AQA A-level Psychology (7182): Paper 3 – Cognition and development – Revision Notes

For full explanations, evaluation and model paragraphs, read the Cognition and development study guide first.

These notes cover Cognition and development, section 4.3.4 of the AQA AS and A-level Psychology (7181, 7182) specification, Version 1.4 (1 September 2025), for teaching from September 2025. It is an option 1 topic, assessed in Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology, Section B (24 marks; multiple choice, short answer and extended writing). Paper 3 is a 2-hour written exam worth 96 marks and 33.3% of the A-level. You answer Section A (Issues and debates, compulsory) plus one topic from each of option 1, option 2 and option 3.

Test yourself with the practice questions, and track progress on the 7182 checklist and the AQA A-level Psychology hub.

Key terms

Term	Definition
Schema	A mental structure containing knowledge about an object, action or idea
Assimilation	Fitting new information into an existing schema without changing it
Accommodation	Changing a schema, or forming a new one, because new information does not fit
Equilibration	Restoring mental balance after disequilibrium by accommodating
Object permanence	Knowing an object still exists when it cannot be seen (Piaget: about 8 months)
Conservation	Knowing quantity stays the same when only appearance changes
Egocentrism	Seeing the world only from your own viewpoint
Class inclusion	Understanding that a sub-class (red flowers) is part of a larger class (flowers)
Zone of proximal development	The gap between what a learner can do alone and with expert help
Scaffolding	Temporary support from an expert, reduced as the learner gains skill
Physical reasoning system	Baillargeon’s proposed innate system for reasoning about how objects behave
Violation of expectation	Method using longer looking at an impossible event as a sign of surprise
Perspective-taking	Understanding a situation from another person’s point of view
Theory of mind	Understanding that others have beliefs and knowledge that may differ from yours
False belief	A belief that does not match reality; understanding it is a key test of theory of mind
Mirror neuron	A neuron that fires both when you act and when you watch the same action

Theories and studies at a glance

Who	What	Finding	One evaluation point
Piaget	Stage theory: sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational	Children’s logic changes in quality with age	Tasks may have confused children, so ages may be too late
Piaget and Inhelder (1956)	Three mountains task	Younger children often chose their own view	Hughes (1975) found less egocentrism with a task that made sense to children
McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974)	Naughty Teddy conservation of number	More children conserved when the change looked accidental	Shows how task wording affects results
Samuel and Bryant (1984)	One-question conservation	Fewer errors when asked once, after the change	Supports Piaget’s sequence but not his ages
Vygotsky	Social origin of thinking; ZPD; language as a tool	Learning is social first, individual later	ZPD is hard to measure precisely
Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976)	Tutoring young children on a block task	Introduced the term “scaffolding”	Practical task, so limited to one kind of learning
Wood and Middleton (1975)	Mothers helping 4-year-olds	The most effective mothers adjusted their help to how the child was doing (contingent help)	Supports scaffolding in the ZPD
Baillargeon, Spelke and Wasserman (1985)	Drawbridge VoE study, 5-month-olds	Longer looking at the “impossible” rotation	Rivera et al. (1999): may be preference for more movement
Baillargeon and DeVos (1991)	Tall and short carrot, 3½-month-olds	Longer looking when the tall carrot missed the window	Looking time is inferred, not direct evidence of thought
Selman	Levels 0–4 of perspective-taking from dilemma interviews	Perspective-taking rises with age	Relies on verbal ability
Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith (1985)	Sally-Anne false belief task	About 85% typical and 86% Down syndrome group passed; 20% of autistic group passed	Task also needs memory and language
Onishi and Baillargeon (2005)	Non-verbal false belief, 15-month-olds	Infants looked longer when an actor searched where she could not know the toy was	Suggests theory of mind earlier than verbal tasks show
Iacoboni et al. (2005)	fMRI of watching a grasp in “drink” vs “clean” context	Inferior frontal mirror area responded to intention	fMRI cannot isolate single neurons

