AQA A-Level Psychology Paper 2 Exam Questions And Answers

Psychology - ANS the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes Science - ANS The means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation Introspection by Wundt - ANS A systematic method used to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations Emergence of psychology - ANS Watson questioned the subjectiveness of introspection - variety between person to person made it hard to establish general principles Behaviourist approach - ANS A way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning Classical conditioning - ANS Learning by association Operant conditioning - ANS Learning where behaviour is shaped and maintained by consequences Reinforcement - ANS A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated Assumptions of behaviourist approach - ANS - assumes everything about human behaviour is learnt through experience (classical or operant conditioning) - relies on lab experiments - animals have same basic processes that govern learning and so can be replaced as experimental subjects Pavlov's research - ANS Pavlov presented a bell (NS) with food (UCS), which caused the dog to salivate (UCR). Eventually, the dog associated the sound of the bell and food so the sound of the bell (CS) would cause the dog to salivate (CR) - demonatrating the learning of innate reflex behaviours in animals Skinner's research - ANS He suggested that learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment eg, the skinner box Positive reinforcement - ANS Rewards when a certain desirable behaviour is performed Negative reinforcement - ANS When an animal or human avoids something unpleasant Punishment - ANS An unpleasant consequence of behaviour Behaviourist approach - limit - ANS Doesn't take into account any biological aspects and so is deterministic Behaviourist approach - application - ANS Treatment to phobias through systematic desensitisation through classical conditioning Behaviourist approach - research support - ANS Influential in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline Social learning theory - ANS A way of explaining behaviour that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement Imitation - ANS Copying the behaviour of others Identification - ANS When as observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model Modelling - ANS Imitating the behaviour of a role model Vicarious reinforcement - ANS Reinforcement that is not directly experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour Mediational processes - ANS Cognitive factors that influence learning and come between stimulus and response Assumptions of social learning theory - ANS - learning occurs through observation and imitation of others in a social context - learning occurs directly and indirectly Role of mediational processes identified by Bandura - ANS 1. Attention 2. Retention 3. Motor reproduction 4. Motivation Social learning theory - limit - ANS Underestimates the influence of biological factors - boys were found to be more aggressive Social learning theory - application - ANS Applied to token economy systems in prison - help to rehabilitate prisoners to lower recidivism Social learning theory - research support - ANS Bandura's bobo doll experiment - adult hit doll with hammer Cognitive approach - ANS How mental processes affect behaviour Internal mental processes - ANS 'Private' operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response Schema - ANS A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing - developed from experience Inference - ANS Process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour Cognitive neuroscience - ANS The scientific study of biological structures that underpin cognitive processes Assumptions of the cognitive approach - ANS - internal mental processes should be studies scientifically Theoretical models - ANS Information processing approach - where information flows through the cognitive system (multi-store model) Computer models - ANS Mind compared to a computer - similarities in the way information is coded and use in artificial intelligence Application of cognitive neuroscience - ANS Used in computer-generated models that are designed to 'read' the brain- brain fingerprinting Cognitive approach - limit - ANS Machine reductionism - ignores the influence of human and motivation eg. memory may be affected by anxiety in an EWT Cognitive approach - application - ANS Applied to CBT when treating when treating depression Cognitive approach - scientific basis - ANS The experimental methods used by the approach are considered scientific and are therefore objective Biological approach - ANS A perspective that emphasises the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function Genes - ANS They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA Biological structure - ANS An arrangement or organisation of parts to form an organ, system or living thing Neurochemistry - ANS Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate physiological functioning Genotype - ANS genetic makeup of an person Phenotype - ANS Characteristics of a person from both genes and environmental factors Evolution - ANS The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations