Social Approach - Key Components

This is all the knowledge you need to know for this exam:

Note that case studies etc will vary depending on your teacher's preference.

Define Social Psychology	The social approach is about aspects of human behaviour that involve the individual’s relationships to other persons, groups and society, including cultural influences on behaviour.
Theories of Obedience	Agency Theory of Obedience
Theories of Prejudice	Social Identity Theory
Studies in detail	Milgram’s ‘original’ study of obedience Milgram’s ‘variation’ study of obedience Meeus and Raaijmaker’s study of destructive obedience in a job interview   Hofling’s study of obedience in nurses Sherif’s Robbers Cave study of prejudice
Key Issue	Why do football supporters become violent?
How Science Works	Survey Method (Questionnaire & Interviews) Qualitative & Quantitative data Ethical Guidelines Sampling Techniques

Hypotheses - The low down

Let’s talk about hypotheses!

A hypothesis is simply a prediction that is made by a psychologist which states what you believe will happen. The hypothesis is a precise statement that can be tested to show the relationship between the two variables (whether the independent variable is affecting the dependent variable thus making the experiment significant).

An experimental hypothesis can either be directional or non directional.

1.       A directional hypothesis predicts the type of difference we want to see in the results. (shows the direction of the difference in results)

For example – The results will show that men are better at driving around obstacles than women

2.       A non directional hypothesis predicts that there will be a difference in the results but does not specify where the difference will be.

For example – The results will show a difference in the driving abilities of men and women around obstacles.

3.       A Null hypothesis is a prediction that states there will be no differences in the results (as in some cases the results of a study will not prove any differences between condition’s results)

For example – There will be no difference in the results between men and women in their ability to be able to go round obstacles. Any differences found will be due to chance.

This should help you when making your hypotheses for your practicals.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below x

Practical Write up Help

For your exam you need to know how to write up a practical investigation for each practical you carry out for the approaches.

Here is a step by step guide for every section of your practical write up you need to have completed and know how to do for each approaches’ practical:

1.       The title of your investigation

2.       The aim of your practical

3.       Your independent variable and dependent variable (make sure that these are both operationalised)

4.       Hypotheses

a.       Directional

b.      Non directional

c.       Null

5.       Procedure – this should be a step by step account of how you carried out your investigation (like a recipe)

The procedure should include:

-          How does your practical meet ethical guidelines

-          Research method used

-          Sampling technique used and why you chose it

-          Participants used (who and why)

-          Where you completed the investigation

6.       Results – whether they are qualative or quantative (are the results significant)  

7.       Which hypotheses you will accept and why

8.       Evaluation use generalisability, validity, reliability, ecological validity, ethics etc to look at the strengths and weaknesses of you practical

9.       Any problems and solutions

Example questions:

Outline the aim of your learning approach practical? (2 marks)

Out two problems you came across when planning or carrying out your cognitive approach practical? (4 marks)

How did you ensure that you followed ethical guidelines in your observation? (5 marks)

If you have any questions please leave a comment below x

Key Issue - How to describe and explain

How to describe your key issue

·         No psychology is needed in your answer

·         Give detail about the issue (what is it? Who is affected?)

·         State what the key issue is using a question mark

·         General knowledge of the key issue

·         Say why this is an issue to society

A description question is usually around 4 marks so build on 4 points at least to ensure full marks.

To explain your key issue you must use your knowledge of psychology to answer the issue question. Use theories studied from that approach and sometimes studies to help explain the question.

For example why are psychology students better at revising than non psychology students?

-          You could use MSM to say that we know that through maintenance rehearsal (repetition) we can more easily store information into our long term memory  

-          You could also use LOP to say that we know that through semantic processing we will better remember information

If you have any questions leave a comment below x

Cognitive - Interference Theory of Forgetting

The interference theory of forgetting states that forgetting occurs when our ability to learn is affected by previously learnt information or information we are learning in the future.

The more similar the information the more chance there is for interference to occur.

There are two types of interference:

1.       Retroactive interference is when later learning interferes with previous learning eg. Finding it difficult to remember two languages you have been revising for all day

2.       Proactive interference is where previous learning interferes with later learning eg. Finding it hard to type on a new phone because you used to have a different model

h    For full marks in the exam on a description question use examples when explaining what the two types  of interference are. 

