A Level Psychology: Approaches, Issues and Debates — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Approaches, Issues and Debates study guide.

Paper 1 at a glance: 1 hour 30 minutes, 60 marks. Section A: short answer questions based on the core studies (38 marks). Section B: extended response and essay questions based on the core studies (22 marks). The paper tests the 12 compulsory core studies, the four approaches (biological, cognitive, learning and social) and the AS Level issues and debates.

The four approaches and their main assumptions

Approach	Main assumptions (syllabus 3.1.1)
Biological	Behaviour, cognitions and emotions can be explained in terms of the working of the brain and the effect of hormones, genetics and evolution. Similarities and differences between people can be understood in terms of biological factors and their interaction with other factors.
Cognitive	Information is processed through the same route in all humans — input, process, output — similar to a computer. People have individual differences in cognitive processing (attention, language, thinking, memory), which can also help explain behaviour and emotion.
Learning	We all begin life as a blank slate; experiences and interactions with the environment shape behaviour, and these changes are directly observable. We learn through operant conditioning, classical conditioning and social learning, understood through the stimulus-response model.
Social	Behaviour, cognitions and emotions are influenced by social contexts, social environments and groups, and by the actual, implied or imagined presence of others.

The 12 compulsory core studies

Each approach has three core studies. Know which approach each belongs to — the grouping is examined.

Biological

Study	Method and techniques	Psychology investigated
Dement and Kleitman (sleep and dreams)	Experimental and correlational methods; EEGs; REM and non-REM sleep; interview technique	Sleep; dreaming; ultradian rhythms
Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences)	Experiment with rhesus monkeys; interactions with stereotypical boys’ and girls’ toys coded with a behavioural checklist; children’s data taken from another study	Sex differences; socialisation; play; the role of hormones
Hölzel et al. (mindfulness and brain scans)	Experiment with a longitudinal design; MRI scans and self-reports; correlations	Mindfulness; localisation of function

Cognitive

Study	Method and techniques	Psychology investigated
Andrade (doodling)	Laboratory experiment on whether doodling aids concentration and memory	Attention; memory
Baron-Cohen et al. (eyes test)	Revision of the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test with adults including those with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism; experiments and correlations	Theory of mind; social sensitivity
Pozzulo et al. (line-ups)	Laboratory experiment comparing adults and children, using cartoon and human faces in line-ups; interviews and questionnaires	False positive responses; eyewitness testimony

Learning

Study	Method and techniques	Psychology investigated
Bandura et al. (aggression)	Experiment comparing several variables, with observation to collect data; tested whether children imitate an aggressive adult model	Social learning theory; aggression
Fagen et al. (elephant learning)	Observation with a behavioural checklist; positive and secondary reinforcement training for a trunk wash in working elephants	Operant conditioning; reinforcement (positive, negative, primary and secondary); shaping; behavioural chaining
Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia)	Case study of a child; interviews, scales and observations; treatment targeting disgust and fear responses	Evaluative learning; operant conditioning; classical conditioning; phobias

Social

Study	Method and techniques	Psychology investigated
Milgram (obedience)	Laboratory setting measuring obedience (a ‘dependent variable’, but no independent variable in the main study); observations and an interview; considers dispositional and situational hypotheses	Obedience; social pressure
Perry et al. (personal space)	Two experiments comparing oxytocin with a placebo; a computerised Comfortable Interpersonal Distance Scale, a choice between pictures of rooms, and questionnaires	Interpersonal distance (personal space); social hormones; empathy
Piliavin et al. (subway Samaritans)	Field experiment using observation; how bystanders behave in real-life situations	Bystander apathy; diffusion of responsibility

For every core study, be ready to give: the psychology investigated, the background, the aim(s), the procedure (research method, sample, design, controls, variables), the ethical issues, the results, the conclusions, and strengths and weaknesses of every element.

Negative reinforcement is not punishment (a Fagen et al. and learning-approach trap). Negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant and so increases a behaviour; punishment adds something unpleasant and decreases it.

The five AS Level issues and debates

Consider each in relation to each core study, where appropriate.

