sdcpsychology.weebly.com€¦ · Web viewPsychology Year 2 Passport to Success. EXAM DATES: Paper 1 (7182 /1) = Wednesday 7. th. June 2017 PM 2 hours. Paper 2 (7182/2) = Wednesday

AQA Psychology A-Level Sussex Downs College

Psychology Year 2 Passport to Success

This document is to support your revision for the upcoming exams. Regardless of when the exams are, you should be starting to revise and have revision slots in your weekly timetable. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to take control of your revision and practice of exam questions. We cover a lot of past paper questions in lessons and homework’s. This is weekly so you are being assessed on a regular basis. This is also an opportunity to receive feedback on exam papers / questions and is my advice so please 1) complete homework and 2) take the feedback on board.

However, in addition you need to be on top of a revision “plan” for Psychology. Please ensure that you have something in place to support you. This could be a timetable, a revision pack, printed copies of every past paper, questions to bring along to the support session weekly. Remember, you also have your targets and action plan. You should be completing a minimum of 4 hours a week of psychology outside of the lessons. This is the bare minimum and I would strongly advise that it is 6 hours. I am more than happy to sit with you if you are struggling to time manage – come along to the support session – Weds 1pm -1.30pm AL109

Remember what you are aiming for: MTG: ATG: CWG:

EXAM DATES:

Paper 1 (7182/1) = Wednesday 7th June 2017 PM 2 hours

Paper 2 (7182/2) = Wednesday 14th June 2017 PM 2 hours

Paper 3 (7182/3) = Thursday 22nd June 2017 PM 2 hours


ASSESMENT OBJECTIVESDo you know / are you consciously thinking about the Assessment Objectives? These are what you are being assessed on. Remember, every question refers to 1 or more of them.

A01

This is assessing your ability to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the specification content - scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures

A01 questions typically ask you to outline or describe something.

A02

This is your ability to apply this knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures in a variety of scenarios. For example:

in a theoretical context in a practical context when handling qualitative data when handling quantitative data.

A02 questions typically ask you to engage with some stimulus material in a psychological way

A03

This is your ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence. You will be asked to make judgements and reach conclusions in relation to certain issues in psychology. You may also be asked to develop and refine practical design and procedures.

A03 questions typically ask you to criticise something (e.g. by looking at the strengths and limitations of a theory or an approach).


Do you have a Glossary of command words?

This glossary defines the key terms used in the specification and in the assessment so that you are clear what the terms mean and how to explain them. You also have a copy from when you first started Psychology

Injunction Definition

Analyse Separate information into components and identify their characteristics.

Calculate Work out the value of something.

Choose Select from a range of alternatives.

Comment Present an informed opinion.

Compare Identify similarities and/or differences.

Complete Finish a task by adding to given information.

Consider Review and respond to given information.

Describe Give an account of.

Design Set out how something will be done.

Discuss Present key points about different ideas or strengths and weaknesses of an idea.

Distinguish Explain ways in which two things differ. Provide detail of characteristic that enable a

person to know the difference between …

Draw Produce a diagram.

Evaluate Judge from available evidence.

Explain Set out purposes or reasons.

Explain how Give a detailed account of a process or way of doing something.

Explain why Give a detailed account of reasons in relation to a particular situation.

Identify Name or otherwise characterise.

Give Produce an answer from recall or from given information.

Justify Provide reasons, reasoned argument to support, possibly provide evidence.

Label Provide appropriate names on a diagram.

Name Identify using a recognised technical term.

Outline Set out main characteristics.

Select Choose or pick out from alternatives.

State Express in clear terms.

Suggest Present a possible case/solution.

Which is Select from alternatives.

What is meant by Give a definition.

Write Provide information in verbatim form


Describe the Approach/ Method/ DebateThe examiner needs to see that you are using key terminology when describing approaches, methods and debates. Use these as examples – they are not perfect! Think about the structure, the content, the links to methods and issues and debates. Could you add anything to them?