KEY ISSUE APPLICATION: Students know that they should study their subjects as different times very separately in order to avoid retroactive interference occurring.

Note: In the exam you could be asked to compare both theories of forgetting for around five marks, to do this make developed points showing their similarities and differences.

If you have any questions leave a comment below x

Cognitive - Evidence for State Dependent Recall

Mystowski

I thought I would include this study just in case you want some kind of evidence for state dependent recall (cue dependent theory of forgetting)

Half the participants were given coffee when receiving treatment for their fear of spiders and the other half did not take caffeine while receiving treatment for their fear of spiders.

A week later the participants were shown spiders, the participants who had taken caffeine before did not approach the spiders and were more afraid of the spiders. The participants who had not taken caffeine before were not afraid of spiders anymore.

This proves that state dependent recall exists.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below x

Cognitive - Godden and Baddeley Study

Remember to get full marks on your description of a study questions to:

-          Make at least one point on the aim of the study

-          Make at least three points on the procedure of the study

-          Make at least one point on the results of the study

-          Make at least one point on the conclusion of the study

Aim:

-          To see whether words would be recalled better in the same environment than in a very different environment

Procedure:

-          18 University Divers

-          13 men, 5 women

-          A list of words was presented to them

-          Half were presented with the list of words to learn on the beach or 15 feet under the sea

-          Two conditions were used to recall the words in one being the same condition they learnt the words, the other being the opposite condition they learnt the words to recite them

-          Participants were also given a recognition test on the words to control the accuracy of recall due to the disruptive change

Results:

-          Whether words were presented above or under the water did not affect the accuracy of recall

-          The participants recalled more words in the environment they learnt the words in

-          In the recognition test changing environment had no effect

-          30% more words were forgotten when the environment changed

Conclusion:

-          The results show us that context cues enhance recall

-          The fact that recognition was unaffected by the change in environment suggests that the change itself was not responsible for the decline in accuracy of recall

If you have any questions leave a comment below x

Cognitive - Cue Dependent Theory of Forgetting

Cue Dependent Theory of Forgetting

This is a really simple theory there are three main points you need to remember:

·         The theory says that forgetting takes place when we have the information we are looking for but lack the necessary cues needed to access it.

·         There are two types of recall:

1.       Context Dependent Recall (external) – depends on cues from the external environment to bring back memories eg. Remembering how to get around somewhere because you’ve been there before (evidence for this comes from Godden and Baddeley

2.       State Dependent Recall (internal) – requires a psychological cue for recall (emotion) eg. Remembering a good time because you can remember tasting a food (evidence for this comes from Mystowski)

When talking about the type types of recall you should use an example for each for more marks!

KEY ISSUE APPLICATION: Through this theory we know that students should be made to sit their exams in the same room as they were taught the subject in as it will provide them with context cues to help them remember the information better.

If you have any questions leave a comment below x

Unit 2 Exam Checklist

As I know the majority of people studying the course have already done their unit 1 exam so here is a checklist of what you need to revise for the unit 2 exam. Good luck by the way.

Being able to correctly do all of the things in this list without your notes will guarantee success in your exam as this is everything you are likely to be tested on (bear in mind case studies and practicals etc will vary with your teacher's preference).

Remember when answering exam questions based in these areas to give your answers to your psychology teacher if possible to make sure you have answered the questions correctly and what improvements could be made if any.

Describe Classical Conditioning Theory

Describe Operant Conditioning Theory

Describe Social Learning Theory

Describe and Evaluate Little Albert Study

Describe and Evaluate Bandura study

Describe and Evaluate Aversion Therapy

Describe and Evaluate how learning theory is used to explain gender (comparison to biological and psychodynamic)

Describe and Explain the Learning Key Issue

Learning Practical

Describe the role of the CNS and neurotransmitters

Describe the role of genes (nature v nurture debate)

Describe and Evaluate how biological theory is used to explain gender (comparison to learning and psychodynamic)

Describe and Evaluate Raine Study

Describe and Evaluate Money Study

Describe and Explain the Biological Key Issue

Biological Practical

Describe and Evaluate Freud’s Theory

Describe defence mechanisms

Describe and Evaluate how Freud’s theory is used to explain gender (comparison to learning and biological)