Issue or debate	Core studies that raise it clearly
The application of psychology to everyday life	Pozzulo et al. (police line-ups), Saavedra and Silverman (treating a phobia), Fagen et al. (elephant welfare and training), Hölzel et al. (mindfulness), Andrade (doodling and concentration)
Individual and situational explanations	Milgram (dispositional versus situational hypotheses), Perry et al. (empathy as an individual difference), Baron-Cohen et al. (individual differences in theory of mind), Piliavin et al. (features of the situation and the victim)
Nature versus nurture	Hassett et al. (hormones versus socialisation in toy preferences), Bandura et al. (aggression learned by imitation), Saavedra and Silverman (a phobia treated through conditioning), Dement and Kleitman (biological sleep stages)
The use of children in psychological research	Bandura et al., Pozzulo et al., Saavedra and Silverman
The use of animals in psychological research	Hassett et al. (rhesus monkeys), Fagen et al. (working elephants)

A Level issues and debates — for the specialist options, not Paper 1

At A Level the list has eight issues and debates, applied to the specialist options on Papers 3 and 4: the application of psychology to everyday life, individual and situational explanations, nature versus nurture, the use of children in psychological research, cultural differences, reductionism versus holism, determinism versus free-will and idiographic versus nomothetic (the use of animals is on the AS list only). The four that are new at A Level are summarised here so you have them in one place; they are not Paper 1 content.

Determinism versus free-will

Position	Claim
Free will	People choose their own behaviour
Hard determinism	All behaviour is caused; free will is an illusion
Soft determinism	Behaviour is caused, but people can exercise conscious choice within those constraints

Kinds of cause often distinguished: biological (genes, hormones, brain structure) and environmental (learning and experience). Determinism supports scientific prediction but sits uneasily with holding people responsible for their actions; free will fits everyday experience and legal responsibility but is hard to test scientifically.

Reductionism versus holism

• Reductionism explains behaviour by breaking it into simpler parts or a lower level of explanation — for example biological reductionism (neurochemistry, genes) or explaining behaviour by stimulus–response links.
• Holism argues behaviour must be understood as a whole, including the person, their thinking and their social context.

Reductionist explanations are testable and can lead to effective treatments but may miss the meaning of behaviour; holistic explanations are more complete but harder to test.

Idiographic versus nomothetic

• Idiographic — studying the individual in depth, often qualitatively; rich and valid for that person, but hard to generalise.
• Nomothetic — seeking general laws from larger samples, usually quantitatively; generalisable, but can lose the individual.

Cultural differences

Whether behaviour, and the findings about it, vary between cultures: a study conducted in one culture may not generalise to another, and a measure developed in one culture may not be valid when applied elsewhere. Apply it to the specific studies in the option you are answering on.

Exam traps

• Placing a core study under the wrong approach.
• Describing a debate in general terms without applying it to a named core study, which is where the marks are.
• Confusing negative reinforcement with punishment.
• Saying Milgram’s main study had an independent variable — the syllabus notes it did not.
• Importing A Level debates (free will, reductionism) or content from other boards’ specifications (psychodynamic or humanistic approaches, gender bias) into a Paper 1 answer.

Self-test

1. Name the four approaches and the three core studies for each.
2. State the two main assumptions of the learning approach.
3. Which research method did Saavedra and Silverman use, and which techniques?
4. Name the five AS Level issues and debates.
5. Name two core studies that raise the use of animals in psychological research, and three that raise the use of children.

Answers: 1. Biological: Dement and Kleitman, Hassett et al., Hölzel et al. Cognitive: Andrade, Baron-Cohen et al., Pozzulo et al. Learning: Bandura et al., Fagen et al., Saavedra and Silverman. Social: Milgram, Perry et al., Piliavin et al. 2. We all begin life as a blank slate, with experiences and interactions with the environment shaping behaviour in directly observable ways; and we learn through operant conditioning, classical conditioning and social learning, understood using the stimulus-response model. 3. A case study, using interviews, various scales and observations. 4. The application of psychology to everyday life; individual and situational explanations; nature versus nurture; the use of children in psychological research; the use of animals in psychological research. 5. Animals: Hassett et al., Fagen et al. Children: Bandura et al., Pozzulo et al., Saavedra and Silverman.