Must-know distinctions

• Assimilation vs accommodation: assimilation adds to a schema; accommodation changes it.
• Egocentrism vs class inclusion vs conservation: viewpoint vs categories vs quantity. Each needs a different example.
• Piaget vs Vygotsky: Piaget’s child is a “lone scientist” who develops through stages driven by maturation and discovery; Vygotsky’s child learns through social interaction and language, and the ZPD means what you can do with help predicts your next step.
• Piaget vs Baillargeon: Piaget said object permanence appears at about 8 months via action; Baillargeon argued younger infants already have physical knowledge, shown by looking time.
• Perspective-taking vs theory of mind: Selman focuses on social viewpoints in dilemmas across childhood; theory of mind focuses on understanding beliefs, tested by false belief tasks.
• Correlation vs cause in mirror neuron research: activity during observation does not prove the neurons cause understanding.

Mini essay plan

Question type: “Discuss Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.”

1. AO1 (brief): schemas, assimilation, accommodation, equilibration. Four stages with one characteristic each.
2. AO3 point 1: McGarrigle and Donaldson — the task design may explain failure, so ages may be too late. Explain why this matters.
3. AO3 point 2: Hughes’s policeman doll task — egocentrism less extreme with a meaningful task.
4. AO3 point 3: Baillargeon’s VoE research — object permanence may appear earlier than Piaget claimed. Counterpoint: Rivera et al.
5. AO3 point 4: strength — influence on discovery learning in education.
6. AO3 point 5: comparison with Vygotsky, who gives a larger role to social interaction and culture.
7. Debate link: nature-nurture (maturation plus experience) or cultural bias of stage ages.
8. Judgement: the sequence of stages is broadly supported; the ages and the claim that thinking is limited by stage are less well supported.

Quick self-test

1. Define equilibration.
2. A child who has only seen dogs calls a horse “doggy”. Which process is this?
3. Name Piaget’s four stages in order.
4. What did Piaget’s three mountains task test?
5. Who introduced the term “scaffolding”?
6. What is the ZPD?
7. Why did Baillargeon use looking time rather than searching?
8. What did Rivera, Wakeley and Langer (1999) suggest about the drawbridge findings?
9. Describe Selman’s Level 2.
10. In the Sally-Anne study, what is the correct answer to the belief question, and why?
11. What is a mirror neuron?
12. Give one reason fMRI evidence for mirror neurons in humans is limited.

Answers

1. The drive to restore mental balance when new information causes disequilibrium, usually by accommodation.
2. Assimilation (fitting the horse into the existing “dog” schema).
3. Sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational.
4. Egocentrism: whether a child could pick a picture showing a doll’s view of a model rather than their own.
5. Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976).
6. The gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with help from a more knowledgeable other.
7. Young infants lack the motor skills to search, so search tasks may underestimate what they know.
8. Infants may look longer simply because there is more movement, not because the event is impossible.
9. Self-reflective: the child can see their own behaviour from another person’s point of view.
10. The basket, because Sally did not see the marble moved, so she holds a false belief about where it is.
11. A neuron that fires both when an animal performs an action and when it watches another perform the same action.
12. fMRI measures activity across brain areas, so it cannot show that individual neurons have mirror properties.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining schemas but not showing how assimilation and accommodation link through equilibration.
• Giving stage names and ages with no characteristic, or putting a characteristic in the wrong stage.
• Using the same example (a tall glass) for conservation, egocentrism and class inclusion.
• Describing Sally-Anne without saying it tests false belief, or misreporting which group did worst.
• Treating “longer looking” as proof of knowledge without questioning what it measures.
• Confusing Selman’s levels with Piaget’s stages; Selman’s are about social perspective, not logic.
• Evaluating mirror neurons only as “it’s biological so it’s scientific” without addressing cause and effect.
• In application questions, explaining the theory but never using the names and details from the scenario.
• Adding a debate (such as nature-nurture) as a final sentence instead of using it to judge the theory. The Issues and debates revision notes help with this.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level Psychology (7181, 7182) specification, Version 1.4 (1 September 2025), for teaching from September 2025, section 4.3.4 Cognition and development (Paper 3, Section B). Use these notes with the study guide and the Approaches in Psychology revision notes for the cognitive approach and schemas.