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AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 2 EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS GRADE A+
"Skinner's research - CORRECT ANSWER He suggested that learning is an active process
whereby humans and animals operate on their environment eg, the skinner box"
"Positive reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER Rewards when a certain desirable behaviour is
performed"
"Negative reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER When an animal or human avoids something
unpleasant"
"Punishment - CORRECT ANSWER An unpleasant consequence of behaviour"
"Behaviourist approach - limit - CORRECT ANSWER Doesn't take into account any biological
aspects and so is deterministic"
"Behaviourist approach - application - CORRECT ANSWER Treatment to phobias through
systematic desensitisation through classical conditioning"
"Behaviourist approach - research support - CORRECT ANSWER Influential in the
development of psychology as a scientific discipline"
"Social learning theory - CORRECT ANSWER A way of explaining behaviour that includes
both direct and indirect reinforcement"
"Imitation - CORRECT ANSWER Copying the behaviour of others"
"Identification - CORRECT ANSWER When as observer associates themselves with a role
model and wants to be like the role model"
"Modelling - CORRECT ANSWER Imitating the behaviour of a role model"
"Vicarious reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER Reinforcement that is not directly
experienced but occurs through observing someone else being reinforced for a behaviour"
"Mediational processes - CORRECT ANSWER Cognitive factors that influence learning and
come between stimulus and response"
"Assumptions of social learning theory - CORRECT ANSWER - learning occurs through
observation and imitation of others in a social context
- learning occurs directly and indirectly"
"Theoretical models - CORRECT ANSWER Information processing approach - where
information flows through the cognitive system (multi-store model)"
"Computer models - CORRECT ANSWER Mind compared to a computer - similarities in the
way information is coded and use in artificial intelligence"
"Application of cognitive neuroscience - CORRECT ANSWER Used in computer-generated
models that are designed to 'read' the brain- brain fingerprinting"
"Assumptions of Biological approach - CORRECT ANSWER - everything physiological is at
first biological
- the mind lives in the brain
- CONTRASTS TO COGNITIVE APPROACH"
"Genetic basis of behaviour - CORRECT ANSWER MZ twins have 100% concordance rate
whilst DZ twins have a 50% concordance rate (same as ordinary siblings)"
"Biological approach - limit - CORRECT ANSWER Deterministic view of behaviour - sees
human behaviour as innate, implications on the legal system"
"Psychosexual stage ANAL (1-3 years) - CORRECT ANSWER Focus of pleasure is the anus,
child gains pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces - leads to perfection/obsession or thoughtlessness/mess"
"Psychosexual stage PHALLIC (3-5 years) - CORRECT ANSWER Focus of pleasure is the
genital area (oedipus and Electra complex) - leads to recklessness and possibly homosexual"
"Psychosexual stage LATENCY - CORRECT ANSWER Earlier conflicts are repressed"
"Humanistic approach - holistic - CORRECT ANSWER Not reductionist as it considers the
whole person and so has increased validity"
"Nodes of ranvier - CORRECT ANSWER Gaps in the myelin sheath which speed up
transmission"
"Terminal buttons - CORRECT ANSWER The branched end of the axon that contains
neurotransmitters. Next to the synapse"
"Synaptic transmission - CORRECT ANSWER The process by which neighbouring neurons
communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap"
"Neurotransmitter - CORRECT ANSWER Brain chemicals released from synaptic vesicles
that relay signals across the synapse from one neuron to another"
"Localisation of function - plasticity - CORRECT ANSWER When the brain is damaged, the
remaining parts of the brain is able to reorganise itself is cope with the load of the damaged areas
"Plasticity - CORRECT ANSWER the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by
reorganising after damage or by building new pathways based on experience and new learning"
"Split-brain research - CORRECT ANSWER A series of studies which began in the 1960s
involving epileptic patients who had experienced a surgical separation of the hemispheres of the brain. This allowed researchers to investigate the extent to which brain function is lateralised."