Describe and Evaluate Little Hans Study

Describe and Evaluate Dibs Study

Describe and Explain the Psychodynamic Key Issue

Psychodynamic Practical

Describe and Evaluate Observations

Describe and Evaluate Lab Experiments

Describe and Evaluate Twin and Adoption Studies as a method

Describe MRI and PET scans

Describe and Evaluate the use of animal experiments

Describe and Evaluate Case Studies

Describe and Assess the Cross Sectional and Longitudinal methods

Describe and Evaluate the Correlation method

Statistics:

Levels of measurement/data

Reasons for choosing a statistical test

Chi Squared, Mann Whitney and Spearmans

How to compare the observed and critical values and judge significance

Hypotheses (one and two tailed and null)

Levels of significance (p<0.05)

Ethical Guidelines

IV’s and DV’s

Use of control groups

Sampling Techniques

Randomisation (allocating groups to conditions)

Analysing Qualitative data

If you have any questions or resource requests please comment below x

What do you need help with?

I am trying to make resources to help with both the unit 1 and unit 2 exam however if there is anything specific you would like me to put on the blog just comment below as it is surprising easy to make the resources and upload them x

Evaluating a Theory (Strengths and Weaknesses)

For the Unit 2 exam you will not be required to evaluate any theories, however you will be expected to do so in the Unit 1 exam.

There are 4 stages to evaluating a theory which you should make at least one point on each to guarantee full marks on an evaluation question in the exam:

1. Apply to real life, say who the theory can help and how it can help
2. Does your theory have a supporting study? use the results of the study to say how it supports your theory
3. Find one criticism of you supporting study, this can include having a low ecological validity and generalisability etc
4. Is there an opposing theory? Having an opposing theory means that our theory is not 100% accurate.
5. Any final weaknesses? (If there are any)

Using these stages to evaluate your theories is a simple way of making sure you evaluate correctly, make sure your points show a good understanding of the theory and study used with good detail. Evaluation questions tend to be around 4 marks.

If you have any questions leave a comment below x

Evaluating Studies

How to Evaluate a Study - Using Craik and Tulving (1975 Levels of Processing)

A question that asks you to evaluate a study in AS Psychology will roughly be around 5 marks, to achieve full marks you should make a developed point of at least 4 of these areas:

1.       Generalisability

o   How many participants took part in the study?

o   Can this be generalised to the rest of the population?

Craik and Tulving: Does not represent the whole population as there were only 20 participants

2.       Reliability

o   Is a controlled procedure used?

o   Would it be easy to repeat the study?

Craik and Tulving: There is a high reliability as the study took place in a lab

3.       Application to real life

o   How does society benefit from the study?

Craik and Tulving: Can be used to benefit students who are studying for their exams as they know to revise the content semantically by making sure they have a full understanding of their work.

4.       Validity

o   Does the study test what it set out to test?

o   Is the study set in an artificial or real setting?

o   Are there any factors that may affect the results? (confounding variables)

Craik and Tulving: The study has a high validity as being conducted in a lab there was a high level of control meaning there was a small chance of confounding variables affecting the results.

5.       Ecological Validity

o   Was the task conducted realistic?

o   Was a real life setting used? (lab experiment or field experiment?)

Craik and Tulving: Has a low ecological validity as the study took place in an artificial environment as it was a lab experiment meaning the behaviour experience was not realistic.

You can also talk about whether the study meets ethical guidelines, I will be making a seperate resource on this.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below x

How to Describe a Case Study

My class have studied Craik and Tulving thus why I am using it in this resource

Craik and Tulving – Describing a Cognitive Study

To complete a description on the designated study for your exam I recommend that you:

-          Make at least one point on the aim of the study

-          Make at least three points on the procedure of the study

-          Make at least two points on the results of the study
-          Make at least one point on the conclusion of the study

Here is what you could mention if you have studied Craik and Tulving:

Aim:

-          To see if semantic processing leads to a better recall of information.

-          To provide evidence for the levels of processing theory

Procedure:

-          20 participants

-          40 words

-          Yes or no questions were asked

-          Incidental (participants did not know they were doing a memory test)

-          Tested individually

-          Words shown one at a time for 200 milliseconds             

Detailed sentences should be used in this section to convey a good understanding of the case study.

