CHETAN SINGH AQA PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
A LEVEL
PAPER 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Psychopathology
2 hours
96 marks
PAPER 2: Psychology in Context
Approaches
Biopsychology
Research Methods
1h30
96 marks
PAPER 3: Issues and Options in Psychology
Issues and Debates
Schizophrenia
Gender
Forensic Psychology
1h30
96 marks
,PAPER 2
1. APPROACHES
Origins of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
o Opened the first experimental psychology lab
o Became the first person to be known as a psychologist
o Believed in reductionism
o Studied the structure of the mind
Introspection
o Process by which a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional states
o Allows us to observe our inner world
o Can be done with sufficient training
o Memory, perception and thoughts
The Learning Approach: Behaviourism
Behaviourist Approach
Behaviour is observed and measured
Basic processes for learning are the same in all species
o Animals could replace humans as experimental subjects
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Stimulus response learning
Association between two stimuli
Pavlov:
o Noticed that animals not only salivated with food, but with things associated with food (his
assistant who fed his dogs)
o Unconditioned stimulus (food) – natural stimulus
o Unconditioned response (salivating) – triggered by stimulus
o Natural stimulus (bell) – something that initially gives no response
o Conditioned stimulus (bell) – something learned to trigger a response
o Conditioned response (salivating) – triggered by stimulus
Operant conditioning
Behaviour is maintained by consequences
Reinforcement and punishment
Skinner:
o Taught animals, such as rats or pigeons
o Reinforced rats using food pellets
o Food only released if rats pulled the lever when the red light was on and not when the green
light was on
o Quickly learnt to press the lever when the red light was on
Categories/Types of Punishment
Positive reinforcement
o Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
o Increases likelihood of behaviour
Negative reinforcement
o When an animal or human avoids doing something unpleasant
o Increases likelihood of behaviour
Punishment
o An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
o Decreases likelihood of behaviour
, Point Evidence Explanation Link
Classical Tries to replace the learned response
The development of
conditioning with another
treatments for phobias
has real-life Has increased quality of life for those
(systematic desensitisation)
applications – can live normal everyday lives
Advertising
Manipulates the consumer to buy the
Not all Elements which make goods
Has been used
applications the consumer associate somewhat
are positive Cannot properly judge whether the unethically
the product with
product is good or not
something positive
Different Relationships between the
species have conditioned stimulus and Animals are prepared to learn Classical
different unconditioned stimulus tend significant associations conditioning may
capabilities to to be more difficult to Are unprepared for insignificant ones not always work
learn establish
Manipulated the consequences of
Skinner has Controlled conditions behaviour
been praised (Skinner box) Able to accurately measure the
for his use of When an animal dependent variable Has high internal
the accidentally presses a Establish a cause and effect validity
experimental lever, a food pellet falls relationship between the
method into the cage consequence of a behaviour and
future frequency of its occurrence
Skinner’s Operant conditioning is
We can decide whether to learn a
studies tell us reductionist Theory is not
behaviour or not
very little about Ignores our free will and generalisable to
Different to animals, who aren’t as
human motivation humans
cognitively developed
behaviour
, Social Learning Theory
Bandura (1977) – argued that classical and operant conditioning could not account for all human
learning
Important mental processes mediate between stimulus and response
Learning through observation and imitation
Steps in observational learning:
o Modelling – behaviour is modelled by a role model
o Observation – behaviour is observed
o Imitation – behaviour is imitated and therefore learned
o Identification – observers must identify with the role model in order to imitate them
Live models: parents, teachers, friends
Symbolic models: someone portrayed in the media
o Vicarious reinforcement – we are more likely to repeat a behaviour if we see the model
being rewarded for it
Observing the consequences
Mediational processes – mental factors that mediate to determine whether a new response is
acquired
o Attention – the behaviour has to grab our attention
o Retention – the behaviour has to be remembered
o Motor reproduction – the person needs to believe they are capable to perform the behaviour
o Motivation – the person needs the will to perform the behaviour, usually determined by
whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
Key Study: Bobo Doll
Procedure:
o Group of children – half were exposed to footage of an adult model interacting aggressively
with a life-sized Bobo doll
o Aggressive model:
o Physically assaulted the doll
o Used verbal words of aggression, e.g. ‘POW’
o Half exposed to non-aggressive models
o After watching the video, the children were frustrated by being shown toys they weren’t
allowed to play with
o Then taken to a room where, along other toys, there was a Bobo doll
Findings:
o Aggressive model reproduced a good deal of physically and verbally aggressive behaviour
o One third repeated the verbal responses
o Non-aggressive model exhibited no aggression
o Children who saw the model being rewarded were more likely to implement this in their own
play