Cognitive ApproachThe Cognitive approach is concerned with the internal mental processes of the mind. Mental processes are how we think and include problem solving, perception, how we make sense of language, and how our memories are formed and forgotten. Thinking is like a computer; information comes in (input) and responses go out (output). Consequently, the main assumption of the cognitive approach is how we think is central to explaining how we behave and respond to the situations we find ourselves in. This approach uses a range of methods to find the relationships of input and output in mental processes but mainly uses experimental methods to find the significant inputs into our mental processes affect our behaviour. Furthermore, the approach adds to the determinism and free will debate as well as the reductionist and holistic debate as it sees internal mental processes as the key factor in influencing behaviour. Finally, the approach has various issues which include the validity of its results, the ecological validity of its studies and the reliance on quantitative data it collects to support its theories and conclusions.

The Psychodynamic ApproachThe Psychodynamic approach assumes that behaviour is caused by unconscious thoughts, feelings and desires. It assumes that early experiences in childhood are critical in shaping the adult personality. The approach suggests that personality is made up of three main elements, the id, ego and superego. Defence mechanisms are also considered within the approach as methods that we use to unconsciously reduce any anxiety. Defence mechanisms such as repression, denial and displacement all have different effects but it is argued that they keep the ego strong so it can continue to balance the personality. The psychodynamic approach also considers the development of our sexual drive exploring the psychosexual stages. The main method used within the Psychodynamic approach is case studies, with a lot of Freud’s work looking at dream analysis and free association. Case studies can be looked at from a longitudinal perspective providing an in-depth analysis of one person. The famous case of Little Hans (Freud 1909) is a good example of this. The credibility of the Psychodynamic approach is questioned as it is hard to provide any no hard evidence due to the approach being mainly theoretical.

Try writing answers like the ones above for the other approaches and perspectives


WRITING 12 mark AnswersThe A2 year demands a higher standard of performance than in AS, especially when evaluating studies and theories. Each point you make should be as clearly expressed as you can make it. You gain credit if the names and/or titles are correct, it must be absolutely clear who you are referring to and when the study was written. Psychologists such as Bandura and Loftus have over 300 publications to their names. E.g. Milgram (1963)

Marks are easily lost as you do not… ELABORATE Explain how and why the point/issue/debate is relevant Explain the consequences and implications Consider negative and positive consequences and implications where appropriate Make sure that the material is made relevant to the requirements of the question.

1. IDENTIFY the point Name it – make the point clear P

2. JUSTIFY the point Contextualise it (explain it in the context give) E

3. SO WHAT? Explain why this is a criticism e.g. what are the consequences? Provide evidence or give an example E

Used to analyse studies, research methods, theories, explanations and encourage you to make comparisons and increase your confidence to make judgements. There is a tool kit for issues and debates and for research methods. It is essential that you have revision summaries for the key studies and theories. Once you have done a few revision summaries you will then be able to compare them and identify ways in which the theories are similar and the ways in which they differ. You might distinguish between subtle and more substantial differences. For each difference, explain the implications of the difference.

For example, .….….…. theory is more reductionist than .….….….….… theory. It explains behaviour in terms of the action of hormones and neurotransmitters. This may meet the requirement for parsimony and allow for rigorous scientific testing: however, reducing such a complex behaviour as .….….….. to a biological level does fail to reflect the complexity of .….….….….. and the importance of the cultural context. Moreover, if the biological explanation was sufficient, we would not have cases that cannot be explained in terms of biology.

ALL essays must include the following:

AO1 – a few factual points AO3 – some supportive, contradictory or applicable comments on theories or studies Issues (GRAVE/CASTLES)

o Debates (ethnocentrism, nature/nurture, science?/social control)o Approaches (biological, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic, social)

APRC and GRAVE and CASTLES (tool kits)

POINT RULE


How to evaluate (and compare/contrast) an approach I did introduce you to BRIDGE - ing the gap ! This can be found on the Blog. GRENADE will also work as a tool to support these questions. Alternatively, use the questions to prompt you to think of the similarities and differences with the approaches. Use the DebatesNature/nurture

Does the approach explain behaviour through the role of the environment (nurture) or the role of innate factors (nature)?

Can it be reductionist in its approach to human behaviour? If it focuses too much on nature, does it neglect any nurture explanations (or vice versa)?

Or does it take a more holistic approach by taking into account both nature and nurture explanations and the interaction between them?

Determinism/freewill Does the approach state that we are free to choose our behaviour (freewill) or are

we controlled by internal or external factors beyond our control (determinism). Or does the approach use a combination of the two?