Results:

-          30% more words were recorded if semantically processed

-          Semantic processing lead to the best recognition

Conclusion:

-          Shows that LOP is correct that semantic is the deepest form of processing

-          Deeper processing means we are more likely to understand the material

If you have any questions please comment below x

Theories of Memory - Describing

Theories of Memory

Describing the Multi Store Model of Memory (or MSM)

This process describes the memory as having three stores which are:

-          

Sensory Register (the sense organs)

-          Short Term Memory (STM)

-          Long Term Memory (LTM)

The Model:

For the exam you will be asked to describe this theory for roughly 5 marks in which you should aim to make five points using examples where possible.

Points should include:

-          What is the Multi store mode of memory (what are the three stores?)

-          The capacity of the stores

o   The capacity of the STM is 5-9 items (average = 7), we can increase this by chunking information.

o   The capacity of the LTM is unlimited.

-          The duration of the stores

o   Duration of the STM is 30 seconds

o   Duration of the LTM is unlimited

-          And that MSM encourages maintenance rehearsal (repetition) as a method of transferring information from the STM to the LTM to create long lasting memories.

KEY ISSUE APPLICATION: Says students will revise better through repeating what they are trying to remember in order for better recall of information in the exam.

Describing the Levels of Processing Theory

This theory states that there are three levels in which information can be processed into our long term memory. They are:

1.       Phonetic – based on what something sounds like

2.       Structural – processing based on how something looks (shallowest)

3.       Semantic – processing based on what something means (deepest)

The deeper the form of processing the easier the recall of information.

Says that elaborative rehearsal should be used rather than MSM’s maintenance rehearsal. Elaborative Rehersal is where information is transferred more effectively from the STM to the LTM through understanding the meaning of something rather than repeating what you are trying to store in your long term memory.

In order to answer a question which wants you to describe the levels of processing theory you should aim to cover these points:

-          That there are three levels of processing
-  What these levels are using an example to demonstrate how they work. (for example I would remember going to a place when I was younger by remembering how the beach looked)

KEY ISSUE APPLICATION: Helps students revise because it says that understanding the meaning of something will help you remember it better = elaborative rehearsal

Key Components of the Cognitive Approach - Unit 1

Define Cognitive Psychology	-          The cognitive approach is about the role of cognitive and information processes in human behaviour (Know this definition)
Theories of Memory	-          Multi Store Model -          Levels of Processing
Theories of Forgetting	-          Cue Dependent Theory -          Interference Theory
Studies in detail (Will depend on your teacher’s preferences)	-          Craik and Tulving’s study of -          Levels of Processing -          Godden & Baddeley’s study of Cue Dependent Forgetting
Key Issue (Will depend on your teacher’s preferences)	-          “Why should psychology students revise more effectively than non-psychology students?”
How Science Works	-          Hypotheses -          I.V and D.V -          Experimental Methods -          Experimental Design

Complete Checklist - Unit 1 Exam

Everything You Need to Know

·         Describe and Evaluate Multi Store Model of Memory

·         Describe and Evaluate Levels of Processing Model of Memory

·         Describe and Evaluate Craik and Tulving’s Levels of Processing Study

·         Describe and Evaluate Cue-Dependent Theory of Forgetting

·         Describe and Evaluate Godden and Baddeley study

·         Describe and Evaluate Interference Theory of Forgetting

·         Describe and Explain the Cognitive Key Issue

·         Cognitive Practical

·         Describe and Evaluate Agency Theory

·         Describe and Evaluate Milgram’s Original Study

·         Describe and Evaluate Meeus and Raaijmaker’s Study

·         Compare Meeus and Raaijmaker’s Study and Milgram’s Study

·         Describe and Evaluate Milgram’s Variation Study

·         Describe and Evaluate Hofling’s Nurses Study

·         Describe and Evaluate Social Identity Theory

·         Describe and Evaluate Sherif’s Robbers Cave Study

·         Describe and Explain the Social Key Issue

·         Social Practical

·         Describe and Evaluate Lab, Field and Natural Experiments

·         Describe and Evaluate Surveys

·         Describe and Evaluate Experimental Designs

·         Describe and Evaluate Sampling Methods

·         Hypotheses (one and two tailed and null)

·         IV’s, DV’s and Operationalising variables

·         Confounding Variables

·         Ethical Guidelines

·         Qualitative vs. Quantitative

·         Objectivity vs. Subjectivity

Make sure you can do all of these skills without your notes for success in this exam.