Indira achieved the highest grade in the world for Psychology. Well done Indi! I thought it would be remiss if we weren't to pick her brains on her future aspirations, her love for Psychology and any top tips for current and future students. Here is what she said:

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Indira's road to Psychology

Indira achieved the highest grade in the world for Psychology. Well done Indi! I thought it would be remiss if we weren't to pick her brains on her future aspirations, her love for Psychology and any top tips for current and future students. Here is what she said:

What area of Psychology are you most interested in and why?

"To be honest, I find all areas of Psychology interesting but I would have to say Social Psychology comes out on top for me. It’s fascinating to learn about the complexity of human behaviour in group scenarios, and then watch it play out in real life settings. From observing Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory in cliquey friendship groups at school, to seeing Milgram’s Agency Theory play out in the war between Russia and Ukraine, you will always be able to apply Social Psychology to the world around you. And even though we might not like to believe it… we’re all capable of the worst under the right circumstances."

What are your current plans & ambitions for the future?

"After spending one semester studying at the University of St Andrews, I quickly decided it wasn’t for me and so I permanently withdrew at Christmas. Growing up in Hong Kong has definitely made me a city girl at heart. Hence, I have moved back to London and have reapplied to Universities here to study Psychology for 2023 entry. I’m currently patiently waiting for UCAS decisions! I’m thoroughly enjoying my time out after A-Levels - I’m exploring London, catching up with friends, doing some performing courses, and I’m a volunteer at the Shakespeare’s Globe over summer. I’ve also got a few trips planned to Marrakech, Hong Kong and Barbados which is exciting. In terms of my ambitions for the future, we’ll have to see! A career in Education has appealed to me for a long time… perhaps I’ll be back at Kellett teaching Psychology before you know it. I am ultimately fascinated by the human condition… So whatever I do, I can tell you it will definitely involve other people!"

What top 3 tips for current psychology students?

"Know the details! Yes, it’s VERY painful to have to memorise SO many studies, names and statistics for all of the case studies and theories in Psychology… but it will really set you apart from other candidates sitting the exam.

Brain dumps are your best friend. I cannot recommend brain dumps enough when revising for Psychology. If you have some free time just say to yourself “OK…I’m going to brain dump Becker et al 2002.” Then write all the AO1 and AO3 that you can remember on a piece of paper for that case study. Revise the content that you missed out in the brain dump. Shortly after, do the same brain dump again. The more you go over these case studies, the more the information will go into your long term memory and the easier it’ll be to recall in the final exam. I based a lot of my memory recall strategies off Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve - ask Mr Larmour if you’re not sure about this! It’s important to make sure your brain makes a strong connection between the AO1 and AO3 content as you will have to use both when writing an essay (be careful about flashcards with isolated information - make sure you can quickly put all the information together before the exam). If you repeat this with all the specification points in Psychology, nothing will be able to throw you in the final A-Level.

The textbooks are amazing. Compared to other subjects, I think Psychology wins for having the most useful textbooks. USE THEM! They essentially provide you with pre- written essay plans for all of the case studies. All you need to do is memorise the AO1 information and AO3 evaluation paragraphs. Because of this, I would be cautious about spending lots of time writing notes in Psychology. I think your time is better spent revising the content. There are a few occasions where you have to use other sources away from the textbook (e.g. for Key Questions) so just be careful about the quality of information on different websites."