AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY 7182/3
PAPER 3 ISSUES AND OPTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGY MARK SCHEME JUNE
CERTIFICATION SCRIPT 2026
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ RESPONSE-BIAS EXPLANATION.
Answer: the wording of the question has no real effect on the participants'
memories just influences how they answer.
◍ CHARACTERISTICS OF DEPRESSION.
Answer: behavioural- low activity levels- disruption to
sleep/eatingemotional- low mood- angercognitive- poor concentration-
absolutist thinking
◍ STRENGTH OF BECK: PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THERAPY.
Answer: Beck's explanation forms basis for CBT which identifies and
challenges elements of negative triad.strength of the explanation as it
translates well into a therapy.
◍ COMBO OF SSRIs AND CBT.
Answer: drugs often used alongside CBT to combat OCD. drugs reduce
emotional symptoms, allowing patient to engage more effectively w/ CBT.
◍ STATE-DEPENDENT FORGETTING.
Answer: forgetting related to changes in context associated with internal
cues of physical and mental state, as opposed to the context defined by the
external environment
,◍ CHARACTERISTICS OF OCD.
Answer: behavioural- compulsions- avoidanceemotional- anxiety/distress-
guilt/disgustcognitive- obsessive thoughts- insight into excessive anxiety
(awareness that thoughts are irrational - hyper-vigilant of obsession)
◍ DISINHIBITED ATTACHMENT (EFFECT OF
INSTITUTIONALISATION).
Answer: indiscriminate friendliness, lack of appropriate wariness of
strangers, and difficulty participating in real, reciprocal social
interactions.child shows equal affection to strangers as they do people they
know well
◍ SSRIs + OCD.
Answer: -Prevents re-absorption and breakdown, levels increase therefore
post-synaptic neuron is stimulated-e.g. Fluoxetine, typical dose 20mg a day
◍ ISABELLA ET AL (1989).
Answer: observed 30 babies and their mothers and found that higher levels
of interactional synchrony were associated with better quality attachment
◍ LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT.
Answer: the theory that infants become attached to their mothers because a
mother provides food, or primary reinforcement, and thus becomes a
secondary reinforcer.
◍ LIMITATION OF DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS: HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES.
Answer: too much reliance on this method of assessment and lead to
systematic abuse of human rights, for example diagnosing people with
conditions for trying to escape slavery or being attracted to working-class
people - diagnoses used for control.
◍ CONFORMITY.
Answer: adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group
standard due to real or imagined social pressure
,◍ Deviation from social norms evaluation.
Answer: -Real life application - diagnosis of disorders-Never the sole reason
- antisocial personality disorder also categorised by distress (failure to
function)-Cultural relativity - social norms depend on culture, can't apply to
people from other groups-Human rights abuses - defining people as
abnormal to control them e.g. slaves who ran away
◍ STRENGTH OF AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY: RESEARCH
SUPPORT.
Answer: fully obedient ppts in Milgram's study scored highly on the
F-scale.however this link is correlation not causation - a third factor may be
involved.
◍ Deviation from ideal mental health.
Answer: Occurs when an individual does not meet a set of criteria for good
mental health
◍ NEGATIVE SELF SCHEMAS.
Answer: negative information we hold about ourselves based on negative
past experiences that can lead to cognitive biases such as interpreting all
info about ourselves in a negative manner
◍ SITUATIONAL VARIABLES IN OBEDIENCE: PROXIMITY.
Answer: when "teacher" and "learner" were in same room, obedience
dropped from 65% to 40%. when teacher forced learner's hand onto shock
plate, obedience dropped to 30%.when experimenter left the room to
instruct by telephone, obedience dropped to 20.5%.
◍ COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT).
Answer: patient and therapist work together to clarity problems and clarify
where negative/irrational thoughts which will benefit from change might be.
these thoughts are challenged by the patient taking an active role in their
treatment. patients are encouraged to test irrationality of their beliefs as
"homework" where they record when they enjoyed something or when
someone was nice to them. this way if they say there is no point in going on
etc. in future sessions the therapist has physical evidence to challenge this.
, ◍ LIMITATION OF LOC: ROLE MAY BE EXAGGERATED.
Answer: Rotter (1982): LOC only important in new situations - makes little
difference in familiar situations where prev. experiences are always more
important. means LOC is only helpful in explaining a narrow range of
situations.
◍ Example of deviation from social norms.
Answer: -Antisocial personality disorder-Failure to conform to lawful or
culturally normative ethical behaviour-Person is abnormal because they do
not conform
◍ FLOODING THERAPY.
Answer: the exposure of the client to the actual anxiety stimulus until they
can relax fully. w/o option of avoidance, patient learns quickly that phobic
stimulus is harmless. this is known as extinction. patients must give
informed consent & know fully what to expect.
◍ STRENGTH OF DIFFERENT LTM STORES: BRAIN SCAN STUDIES.
Answer: ppts performing various memory tasks in a PET scanner showed
that episodic & semantic tasks were in prefrontal cortex - semantic on left &
episodic on right.physical reality shown in studies supports validity.
◍ REPORT EVERYTHING.
Answer: the interviewer encourages the witness to report all details about
the event, even though these details may seem unimportant, as they may act
as retrieval cues.
◍ FATHER AS PRIMARY CAREGIVER.
Answer: evidence suggests that when fathers take on role as primary
caregiver they adopt typical behaviours of mothers. level of response is
important: can be the more nurturing attachment figure if they give correct
cues such as smiling, holding hands, etc.
◍ LIMITATION OF MINORITY INFLUENCE: RESEARCH INVOLVING
ARTIFICIAL TASKS.
