AQA A-Level Psychology paper 1 16
markers
Critically discuss one or more definitions of abnormality. (AO1) - ANS - The term abnormality
refers to when someone behaves in a way that would not be defined as normal.
Statistical infrequency defines abnormality in terms of behaviours seen as statistically rare or
which deviate from the mean average or norm. A normal distribution curve can be generated
from data which demonstrates which behaviours people share in common. Most people will be
on or near the mean average however individuals which fall outside this "normal distribution"
and two standard deviation points away are defined as abnormal.
The majority of normal behaviours cluster in the middle of the distribution graph with abnormal
characteristics around the edges or tails making them statistically rare and therefore a deviation
from statistical norms.
Deviation from social norms defines abnormality in terms of not sticking to expected behaviours
within society in certain situations. Within society there are unwritten standards of acceptable
behaviour which are set by the social group and everyone within this social group is expected to
follow these behaviours. Such behaviours form an important glue for society as they usually
address fundamental needs. For example, queuing at a bus stop without pushing in is one such
norm that has no written law for it but is defined by society as acceptable behaviour. When
someone "deviates" from these socially accepted behaviours, by this definition they may be
classed as abnormal.
Defining abnormality on the basis of failure to function adequately takes to account a persons
ability to cope with the daily demands of life. Most adults need to wake up and work to earn an
income as well as maintain themselves, cleaning themselves, their home, paying bills and meet
their responsibilities and relationships with others.
When someone's behaviour suggests they are unable to meet these demands then
\Critically discuss one or more definitions of abnormality. (AO3) - ANS - - Deviation from social
norms= low temporal validity: One major issue with basing abnormal behaviour on a set of
social norms is that they are subject to change over time. Behaviour that is socially acceptable
now may suddenly be seen as socially deviant later and vice versa. Today homosexuality is
seen as socially acceptable however based on this definition it was seen as socially deviant and
classed as a mental disorder in the past. Therefore this definition is very era-dependent. This
means that this definition cannot be applied in a universal or permanent manner. This means
that it can be difficult to use.
- Failure to function doesn't take into account an individual's circumstances: Individuals
experiencing anxiety and distress for religious met reason, for example, exams and
bereavement may fail to function adequately for awhile. Sometimes it is normal to fail to
,function. This is a weakness because their behaviour could be identified as abnormal by this
definition however its an entirely normal response to difficult circumstances.
- Ideal mental health= culturally biased: This definition would be culturally biased as these set of
ideals put forth by Jahoda are based on western ideals of what ideal health looks like. If this
used to judge the behaviour of people from different cultures, then this may provide an incorrect
diagnosis of abnormality. For example, collectivist cultures focus on communal goals rather than
personal autonomy and such criteria would be ill-suited for diagnosing abnormality in such
cultures. This is likely true for people from different socio-economic backgrounds too as people
of poorer backgrounds may be found to struggle more with achieving these ideal criteria than
someone who has vast resources and support. This is a limitation as it may not be possible for
us to use this definition
\Critically discuss the role of his father in the attachment process. (AO1) - ANS - While
traditionally the role of the father may have been limited, as fathers would go to work and
provide researchers for the mothers to take care of their children, recently the role of the father
has changed significantly.
Psychologist disagree over the exact role of the father. Some researchers claim that men are
simply not equipped to form an attachment. This may be due to them lacking the emotional
sensitivity required which Bowlby argued was more important than the amount of time spent
with the child. Females produce oestrogen which promotes caring behaviour and sensitivity
while males do not and this may be one explanation for the role of the father being secondary.
Other researchers argue that fathers do not take on a caregiver role and in fact provide a
different role, a playmate. This is because they encourage physical activity, challenging
situations and thus encourage problem-solving through placing cognitive demands on the child.
Geiger's research has supported this idea.
Finally, some researchers argue that fathers can demonstrate sensitive responsiveness and
respond to the needs of their children, and therefore can form a strong emotional tie or bond.
More secure attachments were apparent in fathers who are more sensitive to the needs of the
child highlighting sensitivity as key in influencing the father role.