"Electroencephalogram (EEG) - CORRECT ANSWER A record of tiny electrical impulses
produced by the brains activity"
"Event-related potential (ERP) - CORRECT ANSWER The brains electrophysical response to
a specific sensory, cognitive or motor event can be isolated through statistical analysis of EEG data"
"Post-mortem examinations - CORRECT ANSWER The brain is analysed after death to
determine whether certain observed behaviours during the patient's lifetime can be linked to abnormalities in the brain."
"Strengths of fMRI - CORRECT ANSWER Doesn't rely on radiation
Virtually risk free, non-invasive
High spatial resolution (to mm)"
"Weaknesses of fMRI - CORRECT ANSWER Expensive
Only useful if patient is still Poor temporal resolution (time lag) Can only measure blood flow"
"Strengths of EEG - CORRECT ANSWER Invaluable when diagnosing conditions like epilepsy
Helped with understanding of ultradian rhythms High temporal resolution"
"Weaknesses of EEG - CORRECT ANSWER Generalised information (thousands of neurons)
Hard to pinpoint source"
"Strengths of ERP - CORRECT ANSWER Measured much more specifically than EEG
Excellent temporal resolution"
"Weaknesses of ERP - CORRECT ANSWER Lack of standardisation
Extraneous variable must be removed"
"Strengths of post-mortem - CORRECT ANSWER Provides early understanding of key
processes Improves medical knowledge"
"Weaknesses of post-mortem - CORRECT ANSWER Issues with causation
Ethical issues"
"Biological rhythms - CORRECT ANSWER Distinct patterns of changes in body activity that
conform to cyclical time periods. Biological rhythms are influenced by internal body clocks (endogenous pacemakers) as well as external changes to the environment (exogenous zeitgebers)."
"Circadian rhythm - CORRECT ANSWER A type of biological rhythm, on a 24 HOUR CYCLE -
sleep/wake cycle"
"Infradian rhythms research study - CORRECT ANSWER McClintock studies 29 women with
irregular periods. Samples of pheromones gathered from 9 women at different stages of the cycle from a cotton pad on their armpit. Pads then rubbed on upper lip of other participants. 68% of women's cycle became closer to the 'odour donor'"
"Thematic analysis - CORRECT ANSWER An inductive and qualitative approach to analysis
that involves identifying implicit or explicit ideas within the data. Themes will often emerge once the data has been coded"
"Strengths of case studies - CORRECT ANSWER In depth
Rich data Studies unique cases Contribute to 'normal function' Generate hypotheses for future study"
"Weaknesses of case studies - CORRECT ANSWER Not a generalisable sample
Researchers have very little control over variables Difficult to establish causal relationships"
"Improving reliability of observations - CORRECT ANSWER Use operationalised behavioural
categories Don't overlap categories and all behaviours should be covered"
"Validity - CORRECT ANSWER The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to
measure"
"Face validity - CORRECT ANSWER Measures whether a test looks like it tests what it is
supposed to test."
"Concurrent validity - CORRECT ANSWER Extent to which a psychological measure relates
to an existing similar measure"
"Ecological validity - CORRECT ANSWER the extent to which the findings of a research study
are able to be generalised to real-life settings"
"Temporal validity - CORRECT ANSWER the extent to which results observed in a study will
generalise across time and at different points in time (Freud's lack)"
"Internal validity - CORRECT ANSWER If the effects observed are due to manipulations of
the IV and not other factors"
"External validity - CORRECT ANSWER extent to which we can generalise findings to real-
world settings"
"Improving validity in experimental research - CORRECT ANSWER Use a control group
Standardise procedures Single blind and double blind"
"Improving validity in questionnaires - CORRECT ANSWER Use a lie scale and anonymity to
reduce social desirability"
"Improving validity in observations - CORRECT ANSWER Findings may be more authentic in
covert observations Clear behavioural categories"
"Improving validity in qualitative methods - CORRECT ANSWER Record depth and detail
Triangulation - multiple sources"
"Significance - CORRECT ANSWER A statistical term that tells us how sure we are that a
difference or correlation exists. A 'significant' result means that the researcher can reject the null hypothesis."
"Type I error - CORRECT ANSWER the incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis (a "false
positive")"
"Type II error - CORRECT ANSWER The failure to reject a false null hypothesis (a false
negative)"
"Abstract - CORRECT ANSWER The key details of the research report"
"Introduction - CORRECT ANSWER A look at past research on a similar topic. Includes the
ims and hypothesis."