If an approach is deterministic, it is scientific as it assumes all behaviour is a product of cause and effect. Freewill conversely then can be seen to be unscientific and difficult to prove.

However, a deterministic approach would imply that people have no control over their behaviour; can you completely hold someone responsible for their actions? Free will on the other hand assumes that people are empowered to shape their own lives.

Reductionism/holism Does the approach try to break down complex behaviour into more simple

components (reductionist) or does it view behaviour as a complex system, which cannot be understood by examining the component parts (holistic)?

Reductionist explanations are very scientific, and the principle of reductionism underlines nearly all psychological research. Holistic theories on the other hand are much less scientific and it can be difficult to investigate the interaction of different components of a whole

A reductionist approach however can oversimplify complex behaviour. Reductionist explanations often ignore the interaction of phenomena, and so can be limited in terms of its ability to explain. However, holistic explanations take into account these complex interactions; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Ideographic/nomothetic Does the methodology of the approach focus on the study of individuals as a way to

provide unique insights into human behaviour (ideographic) or does is study large groups of people with the aim of developing general laws and theories that can be generalised to all people (nomothetic)?

The nomothetic approach is in line with scientific principles, as it means that rules can be generated that allow us to compare between groups of people, as well as making testable predictions. The ideographic approach conversely does not produce results that can be generalised to all people, which limits its usefulness.


The ideographic approach however allows for a greater understanding of the individual, treating each person as a distinct individual. The nomothetic approach does not take into account the uniqueness of each person, meaning that it can only give a superficial understanding of an individual.

The scientific nature of the approach Does the approach meet the following scientific criteria?

o It tests assumptions by collecting data through direct observations or experiments (empirical data)

o The theory is based upon evidence, and will change in the light of conflicting evidence

o It makes refutable predictions about human behaviour that can be investigated and falsified

o It explains human behaviour in a parsimonious way (providing the greatest possible explanation in the simplest way)

o It is objective and systematic in the way that research is carried out, meaning experiments can be repeated

What about….?Research methodology

Does the approach use scientific methodology? (see above) Does it collect qualitative or quantitative data? Qualitative data is in depth rich data

but is open to interpretation. Quantitative data gathers data in a numerical form and can be used to generalise, but it can lack validity.

Are animals used in studies? Can we generalise from animals to humans? Is the sample of participants used in the research representative of all humans? Is

there a gender/culture/historical bias? Does the research methodology reflect real life (ecological validity)?

Practical/ therapeutic applications Has the approach led to practical real world applications? How beneficial have these

applications been? Has the approach been applied in a therapy? If so, what does research suggest

about the effectiveness of this therapy? Are there any drawbacks to this therapy?

Benefit to psychology/society How has the approach benefited psychology? Did the approach change the way we think about human behaviour? What is the current status of the approach? Is it still respected, or has it been

overturned by another approach? Does the approach have historical significance?

Anything else! Does the approach explain individual differences between people? Does the approach focus on the “here and now” or is it too focused on past events in a

person’s life? Does the theory fully reflect the complexity of human behaviour? Does the approach “fill the gaps” of another approach?


Anything else!HERE are some phrases to help

A03Issues

Gender differences identified may be deterministic because they suggest that gender determines behaviour whereas cultural factors may also have an influence.

Most researchers base their assumptions on European or American cultural norms as a basis for their judgements about behaviour in other cultures. This gives the impression that other behaviours are deviant compared to Western norms.

Animals used in research are of questionable value. When experiments are carried out there may also be ethical issues regarding cruelty, animal rights and specieism.

However, there are ethical considerations in this study… Consent, Debrief, Distress, Confidentiality, Deception, Withdrawal, Protection

There are also ethical considerations in this research due to the use of animals for the purpose of psychological research… does the end justify the means?

Debates A deterministic view is that the behaviour of xxxx is due to biological factors outside a person’s

control and implies that people are not responsible for their behaviour. This poses a moral and legal question as to whether people can be held responsible for their actions.

The nature/nurture debate suggests that behaviour is either mainly due to someone’s genetics or to his or her experiences. When studying xxxx it may be that both have an impact and are also intertwined as genes predispose someone to behaving certain ways but do not dictate it.

This theory supports the ____________ side of the Nature – Nurture debate which argues that…. It supports the debate because….

This theory can be criticised as being deterministic because it only focuses on____________behaviour and doesn’t account for free will in the individual

This explanation of the behaviour of xxxx may be considered reductionist because it simplifies it. This may be a problem as an oversimplification may prevent a more complete explanation to be sought

This theory / approach can be criticised as being reductionist as it only focuses on one explanation / behaviour, a holist approach that encompasses more than one explanation would be more appropriate

Another weakness of this research is that it is culturally biased. It is important to note that what may be seen as normal in one culture (e.g arranged marriages) might be seen as abnormal in another!

Another weakness is that these findings are not universal, and can only apply to Western cultures (U.K, USA) where all the research has taken place and therefore cannot be compared to non-Western cultures.

Approaches

This is an example of the biological approach as the behaviour of xxx is explained by chemical changes in the brain. This may be considered both deterministic and reductionist as it fails to take individual experiences and social influences into account.

This is an example of the (any other) approach as the behaviour of xxx is explained by personal experiences. This may be considered reductionist as it fails to take biological factors such as genetics into account.


Link to research methods and research studies The research was carried out using a small number of participants so may lack generalisability as

the sample may not represent the target population. One weakness of this research was that the sample was male / female hence it is unclear whether

these findings can be generalised to males / females (Gender bias) The research was a laboratory experiment so might lack external validity as people may behave

differently in real life. However, it has high reliability because a laboratory experiment means that the variables were tightly controlled.

Godden & Baddley’s study has useful application in schools because studies have shown that if students were taught and tested in the same room they will perform better in the exams.

This research has strengths because it can relate to everyday life for example….. The fact that this study was a covert observation means it is likely that the findings can be

generalised to everyday life because there was no experimenter bias, so is therefore high in external validity.

The research used a self-report method (questionnaire/interview). This may have had demand characteristics with people saying what they thought the researcher wanted to hear so the research would lack internal validity.

Milgram’s procedure can be considered unethical with regard to deceit, informed consent and the right to withdraw. But can be seen as ethical regarding competence and debriefing.

In an observational study such as this, no variables are controlled therefore it is difficult to conclude that x has caused y. Whereas a laboratory experiment looks for cause and effect and is more objective, meaning it can be considered scientific

Remember that these need to relate to the behaviour you are writing about!

For each evaluation point elaborate a bit further

A weakness of this research is that we can criticise the methodology e.g longitudinal research suffers from subject attrition, another method such as_________would have been better to use because…

A strength of this research is that it used a large sample chosen at random from a population of students.

A strength of the research is that it can be supported by others including_______who

Another weakness is that_____________has found contrasting findings and therefore does not provide support for the_________theory


Exemplar essays

AQA Psychology - Paper 1 - A grade exemplar essay

Describe and evaluate research into at least one factor affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. One factor that can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (EWT) is misleading information as with leading questions. Often those involved in criminal investigations do not realise that the way a question is ‘framed’ can not only have an effect on the answer given, it can also affect the way a person retains that information.

Loftus and Palmer investigated leading questions through their study of a car accident. Simply changing the verb that was used to describe a collision between two cars was sufficient to change the estimate of speed that was given and later also made them more likely to believe that there was glass at the scene of the accident when none was present. Thus a leading question had materially changed an eyewitness’s memory of the event.

This study was carried out in a laboratory setting which although it does allow for the control of a number of extraneous variables also means that the ecological validity of the experiment is lacking because of the artificiality of the setting. A very important limitation of the study is the fact that the participants were responding to film clips of car accidents and would not have replicated the emotional experience of witnessing a real accident. Whilst there is considerable research support for the effect of misleading questions, not all researchers agree with Loftus’s conclusions. For example, Foster et al (1994) found that, if participants believed that they were witnessing a real-life robbery and that their testimony would count towards bringing someone to trial, their accounts were much more likely to be accurate. This idea of real eyewitness accounts being more reliable than those in experiments is given further support by Yuille and Cutshall (1986) who found that witnesses to armed robberies in Canada gave very accurate reports four months after the crimes even though they were initially given two misleading questions. This provides further clear evidence that real-life EWT may be reliable than laboratory studies have suggested.