\Critically discuss the role of his father in the attachment process. (AO3) - ANS - + Supporting
evidence for the role of the father as a playmate: Research by Geiger found that fathers play
interactions were more exciting in comparisons to mothers. However, the mother's play
interactions were more affectionate and nurturing. This suggests that the role of the father is in
fact a playmate and as not a sensitive parent who responds to their needs of their children.
These results also confirm that the mother takes on more of a nurturing role. This is therefore
evidence for the fact that the father has a different role to mothers.
+ Supporting evidence for the idea that fathers play a less important role: Research suggests
that fathers are not equipped to provide a sensitive, nurturing attachment. Hrdy found that
fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress in comparison to mothers. This
results appear to support the biological explanations highlighted above. The lack of oestrogen in
,men means that fathers are not equipped biologically to form close attachments with their
children. This provides further evidence that fathers are not able to provide a sensitive and
nurturing type of attachment as they are unable to detect the stress in their children. This
therefore means that fathers are less important than mothers in attachment.
- However, this view is biologically deterministic as it suggests that a father's role is restricted
because of their biological makeup. This is therefore a limitation of this evidence, as it ignore the
role of free will.
+ Challenging evidence for the idea that fathers can't have a nurturing role. Field conducted
research which compared the behaviours of primary caretaker mothers with primary and
secondary caretaker fathers. Face-to-face interactions were analysed from video footage with
infants at 4 months of age. Overall, it was observed that primary careg
\Critically discussed research into multiple attachments and /or the role of the father. (AO1) -
ANS - Research suggests that multiple attachments are possible. Schaffer and Emerson found
that 29% of infants had formed secondary attachments within one month of forming their first
attachment. At six months the infant will show multiple attachment behaviours to many people
within their social circles such as siblings, the other parent, grandparents and even nursery
minders. They may have five or more secondary attachment figures at this point. Schaffer &
Emerson found 78% of infants at six months had multiple attachments and almost all displayed
multiple attachments at the age of one year.
Research suggests that fathers play a just as important yet different role to mothers in
attachment. Research by Geiger found that fathers play interactions were more exciting in
comparisons to mothers. However, the mother's play interactions were more affectionate and
nurturing. This suggests that the role of the father is in fact a playmate and as not a sensitive
parent who responds to their needs of their children. These results also confirm that the mother
takes on more of a nurturing role. This is therefore evidence for the fact that the father has a
different role to mothers.
Research suggests that fathers are not equipped to provide a sensitive, nurturing attachment so
they thus play a less important role than mothers. Hrdy found that fathers were less able to
detect low levels of infant distress in comparison to mothers. This may be due to the lack of
oestrogen in men, meaning that fathers are not equipped biologically to form close attachments
with their children. This therefore means that fathers are less important than mothers in
attachment.
\Critically discussed research into multiple attachments and /or the role of the father. (AO3) -
ANS - +/- Economic implications:•Some research into the role of the father has shown that the
father is less important than the mother, e.g. Bowlby argued that fathers should only provide an
economic function to the mother. The economic implications for this is that women should not be
encouraged to go back to work early in their infant's life and paid maternity leave should be
increased. This would mean that the government should increase their spending. This also
means that fathers should be encouraged to continue to work and contribute to taxation,
increasing the money the government have.
, Other research has also suggested that the father is just as important as the mother. This
means that paid paternity leave should be increased, meaning that the government or
companies should invest more in paternity leave. Furthermore, if fathers are just as important,
mothers should be encouraged back into work to contribute to taxation.
- Can't draw firm conclusions: The research is not experimental. The researchers have to rely
on observations or correlations as it is ethically impossible to manipulate how the caregiver
(mother or father) interacts with their children. This means it is not possible to draw cause and
effect conclusions about the role of the father in forming an attachment.
