AQA A-level Psychology Essay Plans

Behavioural + SLT
S: NOMETHETIC

BEHAVIOURAL:
• large scale animal experiments providing general laws for behaviour
• Operant - skinner
• classical conditioning - Pavlov

SLT:
• experimental method in determining general laws
• BANDURA

D: EXTENT TO WHICH DETERMINISTIC

BEHAVIORIAL:
• environmental determinism
• The belief that behavior is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control e.g. reward and punishment

SLT:
• soft determinism
• mediational processes + choose what to attend to

S: NURTURE

BEHAVIOURAL
• all beh learnt from environment
• no innate behaviours - born as “blank slate”

SLT:
• shaped by observing role models in environment
• Observation + imitation
Behavioural + psychodynamic
S: BOTH DETERMINISTIC
BEHAVIOURAL:
• environmental determinism
• The belief that behavior is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control e.g. reward and punishment

PSYCHODYNAMIC:
• Psychic determinism
• the belief that behavior is caused by unconscious processes or conflicts that we cannot control

D: SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY
BEHAVIOURAL:
• experimental method, studying objectively measurable SR mechanism

PSYCHODYNAMIC:
• un scientific - Uses case studies and introspection and concepts are untestable
• unfalsifiable

S: PRAC APPLICATIONS
• Beh - flooding
• Psycho - psychodynamic therapy - anxiety + depression- unc conc - unresolved childhood conflicts

, Behavioural + Biological

S: HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC
• empirical methods
• Beh - observable behaviour + controlled lab experiments
• SKINNER - light , noise , temperature
• Bio - lab experiments, obj emprical methods
• F or f response - blood tests for hormone lvls - unaffected by SDB


NATURE VS NURTURE:
• behavioural nurture: Role reward and punishment and associations created in the environment
• biological: jeans hormones neurotransmitters




S: PRAC APPLICATIONS: SUCCESS TREATMENTS
• beh - phobias - flooding - full direct , immediate exposure
• Counter condition
• Cure phobia

• bio - antipsychotics
• Typical antpsychotics bind to dopamine receptors w/o stimulating
• Alleviating symptoms of depression.




Behavioural + cognitive

S: HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC
• empirical methods of investigation
• Beh - only obs behaviour
• PET scans + fMRI scans




D: HOLISM VS RED
• beh - red - lower level
• Observable behaviours and environmental influence
• Cog - hol - higher level
• Interaction of internal mental processes and environmental factors - schemas


S: DETERMINSITIC
• environmental determinism - behavior is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control e.g. reward and
punishment

• Soft determinism - human action has a cause, but that people have conscious mental thoughts over the way they
behave
• innate schemas + developed through int w/ environment + choose what info to attend to
• interactionist view - more plausible when expl complex behaviours e.g: schizophrenia

, SLT + biological

S: DETERMINIST
• Bio - genes , hormones , neurotransmitters

• soft determinism - human action has a cause but ppl have cons mental thought over way they act
• e.g: who identify with , who to pay attention to


D: NATURE + NURTURE
• learning role models in environment
• Bandura : aggression learnt from obs agg role models
• internal bio factors: Genetics , hormones , neurotransmitters
• Dopamine hyp for schizophrenia


D: HOLISM VS RED
• red - focuses on bio mechanism - internal causes - NTs
• Hol - considers interaction between cognitive and environmental factors (mediation al proc + observation of RMs)
• Higher level explanation - more plausible for exp complex behaviours




SLT + psychodynamic

S: DETERMINISTIC
• psychic determinism
• unc conflict between id + superego creates anxiety - ego defense mechanisms - distort reality
• Soft deter:
• Choose what RMs to pay att


D: SCIENTIFIC CREDIBILTY
• observable beh
• Psych : unfalsifiable


S: NURTURE
• observation + imitation
• unc drives + childhood experiences