AQA A Level Psychology: Introductory Topics — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, in the style and at the standard of the examination. They are not reproduced past-paper questions — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Introductory Topics revision notes

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Section A

1. Define conformity and name the three types identified by Kelman. [4]

2. Distinguish between informational and normative social influence. [4]

Section B

3. Explain four variables affecting obedience, referring to research where possible. [8]

4. Explain the working memory model.

(a) Name its four components and state the function of each. [8] (b) Give one strength and one limitation of the model. [4]

5. Explain the concept of attachment.

(a) Describe the types of attachment identified in the Strange Situation. [6] (b) Explain two limitations of the Strange Situation as a measure. [4]

6. Explain four definitions of abnormality and give one limitation of each. [8]

7. Explain the dispositional explanation of obedience and give one weakness of it. [4]

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Answers

1. Conformity is a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure [1]. Compliance — publicly agreeing while privately disagreeing [1]. Identification — adopting the group’s behaviour because one values membership of it [1]. Internalisation — genuinely accepting the group’s view as one’s own, so the change persists [1].

2. Informational social influence occurs when a person conforms because they believe the group is right and they want to be correct, particularly in an ambiguous situation [1] [1]. Normative social influence occurs when a person conforms because they want to be liked and accepted and fear rejection, so the change is usually public compliance only [1] [1].

3. Any four, 2 marks each: Proximity — obedience falls when the victim is in the same room, or when the experimenter gives orders by telephone rather than in person [1] [1]. Location — obedience falls when the study is moved from a prestigious university to a run-down office, because the setting confers less legitimate authority [1] [1]. Uniform — a figure in uniform is obeyed more readily, as uniform is a widely recognised symbol of legitimate authority [1] [1]. Agentic state — people obey when they see themselves as acting as an agent for an authority figure rather than as an autonomous individual, so they shift responsibility upwards [1] [1]. Presence of disobedient allies — obedience falls sharply when others refuse, because it makes disobedience seem possible [1] [1].

4. (a) Central executive — directs attention and allocates tasks to the slave systems; limited capacity [1] [1]. Phonological loop — deals with auditory and verbal information, subdivided into the phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal process [1] [1]. Visuo-spatial sketchpad — stores visual and spatial information, the “inner eye” [1] [1]. Episodic buffer — a temporary store that integrates information from the other components and links to long-term memory [1] [1]. (b) Strength: it is supported by dual-task studies — participants can perform a visual and a verbal task simultaneously with little interference, but two tasks of the same type disrupt each other, exactly as separate slave systems predict [1] [1]. Limitation: the central executive is poorly specified — its capacity has never been measured and it may itself consist of several separate components, so the model’s most important part is the least well understood [1] [1].

5. (a) Secure — the infant explores using the caregiver as a base, shows moderate distress on separation and is readily comforted on reunion; around 60–70% of infants [1] [1]. Insecure-avoidant — explores freely, shows little distress on separation and avoids contact on reunion; around 20% [1] [1]. Insecure-resistant — explores little, shows high distress on separation and resists comfort on reunion, seeking and rejecting contact simultaneously; around 10% [1] [1]. (b) Any two, 2 marks each: it may measure the quality of a particular relationship rather than a general characteristic of the child, since a child can show different attachment types with mother and father [1] [1]. It is culturally biased — it was developed in the United States, and behaviours classed as insecure in one culture reflect normal childrearing practices in another, such as the high rates of “resistant” classification in Japan, where infants are rarely separated from mothers [1] [1]. Its artificial laboratory setting may not reflect behaviour at home [1] [1].

6. Statistical infrequency — behaviour that is rare in the population [1]; limitation: some rare characteristics such as a very high IQ are desirable, not abnormal, and some disorders are common [1]. Deviation from social norms — behaviour that violates society’s unwritten rules [1]; limitation: norms are culturally and historically specific, so the definition can be used to label non-conformity as illness [1]. Failure to function adequately — inability to cope with everyday demands [1]; limitation: it is subjective who judges “adequate”, and some people with serious disorders continue to function [1]. Deviation from ideal mental health — falling short of criteria such as self-actualisation and accurate perception of reality [1]; limitation: the criteria are so demanding that almost everyone would be classed as abnormal, and they reflect Western individualist values [1].

7. The authoritarian personality (Adorno) is the dispositional explanation of obedience: it locates the cause within the individual’s own personality rather than in the features of the situation, and is measured using the F-scale, which identifies traits such as rigid, black-and-white thinking and excessive deference to authority [1] [1]. Weakness: it cannot explain whole populations obeying the same authority figure, as in Milgram’s studies — a dispositional account would require an implausibly uniform personality across millions of people, which is why situational explanations such as proximity, location, uniform and the agentic state are generally preferred [1] [1].

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Where marks are usually lost

• Confusing compliance with internalisation.
• Describing the working memory model without the episodic buffer.
• Giving Strange Situation percentages without describing the behaviours.
• Stating definitions of abnormality without a limitation when asked.
• Giving the dispositional explanation of obedience without stating its population-level weakness.