+ Schaffer & Emerson = naturalistic observation: The study took place in the families own
homes and most of the observations were done by parents. This means that the babies
behaviours would have been unaffected by being in a new and artificial situation and therefore
the observed behaviours of the infants in the study were natural. Therefore, the conclusions
drawn by this study have high ecological validity and the idea of multiple attachment is therefore
generalisable to the wider population.
\Describe and evaluate animal studies of attachment (AO1) - ANS - Lorenz carried out an
experiment with grey lag geese to investigate the effect of imprinting. He set TWO experimental
conditions. Eggs were randomly assigned to either condition 1 (he was the first moving object
seen by the goose chicks after they hatched) or condition 2 (the mother goose was the first
moving object seen by the chicks after they hatched). He then put all of the chicks together to
see who they would follow. He found that the chicks who saw him before anything else, followed
him as if he was their mother and when they were adults, they performed mating displays to
him, and ignored other geese. (sexual imprinting). Lorenz also found that goose chicks seemed
to have a critical period of just a few hours in which to imprint (form an attachment) and if they
didn't imprint within this time, they never would.
Harlow conducted a series of experiments to investigate whether attachments in infant monkeys
were based on feeding or comfort. Infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers at
birth and were instead raised in isolation with 2 surrogate "mothers", one covered with soft cloth
without food and one made of wire with food. Harlow measured the amount of time the monkeys
spent with each mother as well as which mother the monkeys sought comfort from when
frightened. He found that all of the monkeys showed a preference for the cloth mothers rather
than the wire one, even when the wire mother provided food and when frightened, the monkeys
clung to the cloth mother. This suggests feeding is not the main basis for attachment in rhesus
monkeys, instead it is contact comfort.
\Describe and evaluate animal studies of attachment (AO3) - ANS - - Animals: A major criticism
of both animal studies is it was based on the attachment behaviour of monkeys and goslings
which may not necessarily be representative of human behaviour due to us being different
species and humans being governed by greater awareness of their thought processes in their
decisions. Therefore the findings from Harlow's and Lorenz's study could be argued to lack
external validity and generalisation to the human population but also internal validity as it could
be argued to only demonstrate attachment behaviour in monkeys and geese.
markers
Critically discuss one or more definitions of abnormality. (AO1) - ANS - The term abnormality
refers to when someone behaves in a way that would not be defined as normal.
Statistical infrequency defines abnormality in terms of behaviours seen as statistically rare or
which deviate from the mean average or norm. A normal distribution curve can be generated
from data which demonstrates which behaviours people share in common. Most people will be
on or near the mean average however individuals which fall outside this "normal distribution"
and two standard deviation points away are defined as abnormal.
The majority of normal behaviours cluster in the middle of the distribution graph with abnormal
characteristics around the edges or tails making them statistically rare and therefore a deviation
from statistical norms.
Deviation from social norms defines abnormality in terms of not sticking to expected behaviours
within society in certain situations. Within society there are unwritten standards of acceptable
behaviour which are set by the social group and everyone within this social group is expected to
follow these behaviours. Such behaviours form an important glue for society as they usually
address fundamental needs. For example, queuing at a bus stop without pushing in is one such
norm that has no written law for it but is defined by society as acceptable behaviour. When
someone "deviates" from these socially accepted behaviours, by this definition they may be
classed as abnormal.
Defining abnormality on the basis of failure to function adequately takes to account a persons
ability to cope with the daily demands of life. Most adults need to wake up and work to earn an
income as well as maintain themselves, cleaning themselves, their home, paying bills and meet
their responsibilities and relationships with others.
When someone's behaviour suggests they are unable to meet these demands then
\Critically discuss one or more definitions of abnormality. (AO3) - ANS - - Deviation from social
norms= low temporal validity: One major issue with basing abnormal behaviour on a set of
social norms is that they are subject to change over time. Behaviour that is socially acceptable
now may suddenly be seen as socially deviant later and vice versa. Today homosexuality is
seen as socially acceptable however based on this definition it was seen as socially deviant and
classed as a mental disorder in the past. Therefore this definition is very era-dependent. This
means that this definition cannot be applied in a universal or permanent manner. This means
that it can be difficult to use.