The impact of anxiety is another key factor that affects the accuracy of EWT. Yerkes Dodson law states that there is an optimum level of arousal (caused by anxiety) for accurate eyewitness testimony (i.e. people who are not at all stressed and those who are very stressed will be less accurate eyewitnesses than those experiencing a moderate stress).

Loftus carried out a study of the “weapons effect” where she used two conditions, one where the participants overheard a discussion and then saw a man holding a pen, the second condition where they overheard an argument and a man emerged holding a blood stained paper knife. When later asked to identify the man, only a third were able to do this in the second condition compared to half in condition one. The conclusion is that when a weapon is involved attention is drawn to it because of fear, taking attention away from other details concerning the incident. However, an alternative interpretation of these findings is offered by Pickel (1998) who proposed that the reduced accuracy of identification was caused by surprise rather than anxiety. Pickel conducted an experiment using which showed a film of people carrying either scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken. Eyewitness accuracy was significantly worse in the high unusualness conditions (chicken and handgun) which indicates that weapons focus effects may be caused by surprise rather than anxiety itself.

Once again, studies that looked at real-life crime found differing evidence. Halford and Milne (2005) found that victims of violent crime were more accurate in their recall of crime scene details than those who were victims of non-violent crimes. It seems that there are no simple conclusions and the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is complex.

AQA Psychology A-Level Sussex Downs CollegeAQA Psychology - Paper 1 - C grade exemplar essay

Describe and evaluate research into at least one factor affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

It is very important that we try to understand eyewitness testimony and the factors that affect it accuracy so that we can better protect innocent people who may have been wrongfully convicted as a result of inaccurate eyewitness testimony. Many factors have been found to play a part.

The first factor is misleading information such as leading questions, which Loftus investigated in her study of a car accident. The verb used to describe the impact of the cars (smashed, hit contacted etc.) was found to influence the estimates of speed given by the participants. Furthermore, later when they asked if the saw “the broken glass” at the scene (there wasn’t any) they were more likely to say yes showing the question had changed their memory of the event.

This study has found support from other laboratory studies, but not from studies which looked at real-world scenarios. It is possible that in a laboratory, participants do not answer accurately because their answers do not have the importance of answers in the real world that may lead to convictions, for example. Yuille and Cutshall (1986) who found that witnesses to armed robberies in Canada gave very accurate reports four months after the crimes even though they were initially given two misleading questions. A later study found that, if participants were believed they were watching a real-life robbery and their accounts could influence the trial, they produced more accurate identification of the robber.

A second factor is anxiety. One conclusion the arises from Yerkes-Dodson’s law is that anxiety causes physiological arousal and therefore leads you to pay less attention to events at the scene and be less likely to accurately recall. A similar situation occurs in the so called “weapons effect” where eyewitnesses through fear focus on the weapon and are later less able to identify the criminal as a result. Despite the fact that study by Pickel has suggested an alternative conclusion, (that this effect is more likely to be caused by surprise rather than anxiety) this is still an explanation for inaccurate EWT in some circumstances.

There is some evidence to suggest that accuracy of EWT actually improves with increased anxiety. Christian and Hubinette conducted a study of a real-life shooting in Canada and found improved recall for those participants who recorded the highest levels of stress. Christianson concluded that memory for negative emotional events is better than for neutral events at least for the key details. This evidence can be used to support the inverted U shape of the Yerkes Dodson’s law curve, depending on the starting point of arousal of the eyewitness. However, Deffenbacher has recently examined a range of studies and has concluded that anxiety leads to reduced accuracy and that in real-life situations this accuracy may be reduced even further.


AQA Psychology - Paper 2 - A grade exemplar essay

Outline and evaluate the behaviourist approach in Psychology

A central assumption of the behavioural approach is that only observable behaviour is important and that this behaviour is learned through experience. They believe that all behaviour can be explained through learning – essentially the collective experiences that you have after you are born.

The processes of this learning may involve classical or operant conditioning. The first method, classical conditioning is when a person learns to associate a stimulus with a response. The earliest example of this is with Pavlov’s dogs. In this example the dogs learnt to associate the bell with the presentation of food which led to the conditioned response of salivation. This occurred after several pairings of the food and bell during conditioning.

