The Psychology Press A-Level Programme

Latest News

AS Level PsychologyNew: AS Level Psychology, fourth edition, by Michael W. Eysenck

This thoroughly updated, full colour fourth edition of AS Level Psychology has been completely revised to match the requirements of the new AQA-A specification. It has a new focus on the nature and scope of psychology as a science with an emphasis on how science works, and guidance on how to engage students in practical scientific research activities.

The book includes coverage of six key areas in psychology: human memory, early social development, research methods, stress, social influence and abnormality. It retains the thorough content, volume of features and excellent writing style of previous editions with a fully structured layout to improve accessibility. Chapters focus on the application of knowledge and understanding of the text to help students develop skills of analysis, evaluation and critical thinking.

This edition is packed with advice on exam technique, giving students the best chance possible of the highest grades. A whole chapter is devoted to 'preparing for the AS Exam' with guidance on how to study and how to pass. Hints and tips on picking up marks are frequent throughout the text as well as constant page references to the summarised content in our companion AS revision guide. However, unlike other A Level textbooks which focus solely on passing the exam, AS Level Psychology, fourth edition is also designed to foster an interest in the study of psychology as a subject. To this end, the book includes an additional general chapter to introduce the theories and explanations that make psychology a fascinating discipline.

AS Level Psychology, fourth edition is supported by our extensive web-based multi-media package, AS Psychology Online. Student resources (available on a subscription basis to all schools and sixth form colleges that adopt the text) have been updated to include even more animations and interactive exercises, as well as relevant podcasts with key figures in Psychology. We also provide teacher resources free of charge to qualifying adopters which include a week-by-week teaching plan, sample essays, chapter-by-chapter lecture presentations, and classroom exercises and activities.

We will also be bringing out new editions of Revise AS Level Psychology by Roz Brody and Diana Dwyer, and AS Level Psychology Workbook by Clare Charles to accompany AS Level Psychology, fourth edition.

OCR PsychologyForthcoming in July 2008: OCR Psychology: AS Core Studies and Research Methods, 2nd edition by Philip Banyard & Cara Flanagan

This book has been thoroughly revised to match the requirements of the new OCR AS specification and prepares students for all the elements of the exam. It gives the who, the what, the where and even the why of each of the core studies. It also includes thorough coverage of the Research Methods section of the course. Specifically it covers:

Core studies: an abstract of each study plus ample details of the aims, method, results and conclusions. Guidance is given on how each study can be evaluated and a wealth of extra materials are provided for each study - practical activities, discussion ideas, multiple choice and exam-style questions, diagrammatic summaries, further reading and video links.

Background to each core study: information about related research before and after the study; and biographical details of the researcher(s).

Key issues: sixteen issues are discussed to cover the themes of the course and prepare students for the long-answer questions.

Psychological investigations chapter guides students in understanding research methods in psychology, necessary for the psychological investigations exam and also for understanding the core studies themselves.

Exam guidance: short and long-answer exam-style questions answered by students with examiner's comments.

The book is presented in visually stunning magazine-style spreads. Now in full colour, it includes even more illustrations and figures to aid the learning process.

The book's accompanying website contains:

This website will be free-of-charge to qualifying adopters and their students.

OCR Core Insights Studies for Teachers

In January 2008, OCR invited teachers of A-Level Psychology to an informative and entertaining event for an insight into their revised Psychology A-Level qualification, ahead of first teaching from September 2008. As well as giving an overview of the new qualification, this event delved into some of the new core study material.

Podcasts of the speeches are now available to download from the OCR website .

Attendees of the event were given research posters, compiled in collaboration with the British Psychological Society, for each of the five new studies. These are also now available for download from the OCR website.

Our new A2 Level programme!

Our new A2 Level programme follows up on our successful AS Level programme launched in 2005. It includes:

"A2 Psychology: Key Topics is a novel approach to presenting core material for the A2 specification. It concentrates on the key compulsory areas plus those topics proven to be the most popular amongst teachers and students. This allows a more focused approach to teaching, learning and revision, while still allowing more than adequate depth and breadth. It is a valuable addition to A2 teaching resources." - Simon Green, Principal Examiner, A-Level Psychology

A2 Psychology: Key Topics

The core book in our A2 Level programme is the second edition of the best-selling text A2 Psychology: Key Topics by Michael W. Eysenck.

Key features include:

More information about the new edition of A2 Psychology: Key Topics.

OCR Psychology: AS Core Studies

For those using Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations' syllabus, we recommend our textbook, OCR Psychology: AS Core Studies by Philip Banyard and Cara Flanagan, specifically geared to the OCR AS Psychology syllabus.

Key features include:

Psychology for AS Level

For those using other AS Level Exam boards, the ideal text is the third edition of our bestselling title Psychology for AS Level by Michael W. Eysenck.

Key features include:

More information about the new edition of Psychology for AS Level can be found here.

British Psychological Society Research Digest

Each fortnight the BPS sends out an email full of fun, engaging accounts of the most exciting new research, together with invaluable syllabus advice. This unmissable service is aimed primarily at undergraduate and A-level students, but academics have been signing up too, either to help with their teaching or simply to keep abreast of the best research outside of their specialist area.

for more information, and to sign up, please go to the BPS Research Digest website