Paper 1 summary - Psychology

This document contains chapter summaries for Paper 1 Psychology which got me A* in A level. It contains all the content and research you need to know to smash your exams. I condensed all the information so that the content is covered in 1-2 pages per chapter so it is perfect for last-minute revision. I tried to colour code so that Green is AO1 and Orange is AO3. (NOTE: THIS FOLLOWS THE 2022 ADVANCED INFORMATION LIST SO NOT ALL TOPICS ARE COVERED, MORE DETAILS ARE BELOW.) WHAT IS COVERED: SOCIAL INFLUENCE • Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority, and situational variables affecting obedience including proximity and location, as investigated by Milgram, and uniform. Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality. • Explanations of resistance to social influence, including social support and locus of control. • Minority influence including reference to consistency, commitment and flexibility. MEMORY • The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration. • The working memory model: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer. Features of the model: coding and capacity. • Improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, including the use of the cognitive interview. ATTACHMENT • Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow. • Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model. • Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn. • Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation. • The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY • Definitions of abnormality, including deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, statistical infrequency and deviation from ideal mental health. • The behavioural approach to explaining and treating phobias: the two-process model, including classical and operant conditioning; systematic desensitisation, including relaxation and use of hierarchy; flooding. • The biological approach to explaining and treating OCD: genetic and neural explanations; drug therapy.