The second way learning can take place is through operant conditioning which is about operating on your environment. The central principle here is that if a behaviour whether adaptive or maladaptive if positively reinforced for example by praise it will increase the likelihood of such behaviour occurring again. A behaviour might lead an animal to avoid a negative experience and this is also reinforcing through a process that is referred to as “negative reinforcement”, so the behaviour is likely to be repeated.

One strength of the behavioural approach is that it uses scientific methods to learn about the way people and animals behave and establishes cause and effect –why we act the way we do in certain environments. Experiments can be carried out in a controlled environment to ensure results are reliable and replicable –the laboratory can be set up again and again and results can be collected and checked for consistency. By placing the emphasis on the scientific method and principles such as objectivity and replication, behaviourism has greatly added to the credibility of psychology as a scientific discipline.

A further key strength is that the principles of conditioning have very successfully applied to a broad range of problems in everyday life and it has clearly benefited society. For example Aversion Therapy helps stop people from repeating unwanted behaviours such as excessive drinking. An experiment was conducted by Duker and Seys into self-harming patients which demonstrated the success of this form of therapy, with 7/12 children stopping self-injury (complete cessation of the behaviour) with a further and 3/12 reducing the frequency of the self-injury after therapy. Treatments such as these have several advantages over other therapies inspired by other approaches. For example, these therapies require less effort from the patient as they do not require the patient to think about their problem as they would be required to do in “talking therapies”.

One weakness of the behaviourist approach is that some scientific studies are carried out using animals –for example Skinner did an experiment using rats to see if they learnt through operant conditioning and if their behaviours changed once they were rewarded or punished for things they did. Humans and animals have very different neurological structures, and humans are much more complex, so any findings from experiments using animals may not be applied to humans as human brains are not similar to animal brains. Laboratory experiments used by behaviourists also lack ecological validity, meaning they are not true to life so it is harder to apply findings to reality. Many critics have questioned the ethics of such experiments that exposed animals to stressful and aversive conditions.

Another weakness of the behaviourist approach is it over-simplifies the complex way we behave and only looks at how we react in the environment. It is a reductionist approach, as any mental processes or other factors such as mood, emotions or genetics are not taken into account, even though they could have a great influence over the way we behave, so this approach contradicts that the biological and cognitive viewpoints. Furthermore, this approach sees animals (including humans) as mechanistic and passive responders to the environment, when there is considerable evidence to suggest that people take a much more active role in their learning. A further issue with this approach is because it explains all behaviour as a learning process i.e. the way we are brought up and live our lives it therefore does not take into account the contribution made by

AQA Psychology A-Level Sussex Downs Collegegenetic inheritance or chemical imbalance, just as it ignores the possibility that our own free will can powerfully influence our behaviour.

AQA Psychology - Paper 2 - C grade exemplar essay

Outline and evaluate the behaviourist approach in Psychology

Behaviourists believe that the only thing that psychologists should concern themselves with is what can be described as observable behaviour. This observable behaviour also leads to learning and behaviourists also take the view that all behaviour can be explained through learning – the cumulative experiences that we have had since birth.

In the behaviourist approach, learning may involve classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Classical conditioning, as first investigated by Pavlov, views learning as beginning with a basic stimulus-response link. An unconditioned stimulus causes an unconditioned response. If a neutral stimulus becomes associated with this unconditioned stimulus it will eventually predict the unconditioned response, at which point it has become a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response.

The second way learning can take place is through operant conditioning which is about operating on your environment. The central principle here is that if a behaviour whether adaptive or maladaptive if positively reinforced for example by praise it will increase the likelihood of such behaviour occurring again. A behaviour might lead an animal to avoid a negative experience and this is also reinforcing through a process that is referred to as “negative reinforcement”, so the behaviour is likely to be repeated.

One weakness of the behaviourist approach is that they present behaviour in a very mechanistic way. This viewpoint will ignore much of the thought and emotion that influences human behaviour and, perhaps to a lesser extent animal behaviour too. There is much evidence to suggest that humans take a much more active role in their behaviour than the very passive control suggested by conditioning.

One strength of the approach is that it is a very scientific one with supported by considerable evidence drawn from lots of well controlled animal studies where many extraneous variable were carefully controlled to enable firm conclusions to be drawn. However, there are question marks regarding whether it is wise to generalise such well controlled and artificial research with non-humans animals to apply to human behaviour in the real world.