- Failure to function doesn't take into account an individual's circumstances: Individuals
experiencing anxiety and distress for religious met reason, for example, exams and
bereavement may fail to function adequately for awhile. Sometimes it is normal to fail to
,function. This is a weakness because their behaviour could be identified as abnormal by this
definition however its an entirely normal response to difficult circumstances.
- Ideal mental health= culturally biased: This definition would be culturally biased as these set of
ideals put forth by Jahoda are based on western ideals of what ideal health looks like. If this
used to judge the behaviour of people from different cultures, then this may provide an incorrect
diagnosis of abnormality. For example, collectivist cultures focus on communal goals rather than
personal autonomy and such criteria would be ill-suited for diagnosing abnormality in such
cultures. This is likely true for people from different socio-economic backgrounds too as people
of poorer backgrounds may be found to struggle more with achieving these ideal criteria than
someone who has vast resources and support. This is a limitation as it may not be possible for
us to use this definition
\Critically discuss the role of his father in the attachment process. (AO1) - ANS - While
traditionally the role of the father may have been limited, as fathers would go to work and
provide researchers for the mothers to take care of their children, recently the role of the father
has changed significantly.
Psychologist disagree over the exact role of the father. Some researchers claim that men are
simply not equipped to form an attachment. This may be due to them lacking the emotional
sensitivity required which Bowlby argued was more important than the amount of time spent
with the child. Females produce oestrogen which promotes caring behaviour and sensitivity
while males do not and this may be one explanation for the role of the father being secondary.
Other researchers argue that fathers do not take on a caregiver role and in fact provide a
different role, a playmate. This is because they encourage physical activity, challenging
situations and thus encourage problem-solving through placing cognitive demands on the child.
Geiger's research has supported this idea.
Finally, some researchers argue that fathers can demonstrate sensitive responsiveness and
respond to the needs of their children, and therefore can form a strong emotional tie or bond.
More secure attachments were apparent in fathers who are more sensitive to the needs of the
child highlighting sensitivity as key in influencing the father role.
\Critically discuss the role of his father in the attachment process. (AO3) - ANS - + Supporting
evidence for the role of the father as a playmate: Research by Geiger found that fathers play
interactions were more exciting in comparisons to mothers. However, the mother's play
interactions were more affectionate and nurturing. This suggests that the role of the father is in
fact a playmate and as not a sensitive parent who responds to their needs of their children.
These results also confirm that the mother takes on more of a nurturing role. This is therefore
evidence for the fact that the father has a different role to mothers.
+ Supporting evidence for the idea that fathers play a less important role: Research suggests
that fathers are not equipped to provide a sensitive, nurturing attachment. Hrdy found that
fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress in comparison to mothers. This
results appear to support the biological explanations highlighted above. The lack of oestrogen in
,men means that fathers are not equipped biologically to form close attachments with their
children. This provides further evidence that fathers are not able to provide a sensitive and
nurturing type of attachment as they are unable to detect the stress in their children. This
therefore means that fathers are less important than mothers in attachment.
- However, this view is biologically deterministic as it suggests that a father's role is restricted
because of their biological makeup. This is therefore a limitation of this evidence, as it ignore the
role of free will.
+ Challenging evidence for the idea that fathers can't have a nurturing role. Field conducted
research which compared the behaviours of primary caretaker mothers with primary and
secondary caretaker fathers. Face-to-face interactions were analysed from video footage with
infants at 4 months of age. Overall, it was observed that primary careg
\Critically discussed research into multiple attachments and /or the role of the father. (AO1) -
ANS - Research suggests that multiple attachments are possible. Schaffer and Emerson found
that 29% of infants had formed secondary attachments within one month of forming their first
attachment. At six months the infant will show multiple attachment behaviours to many people
within their social circles such as siblings, the other parent, grandparents and even nursery
minders. They may have five or more secondary attachment figures at this point. Schaffer &
Emerson found 78% of infants at six months had multiple attachments and almost all displayed
multiple attachments at the age of one year.
