AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY 7182/3
PAPER 3 ISSUES AND OPTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGY MARK SCHEME JUNE
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ PA: Too Deterministic (Weaknesses).
Answer: The approach has been criticised for suggesting that people are
prisoners of their childhood experiences, unable to escape them and saying
their lives will be determined by them. This means that individuals do not
have free will or choice in their behaviour.
◍ Stages of Social Learning Theory.
Answer: IdentificationModellingVicarious Reinforcement
◍ Phallic Influence on Behaviour.
Answer: Homosexuality
◍ Computational Models.
Answer: models of cognition that are programmed on computers; output of
the programs is compared to human performance
◍ HA: Ideas Cannot Be Scientifically Tested (Weakness).
Answer: Humanists believe it is inappropriate to study humans in a scientific
way and make generalisations as we are all unique. This means that there us
a lack of objective evidence to support the theory as the concepts used are
abstract.
,◍ Psychosexual stages.
Answer: 1. Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months)2. Anal Stage (18 months to three
years)3. Phallic Stage (Ages three to six)4. Latency Stage (Age six to
puberty)5. Genital Stage (Puberty onward)Used to emphasise that the most
important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy
or libido. At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and from
different parts of the body
◍ The Social Learning Theory.
Answer: Learn by observing others and therefore the social environment is
particularly important as an influence on behaviourWe can learn from:-
Media- Social Media- Vicarious reinforcement- TV/Radio
◍ When was Wundt's lab established?.
Answer: 1879
◍ Inferences.
Answer: A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
◍ 3 Consequences (OC).
Answer: 1) Positive Reinforcement - behaviour is MORE LIKELY to occur
due to positive consequences2) Negative Reinforcement - behaviour is
MORE LIKELY to occur due to negative consequences3) Punishment -
behaviour is LESS LIKELY to occur because of the negative consequences
◍ CA: Supporting evidence uses scientific and objective methods (Strength).
Answer: This approach uses highly controlled lab exp. to allow
psychologists to be confident about their findings. This means that the study
of the mind has become a credible scientific discipline.
◍ Neurochemistry.
Answer: Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological
functioning
◍ Anal.
Answer: (18-36 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination;
coping with demands for control
, ◍ Approaches.
Answer: Different ways of explaining psychological phenomena
◍ Internal Mental Processes.
Answer: 'Private' operations of the mind such as perception and attention
that mediate between stimulus and response.
◍ Positive reinforcement.
Answer: Increasing behaviours by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.
A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response,
strengthens the response.
◍ Freud's study on "Little Hans": Strengths.
Answer: +Hans was a 5 year old boy who developed a phobia of horses after
seeing one collapse in the street. His father was a friend of Freud's and he
documented what his son said, and did, in detail and sent the information to
Freud in the form of letters for him to analyse the boy's behaviour. Freud
interpreted the boy's phobia as a form of displacement. The horses were
only a symbol of what Hans really feared, which was his father. Hans was
experiencing the Oedipus Complex as he was in the phallic psychosexual
stage and the horses were a symbolic representation of his real unconscious
fear: being castrated by his father
◍ Theoretical Model.
Answer: Pictorial Diagram e.g Multi-Store Model
◍ Wilhelm Wundt.
Answer: -In 1873 Wilhelm Wundt published the first lab in Leipzig,
Germany-He broke down behaviours into their basic elements, his approach
became known as structuralism-He was the first one to say you could study
the mind
◍ SLT: Cultural Differences Accounted For (Strength).
Answer: Explains differences observed across different cultures. This adds
credibility to the theory as an explanation of human behaviour.
PAPER 3 ISSUES AND OPTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGY MARK SCHEME JUNE
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ PA: Too Deterministic (Weaknesses).
Answer: The approach has been criticised for suggesting that people are
prisoners of their childhood experiences, unable to escape them and saying
their lives will be determined by them. This means that individuals do not
have free will or choice in their behaviour.
◍ Stages of Social Learning Theory.
Answer: IdentificationModellingVicarious Reinforcement
◍ Phallic Influence on Behaviour.
Answer: Homosexuality
◍ Computational Models.
Answer: models of cognition that are programmed on computers; output of
the programs is compared to human performance
◍ HA: Ideas Cannot Be Scientifically Tested (Weakness).
Answer: Humanists believe it is inappropriate to study humans in a scientific
way and make generalisations as we are all unique. This means that there us
a lack of objective evidence to support the theory as the concepts used are
abstract.
,◍ Psychosexual stages.
Answer: 1. Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months)2. Anal Stage (18 months to three
years)3. Phallic Stage (Ages three to six)4. Latency Stage (Age six to
puberty)5. Genital Stage (Puberty onward)Used to emphasise that the most
important driving force in development is the need to express sexual energy
or libido. At each stage this energy is expressed in different ways and from
different parts of the body
◍ The Social Learning Theory.
Answer: Learn by observing others and therefore the social environment is
particularly important as an influence on behaviourWe can learn from:-
Media- Social Media- Vicarious reinforcement- TV/Radio
◍ When was Wundt's lab established?.
Answer: 1879
◍ Inferences.
Answer: A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
◍ 3 Consequences (OC).
Answer: 1) Positive Reinforcement - behaviour is MORE LIKELY to occur
due to positive consequences2) Negative Reinforcement - behaviour is
MORE LIKELY to occur due to negative consequences3) Punishment -
behaviour is LESS LIKELY to occur because of the negative consequences
◍ CA: Supporting evidence uses scientific and objective methods (Strength).
Answer: This approach uses highly controlled lab exp. to allow
psychologists to be confident about their findings. This means that the study
of the mind has become a credible scientific discipline.
◍ Neurochemistry.
Answer: Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological
functioning
◍ Anal.
Answer: (18-36 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination;
coping with demands for control
, ◍ Approaches.
Answer: Different ways of explaining psychological phenomena
◍ Internal Mental Processes.
Answer: 'Private' operations of the mind such as perception and attention
that mediate between stimulus and response.
◍ Positive reinforcement.
Answer: Increasing behaviours by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.
A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response,
strengthens the response.
◍ Freud's study on "Little Hans": Strengths.
Answer: +Hans was a 5 year old boy who developed a phobia of horses after
seeing one collapse in the street. His father was a friend of Freud's and he
documented what his son said, and did, in detail and sent the information to
Freud in the form of letters for him to analyse the boy's behaviour. Freud
interpreted the boy's phobia as a form of displacement. The horses were
only a symbol of what Hans really feared, which was his father. Hans was
experiencing the Oedipus Complex as he was in the phallic psychosexual
stage and the horses were a symbolic representation of his real unconscious
fear: being castrated by his father
◍ Theoretical Model.
Answer: Pictorial Diagram e.g Multi-Store Model
◍ Wilhelm Wundt.
Answer: -In 1873 Wilhelm Wundt published the first lab in Leipzig,
Germany-He broke down behaviours into their basic elements, his approach
became known as structuralism-He was the first one to say you could study
the mind
◍ SLT: Cultural Differences Accounted For (Strength).
Answer: Explains differences observed across different cultures. This adds
credibility to the theory as an explanation of human behaviour.