"Method - CORRECT ANSWER A description of what the researcher did, including design,
sample, apparatus/materials, procedure, ethics"
"Results - CORRECT ANSWER a description of what the researcher(s) found, including
descriptive and inferential statistics"
"Discussion - CORRECT ANSWER A consideration of what the results of a research study tell
us in terms of psychological theory."
"References - CORRECT ANSWER List of sources that are listed or referred to in the article"
"Paradigm - CORRECT ANSWER A set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a
scientific discipline"
"Protection from harm - CORRECT ANSWER Participants should not be put through
anything they wouldn't normally be expected to."
"Right to privacy/confidentiality - CORRECT ANSWER Participants should not have any
personal details shared"
"Observational techniques - CORRECT ANSWER methods of collecting data by observing
people, most typically in their natural settings"
"Naturalistic observation - CORRECT ANSWER watching behavior in real-world settings
without trying to manipulate the situation"
"Controlled observation - CORRECT ANSWER Watching and recording behaviour within a
structured environment"
"Covert observation - CORRECT ANSWER Participants' behaviour is watched and recorded
without their knowledge or consent."
"Overt observation - CORRECT ANSWER Participants know they are being observed"
"Behavioural categories - CORRECT ANSWER When a target behaviour is broken up into
components that are observable and measurable"
"Time sampling - CORRECT ANSWER The procedure of observing and recording behavior
during intervals"
"Event sampling - CORRECT ANSWER A target behaviour or event is first established then
the researcher records this event every time it occurs"
"Mean - CORRECT ANSWER Arithmetic average"
"Median - CORRECT ANSWER Middle number"
"Mode - CORRECT ANSWER most frequently occurring score"
"Range - CORRECT ANSWER the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a
distribution"
"Standard deviation - CORRECT ANSWER a measure of how much scores vary around the
mean score"
"Normal distribution - CORRECT ANSWER describes a symmetrical, bell shaped curve that
shows the distribution of data"
"Skewed disribution - CORRECT ANSWER a representation of scores that lack symmetry
around their average value"
"Table - CORRECT ANSWER Raw scores displayed in columns and rows"
"Bar chart - CORRECT ANSWER Categories, discrete data"
"Histogram - CORRECT ANSWER Bars touch each other, data is continuous"
"Line graph - CORRECT ANSWER A graph that uses line segments to show changes that
occur over time"
"Scattergram - CORRECT ANSWER graphic representation of a correlation"
"Critical value of a sign test - CORRECT ANSWER If S is less than or equal to the critical value
then S is significant"
"Action potential 1 - CORRECT ANSWER Neuron is at resting potential (negatively charged
compared to the outside)"
"Action potential 2 - CORRECT ANSWER When a neuron is activated, the inside of the cell
becomes positively charged for a split second causing action potential to occur"
"Action potential 3 - CORRECT ANSWER This creates an electrical impulse that travels down
the axon towards the end of the neuron"
"Chi-squared - CORRECT ANSWER Used to determine if there are differences/correlation in
the distribution of two data sets. NOMINAL DATA, UNRELATED"
"Mann-Whitney - CORRECT ANSWER a test for a significant difference between two sets of
scores. Data should be at least ordinal level using an unrelated design (repeated measures)"
"Wilcoxon - CORRECT ANSWER a test for significant difference between two sets of scores.