Answer: findings lack external validity as they tell us little about how
PAPER 3 ISSUES AND OPTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGY MARK SCHEME JUNE
CERTIFICATION SCRIPT 2026
QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ RESPONSE-BIAS EXPLANATION.
Answer: the wording of the question has no real effect on the participants'
memories just influences how they answer.
◍ CHARACTERISTICS OF DEPRESSION.
Answer: behavioural- low activity levels- disruption to
sleep/eatingemotional- low mood- angercognitive- poor concentration-
absolutist thinking
◍ STRENGTH OF BECK: PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THERAPY.
Answer: Beck's explanation forms basis for CBT which identifies and
challenges elements of negative triad.strength of the explanation as it
translates well into a therapy.
◍ COMBO OF SSRIs AND CBT.
Answer: drugs often used alongside CBT to combat OCD. drugs reduce
emotional symptoms, allowing patient to engage more effectively w/ CBT.
◍ STATE-DEPENDENT FORGETTING.
Answer: forgetting related to changes in context associated with internal
cues of physical and mental state, as opposed to the context defined by the
external environment
,◍ CHARACTERISTICS OF OCD.
Answer: behavioural- compulsions- avoidanceemotional- anxiety/distress-
guilt/disgustcognitive- obsessive thoughts- insight into excessive anxiety
(awareness that thoughts are irrational - hyper-vigilant of obsession)
◍ DISINHIBITED ATTACHMENT (EFFECT OF
INSTITUTIONALISATION).
Answer: indiscriminate friendliness, lack of appropriate wariness of
strangers, and difficulty participating in real, reciprocal social
interactions.child shows equal affection to strangers as they do people they
know well
◍ SSRIs + OCD.
Answer: -Prevents re-absorption and breakdown, levels increase therefore
post-synaptic neuron is stimulated-e.g. Fluoxetine, typical dose 20mg a day
◍ ISABELLA ET AL (1989).
Answer: observed 30 babies and their mothers and found that higher levels
of interactional synchrony were associated with better quality attachment
◍ LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT.
Answer: the theory that infants become attached to their mothers because a
mother provides food, or primary reinforcement, and thus becomes a
secondary reinforcer.
◍ LIMITATION OF DEVIATION FROM SOCIAL NORMS: HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES.
Answer: too much reliance on this method of assessment and lead to
systematic abuse of human rights, for example diagnosing people with
conditions for trying to escape slavery or being attracted to working-class
people - diagnoses used for control.
◍ CONFORMITY.
Answer: adjusting our behavior or thinking to coincide with a group
standard due to real or imagined social pressure
,◍ Deviation from social norms evaluation.
Answer: -Real life application - diagnosis of disorders-Never the sole reason
- antisocial personality disorder also categorised by distress (failure to
function)-Cultural relativity - social norms depend on culture, can't apply to
people from other groups-Human rights abuses - defining people as
abnormal to control them e.g. slaves who ran away
◍ STRENGTH OF AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY: RESEARCH
SUPPORT.
Answer: fully obedient ppts in Milgram's study scored highly on the
F-scale.however this link is correlation not causation - a third factor may be
involved.
◍ Deviation from ideal mental health.
Answer: Occurs when an individual does not meet a set of criteria for good
mental health
◍ NEGATIVE SELF SCHEMAS.
Answer: negative information we hold about ourselves based on negative
past experiences that can lead to cognitive biases such as interpreting all
info about ourselves in a negative manner
◍ SITUATIONAL VARIABLES IN OBEDIENCE: PROXIMITY.
Answer: when "teacher" and "learner" were in same room, obedience
dropped from 65% to 40%. when teacher forced learner's hand onto shock
plate, obedience dropped to 30%.when experimenter left the room to
instruct by telephone, obedience dropped to 20.5%.
◍ COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT).
Answer: patient and therapist work together to clarity problems and clarify
where negative/irrational thoughts which will benefit from change might be.
these thoughts are challenged by the patient taking an active role in their
treatment. patients are encouraged to test irrationality of their beliefs as
"homework" where they record when they enjoyed something or when
someone was nice to them. this way if they say there is no point in going on
etc. in future sessions the therapist has physical evidence to challenge this.
, ◍ LIMITATION OF LOC: ROLE MAY BE EXAGGERATED.
Answer: Rotter (1982): LOC only important in new situations - makes little
difference in familiar situations where prev. experiences are always more
important. means LOC is only helpful in explaining a narrow range of
situations.
◍ Example of deviation from social norms.
Answer: -Antisocial personality disorder-Failure to conform to lawful or
culturally normative ethical behaviour-Person is abnormal because they do
not conform
◍ FLOODING THERAPY.
Answer: the exposure of the client to the actual anxiety stimulus until they
can relax fully. w/o option of avoidance, patient learns quickly that phobic
stimulus is harmless. this is known as extinction. patients must give
informed consent & know fully what to expect.
◍ STRENGTH OF DIFFERENT LTM STORES: BRAIN SCAN STUDIES.
Answer: ppts performing various memory tasks in a PET scanner showed
that episodic & semantic tasks were in prefrontal cortex - semantic on left &
episodic on right.physical reality shown in studies supports validity.
◍ REPORT EVERYTHING.
Answer: the interviewer encourages the witness to report all details about
the event, even though these details may seem unimportant, as they may act
as retrieval cues.
◍ FATHER AS PRIMARY CAREGIVER.
Answer: evidence suggests that when fathers take on role as primary
caregiver they adopt typical behaviours of mothers. level of response is
important: can be the more nurturing attachment figure if they give correct
cues such as smiling, holding hands, etc.
◍ LIMITATION OF MINORITY INFLUENCE: RESEARCH INVOLVING
ARTIFICIAL TASKS.
Answer: findings lack external validity as they tell us little about how