Research suggests that fathers play a just as important yet different role to mothers in
attachment. Research by Geiger found that fathers play interactions were more exciting in
comparisons to mothers. However, the mother's play interactions were more affectionate and
nurturing. This suggests that the role of the father is in fact a playmate and as not a sensitive
parent who responds to their needs of their children. These results also confirm that the mother
takes on more of a nurturing role. This is therefore evidence for the fact that the father has a
different role to mothers.
Research suggests that fathers are not equipped to provide a sensitive, nurturing attachment so
they thus play a less important role than mothers. Hrdy found that fathers were less able to
detect low levels of infant distress in comparison to mothers. This may be due to the lack of
oestrogen in men, meaning that fathers are not equipped biologically to form close attachments
with their children. This therefore means that fathers are less important than mothers in
attachment.
\Critically discussed research into multiple attachments and /or the role of the father. (AO3) -
ANS - +/- Economic implications:•Some research into the role of the father has shown that the
father is less important than the mother, e.g. Bowlby argued that fathers should only provide an
economic function to the mother. The economic implications for this is that women should not be
encouraged to go back to work early in their infant's life and paid maternity leave should be
increased. This would mean that the government should increase their spending. This also
means that fathers should be encouraged to continue to work and contribute to taxation,
increasing the money the government have.
, Other research has also suggested that the father is just as important as the mother. This
means that paid paternity leave should be increased, meaning that the government or
companies should invest more in paternity leave. Furthermore, if fathers are just as important,
mothers should be encouraged back into work to contribute to taxation.
- Can't draw firm conclusions: The research is not experimental. The researchers have to rely
on observations or correlations as it is ethically impossible to manipulate how the caregiver
(mother or father) interacts with their children. This means it is not possible to draw cause and
effect conclusions about the role of the father in forming an attachment.
+ Schaffer & Emerson = naturalistic observation: The study took place in the families own
homes and most of the observations were done by parents. This means that the babies
behaviours would have been unaffected by being in a new and artificial situation and therefore
the observed behaviours of the infants in the study were natural. Therefore, the conclusions
drawn by this study have high ecological validity and the idea of multiple attachment is therefore
generalisable to the wider population.
\Describe and evaluate animal studies of attachment (AO1) - ANS - Lorenz carried out an
experiment with grey lag geese to investigate the effect of imprinting. He set TWO experimental
conditions. Eggs were randomly assigned to either condition 1 (he was the first moving object
seen by the goose chicks after they hatched) or condition 2 (the mother goose was the first
moving object seen by the chicks after they hatched). He then put all of the chicks together to
see who they would follow. He found that the chicks who saw him before anything else, followed
him as if he was their mother and when they were adults, they performed mating displays to
him, and ignored other geese. (sexual imprinting). Lorenz also found that goose chicks seemed
to have a critical period of just a few hours in which to imprint (form an attachment) and if they
didn't imprint within this time, they never would.
Harlow conducted a series of experiments to investigate whether attachments in infant monkeys
were based on feeding or comfort. Infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers at
birth and were instead raised in isolation with 2 surrogate "mothers", one covered with soft cloth
without food and one made of wire with food. Harlow measured the amount of time the monkeys
spent with each mother as well as which mother the monkeys sought comfort from when
frightened. He found that all of the monkeys showed a preference for the cloth mothers rather
than the wire one, even when the wire mother provided food and when frightened, the monkeys
clung to the cloth mother. This suggests feeding is not the main basis for attachment in rhesus
monkeys, instead it is contact comfort.
\Describe and evaluate animal studies of attachment (AO3) - ANS - - Animals: A major criticism
of both animal studies is it was based on the attachment behaviour of monkeys and goslings
which may not necessarily be representative of human behaviour due to us being different
species and humans being governed by greater awareness of their thought processes in their
decisions. Therefore the findings from Harlow's and Lorenz's study could be argued to lack
external validity and generalisation to the human population but also internal validity as it could
be argued to only demonstrate attachment behaviour in monkeys and geese.
