OxfordAQA A-Level Psychology: Biopsychology, Development and Research Methods 1 — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Biopsychology, Development and Research Methods 1 study guide.

Unit 2 at a glance

1 hour 30 minutes, 90 marks, single exam, every topic compulsory in its own 30-mark section — 3.2.1 Biopsychology, 3.2.2 Cognitive development, 3.2.3 Research methods 1.

Biopsychology — key structure

Nervous system: central (brain, spinal cord) vs peripheral (somatic, autonomic) — the autonomic system is a division of the peripheral system, not a separate category.

Neuron → synapse: sensory, relay and motor neurons; synaptic transmission via neurotransmitters, with excitation and inhibition.

Brain localisation: motor, somatosensory, visual, auditory and language centres; Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas; split-brain research; plasticity and functional recovery after trauma.

Revise with labelled diagrams (nervous system divisions, a neuron with synapse, localised brain regions) rather than prose alone — this content rewards precise anatomical vocabulary.

Cognitive development — Piaget vs Vygotsky

	Piaget	Vygotsky
View	Internal, stage-based development	Socially and culturally driven
Key ideas	Schemas, assimilation, accommodation, equilibration; object permanence, conservation, egocentrism, class inclusion	Zone of proximal development, scaffolding

Also: Baillargeon’s violation-of-expectation research (challenges Piaget on object permanence timing); social cognition — theory of mind, Sally-Anne studies, mirror neuron system.

Exam questions frequently ask you to compare Piaget and Vygotsky directly, not describe either alone.

Research methods 1 — cumulative foundations

Experimental methods (lab, field, natural); observation types (naturalistic, controlled, covert/overt, participant/non-participant); self-report (questionnaires, interviews); correlations; sampling and its implications; pilot studies; experimental designs (repeated measures, independent groups, matched pairs); random allocation, counterbalancing, demand characteristics, ethics; descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation); normal/skewed distributions.

Everything here is assumed knowledge for Research Methods 2 at A2 — build it securely now.

Worked example: interpreting a correlation

A study finds r = −0.7 between pre-bed screen time and sleep duration.

Coefficient:   -0.7 = strong NEGATIVE correlation -- more screen
               time associates with less sleep
Not shown:     correlation ≠ causation; a third variable (e.g.
               stress) could plausibly cause both
Evaluation:    efficient and ethical, no variable manipulation, but
               cannot support causal claims and is vulnerable to
               unmeasured third variables

Always name a specific, plausible third variable rather than gesturing at “other factors.”

The endocrine system and fight-or-flight

The endocrine system communicates via hormones released by glands directly into the bloodstream, which is slower but longer-lasting than the electrical signalling of the nervous system. The fight-or-flight response is the specification’s named example: a perceived threat triggers the hypothalamus, which activates the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline, producing physiological changes (increased heart rate, blood diverted to muscles, pupil dilation) that prepare the body for rapid action. Learn this as a single connected sequence (threat → hypothalamus → sympathetic activation → adrenaline → physiological changes) rather than as a list of disconnected facts, since exam questions often ask you to explain the sequence, not just name the hormone involved.

Split-brain research and lateralisation

Hemispheric lateralisation refers to the idea that some functions are dominated by one hemisphere of the brain rather than shared equally — language, for most people, is left-hemisphere dominant (Broca’s area for speech production, Wernicke’s area for language comprehension). Split-brain research studies patients whose corpus callosum (the structure connecting the two hemispheres) has been surgically severed, typically as an epilepsy treatment, allowing researchers to present information to just one hemisphere at a time and observe what the patient can and cannot report or act on. This research is the specification’s key evidence for lateralisation and for plasticity and functional recovery — the brain’s capacity to reorganise itself and, to some extent, compensate for damage by having other areas take over lost functions after injury.

Exam traps

• Treating the autonomic nervous system as separate from the peripheral system.
• Naming a Piaget stage without its defining feature (e.g. “concrete operational” without conservation).
• Calling a correlation a type of experiment — it is a distinct, non-experimental method.
• Confusing a population with a sample, or naming a sampling technique with no stated implication.

Theory of mind and the Sally-Anne studies

Theory of mind is the ability to understand that other people hold beliefs, desires and perspectives that may differ from one’s own. The Sally-Anne studies test this directly: a child watches Sally hide an object then leave the room, after which Anne moves the object; the child is asked where Sally will look for it on her return. A child who has not yet developed theory of mind tends to answer with the object’s actual new location, since they cannot yet represent that Sally holds a false belief about where it is. Answering correctly (that Sally will look where she left it) demonstrates the child can represent another person’s mental state as distinct from reality. The mirror neuron system is cited as a possible biological basis for this and related social-cognitive abilities, since these neurons fire both when performing an action and when observing someone else perform it.

Self-test

1. Which two systems compose the peripheral nervous system?
2. What does Baillargeon’s research challenge in Piaget’s account?
3. Give one strength and one limitation of a correlational study.
4. What is the central executive… no — what is scaffolding, in Vygotsky’s theory?
5. Name the three self-report/observation categories examined in Research Methods 1.

Answers: 1. The somatic and autonomic nervous systems. 2. The timing of when object permanence develops in infants, via violation-of-expectation methodology. 3. Strength: can efficiently and ethically identify relationships without manipulating variables; limitation: cannot establish causation and can be affected by unmeasured third variables. 4. Support given by a more knowledgeable other, adjusted and withdrawn as the learner’s competence grows, within their zone of proximal development. 5. Observation techniques, self-report techniques, and experimental/correlational methods.

Related resources

• Biopsychology, Development and Research Methods 1 study guide
• Biopsychology, Development and Research Methods 1 practice questions