A further strength of the behaviourist approach is that it has been usefully applied to a broad range of real world scenarios. For example, token reward systems are very successfully used in prisons where they can help to shape the behaviour of prisoners.


COMPARE AND CONTRAST POINTS

When writing your essays refer to these points to help you with your elaboration technique

Evaluative point Elaboration …why?....because …. for example… a problem because .… good because…

.….….….…..’s study lacked ecological validity.

.….….…...’s research was unethical.

The sample used in .….….….. was very small.

The .….… theory is reductionist.

.….….….… is a good theory.

.….….….….….….. study was carried out on white males.

.….…. theory is unscientific because you cannot prove it.

Experiments carried out using .….….… are scientific but are artificial so are not valid.

Biological explanations of .….….….…. are deterministic.

.….….….….… theory is ethnocentric. Research into .….….… is socially sensitive.

Most of the evidence supporting .….….…. … comes from animal studies.

The main weakness of .….….….….. theory is that it is biased.

USEFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL WORDS


SCIENTIFIC HAS MANY CONCEPTS AND ASSUMPTIONS

IDIOGRAPHIC NOMOTHETIC

NATURE NURTURE

REDUCTIONIST HOLISTIC

DETERMINIST FREE WILL

SOCIALLY SENSITIVE NEUTRAL

ETHNOCENTRIC CULTURALLY RELATIVE

TESTABLE HYPOTHESIS UNTESTABLE

GOOD APPLICATION NO CLEAR APPLICATION

POWERFUL SUPPORTING EVIDENCE WEAK CONFLICTING EVIDENCE

LAB SETTING NATURAL SETTING

CONTROL OF VARIABLES NO CONTROL OF VARIABLES

EFFECTIVE OPERATIONALISATION POOR OPERATIONALISATION

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

VALID NOT VALID

RELIABLE MEASUREMENT UNRELIABLE

OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE UNREPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

ETHICALUNETHICAL

EMPIRICALOPINIONATED/subjective


Importance of Examiners ReportsEvery student should be regularly looking through examiners reports. Not only do they provide feedback from the examiners themselves regarding certain questions, but they give you tips as to how to write, structure and answer the questions to get the high marks.

For example:

This question was “Outline two features of the cognitive approach. Explain two limitations of the cognitive approach”

Important to note that the examiners are suggesting that structure is key to these types of answers. You need to be careful in the presentation of your ideas. Have you fully thought the evaluate point through? Have you used key terminology? Does it link to the question? Are you stating rather than suggesting?


In addition, at the start of the report a General report is a lovely way of telling you what to do in a clear precise way:

- Student performance indicated that many had been prepared well for this examination, demonstrating good understanding of Approaches in Psychology, Psychopathology and Research Methods and completing the paper in the time allowed.

- There were a few questions that challenged students and indicated that students do need to ensure that they read questions carefully and provide answers that directly address the requirements of the question set - a significant number of responses were not contextualised and therefore failed to gain full credit on some of the research methods questions.

- Other responses in this section did suggest that some students had limited practical experience of procedures such as random allocation or dealing with ethical issues. It is important that students gain such practical experience as part of their course.

- Most students presented their knowledge and understanding of the topics clearly and appropriately. As always there were examples of handwriting that were very challenging and examiners struggled to work out students’ answers. 7181/2 is marked online and teachers need to explain to their students the process of scanning and clipping. Examiners do not see whole scripts, but only the clipped part of the question they are marking. Examiners will not see anything that is written outside of the lines or margins, and therefore the clipped area. The best advice for students who need to write more than the space given allows, is to use the additional pages, but make sure that they inform the examiner that they have done so. A simple ‘continued’ or ‘see extra page’ will suffice. Some students did not follow the instructions relating to responses to multiple-choice questions.

All examiners reports can be found on the AQA Website. Please think about at least saving one and reading the comments.

Live document… new info is added when released

Documents

sdcpsychology.weebly.com€¦ · Web viewPsychology Year 2 Passport to Success. EXAM DATES: Paper 1 (7182 /1) = Wednesday 7. th. June 2017 PM 2 hours. Paper 2 (7182/2) = Wednesday