptive, too vague or missing the link back to the question. Evaluation paragraphs may identify a weakness without explaining why it matters.

Feedback is there to show you what to develop next. A disappointing mark at the beginning of Year 12 does not predict the grade you will eventually achieve.

The important thing is to use the feedback rather than simply look at the mark and move on.

A little organisation will help

You do not need to spend the rest of August trying to teach yourself the course. In fact, you may end up learning material differently from the way your teacher wants it structured.

A better use of your time is to make sure you have somewhere sensible to keep your notes, handouts, practice questions and feedback.

Psychology builds quickly, and trying to find a worksheet from three months ago in the bottom of your bag is not an effective revision strategy.

Whether you prefer folders, notebooks or digital notes does not really matter. Choose a system you will actually use.

Don’t wait until exams to ask for help

If you do not understand something, ask.

Questions are not evidence that you are bad at Psychology. They are usually evidence that you are paying attention and have noticed a gap in your understanding.

The same applies if you understand the lesson but cannot seem to pick up marks in tests. That often means you need help with exam technique rather than more revision.

A-Level Psychology is a big course, but you are not expected to arrive in September already knowing how to master it. Take it one topic at a time, practise using what you learn and pay attention to the feedback you receive.

That is how the confidence — and the marks — begin to build.

If you are starting A-Level Psychology this September and would like extra support with the content, research methods or exam technique, get in touch to discuss online tuition.