o Same sex models were more likely to reproduce behaviour
A LEVEL
PAPER 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Psychopathology
2 hours
96 marks
PAPER 2: Psychology in Context
Approaches
Biopsychology
Research Methods
1h30
96 marks
PAPER 3: Issues and Options in Psychology
Issues and Debates
Schizophrenia
Gender
Forensic Psychology
1h30
96 marks
,PAPER 2
1. APPROACHES
Origins of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
o Opened the first experimental psychology lab
o Became the first person to be known as a psychologist
o Believed in reductionism
o Studied the structure of the mind
Introspection
o Process by which a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional states
o Allows us to observe our inner world
o Can be done with sufficient training
o Memory, perception and thoughts
The Learning Approach: Behaviourism
Behaviourist Approach
Behaviour is observed and measured
Basic processes for learning are the same in all species
o Animals could replace humans as experimental subjects
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Stimulus response learning
Association between two stimuli
Pavlov:
o Noticed that animals not only salivated with food, but with things associated with food (his
assistant who fed his dogs)
o Unconditioned stimulus (food) – natural stimulus
o Unconditioned response (salivating) – triggered by stimulus
o Natural stimulus (bell) – something that initially gives no response
o Conditioned stimulus (bell) – something learned to trigger a response
o Conditioned response (salivating) – triggered by stimulus
Operant conditioning
Behaviour is maintained by consequences
Reinforcement and punishment
Skinner:
o Taught animals, such as rats or pigeons
o Reinforced rats using food pellets
o Food only released if rats pulled the lever when the red light was on and not when the green
light was on
o Quickly learnt to press the lever when the red light was on
Categories/Types of Punishment
Positive reinforcement
o Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
o Increases likelihood of behaviour
Negative reinforcement
o When an animal or human avoids doing something unpleasant
o Increases likelihood of behaviour
Punishment
o An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
o Decreases likelihood of behaviour
, Point Evidence Explanation Link
Classical Tries to replace the learned response
The development of
conditioning with another
treatments for phobias
has real-life Has increased quality of life for those
(systematic desensitisation)
applications – can live normal everyday lives
Advertising
Manipulates the consumer to buy the
Not all Elements which make goods
Has been used
applications the consumer associate somewhat
are positive Cannot properly judge whether the unethically
the product with
product is good or not
something positive
Different Relationships between the
species have conditioned stimulus and Animals are prepared to learn Classical
different unconditioned stimulus tend significant associations conditioning may
capabilities to to be more difficult to Are unprepared for insignificant ones not always work
learn establish
Manipulated the consequences of
Skinner has Controlled conditions behaviour
been praised (Skinner box) Able to accurately measure the
for his use of When an animal dependent variable Has high internal
the accidentally presses a Establish a cause and effect validity
experimental lever, a food pellet falls relationship between the
method into the cage consequence of a behaviour and
future frequency of its occurrence
Skinner’s Operant conditioning is
We can decide whether to learn a
studies tell us reductionist Theory is not
behaviour or not
very little about Ignores our free will and generalisable to
Different to animals, who aren’t as
human motivation humans
cognitively developed
behaviour
, Social Learning Theory
Bandura (1977) – argued that classical and operant conditioning could not account for all human
learning
Important mental processes mediate between stimulus and response
Learning through observation and imitation
Steps in observational learning:
o Modelling – behaviour is modelled by a role model
o Observation – behaviour is observed
o Imitation – behaviour is imitated and therefore learned
o Identification – observers must identify with the role model in order to imitate them
Live models: parents, teachers, friends
Symbolic models: someone portrayed in the media
o Vicarious reinforcement – we are more likely to repeat a behaviour if we see the model
being rewarded for it
Observing the consequences
Mediational processes – mental factors that mediate to determine whether a new response is
acquired
o Attention – the behaviour has to grab our attention
o Retention – the behaviour has to be remembered
o Motor reproduction – the person needs to believe they are capable to perform the behaviour
o Motivation – the person needs the will to perform the behaviour, usually determined by
whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
Key Study: Bobo Doll
Procedure:
o Group of children – half were exposed to footage of an adult model interacting aggressively
with a life-sized Bobo doll
o Aggressive model:
o Physically assaulted the doll
o Used verbal words of aggression, e.g. ‘POW’
o Half exposed to non-aggressive models
o After watching the video, the children were frustrated by being shown toys they weren’t
allowed to play with
o Then taken to a room where, along other toys, there was a Bobo doll
Findings:
o Aggressive model reproduced a good deal of physically and verbally aggressive behaviour
o One third repeated the verbal responses
o Non-aggressive model exhibited no aggression
o Children who saw the model being rewarded were more likely to implement this in their own
play
o Same sex models were more likely to reproduce behaviour