Data should be at least ordinal level using a related design (repeated measures)"
"Assumptions of behaviourist approach - CORRECT ANSWER - assumes everything about
human behaviour is learnt through experience (classical or operant conditioning)
- relies on lab experiments
- animals have same basic processes that govern learning and so can be replaced as experimental subjects"
"Pavlov's research - CORRECT ANSWER Pavlov presented a bell (NS) with food (UCS), which
caused the dog to salivate (UCR). Eventually, the dog associated the sound of the bell and food so the sound of the bell (CS) would cause the dog to salivate (CR) - demonatrating the learning of innate reflex behaviours in animals"
"Role of mediational processes identified by Bandura - CORRECT ANSWER 1. Attention
- Retention
- Motor reproduction
- Motivation"
"Social learning theory - limit - CORRECT ANSWER Underestimates the influence of
biological factors - boys were found to be more aggressive"
"Social learning theory - application - CORRECT ANSWER Applied to token economy systems
in prison - help to rehabilitate prisoners to lower recidivism"
"Social learning theory - research support - CORRECT ANSWER Bandura's bobo doll
experiment - adult hit doll with hammer"
"Cognitive approach - CORRECT ANSWER How mental processes affect behaviour"
"Internal mental processes - CORRECT ANSWER 'Private' operations of the mind such as
perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response"
"Schema - CORRECT ANSWER A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that
influence cognitive processing - developed from experience"
"Inference - CORRECT ANSWER Process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions
about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behaviour"
"Cognitive neuroscience - CORRECT ANSWER The scientific study of biological structures
that underpin cognitive processes"
"Assumptions of the cognitive approach - CORRECT ANSWER - internal mental processes
should be studies scientifically"
"Cognitive approach - limit - CORRECT ANSWER Machine reductionism - ignores the
influence of human and motivation eg. memory may be affected by anxiety in an EWT"
"Cognitive approach - application - CORRECT ANSWER Applied to CBT when treating when
treating depression"
"Cognitive approach - scientific basis - CORRECT ANSWER The experimental methods used
by the approach are considered scientific and are therefore objective"
"Biological approach - CORRECT ANSWER A perspective that emphasises the importance of
physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function"
"Genes - CORRECT ANSWER They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA"
"Biological structure - CORRECT ANSWER An arrangement or organisation of parts to form
an organ, system or living thing"
"Neurochemistry - CORRECT ANSWER Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate
physiological functioning"
"Genotype - CORRECT ANSWER genetic makeup of an person"
"Phenotype - CORRECT ANSWER Characteristics of a person from both genes and
environmental factors"
"Evolution - CORRECT ANSWER The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological
population over successive generations"
"Biological approach - application - CORRECT ANSWER Used to treat depression using
psychoactive drugs (SSRI'S) and therefore live a relatively normal life"
"Biological approach - research support - CORRECT ANSWER Study of depression, MZ twins
had 49% concordance rate, DZ twins had 17% concordance rate, ordinary siblings had 9% concordance rate"
"Psychodynamic approach - CORRECT ANSWER A perspective that describes the different
forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience."
"The unconscious - CORRECT ANSWER The part of the mind that we are unaware of but still
directs much of our behaviour"
"Self - CORRECT ANSWER The ideas and values that characterise I and ME and includes
perception and valuing of WHAT I AM and WHAT I CAN DO"
"Congruence - CORRECT ANSWER The aim of Rogerian therapy; when the self concept and
ideal self are seen to broadly acckrd or match"
"Conditions of worth - CORRECT ANSWER When a parent places limits or boundaries on
their love of their children eg. I will only love you if ..."
"Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) - CORRECT ANSWER After the threat has passed.
Decreases heart rate & breathing rate, constructs pupils"
"Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) - CORRECT ANSWER Works in response to a threat.
Inhibits saliva production and digestion, increases heart rate"
"Neuron - CORRECT ANSWER a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system"
"Sensory neurons - CORRECT ANSWER Carry messages from the PNS to CNS. They have long
dendrites and short axons"
"Relay neurons - CORRECT ANSWER Connect sensory neurons to motor or other relay
neurons. They have short dendrites and short axons."
"Motor neurons - CORRECT ANSWER Connect CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands.
They have short dendrites and long axons."
"Cell body - CORRECT ANSWER Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and
carry nerve impulses towards the cell body"
"Axon - CORRECT ANSWER the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers,
through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands. Covered in MYELIN SHEATH that protects the axons and speeds up transmission"
"Excitation - CORRECT ANSWER When a neurotransmitter eg. Adrenaline, increases the
positive charge - increasing the likelihood that the neuron will fire and pass the electrical impulse on"
"Inhibition - CORRECT ANSWER When a neurotransmitter eg. Serotonin, increases the
negative charge, decreasing the likelihood that the neuron will fire"
"Localisation of function - CORRECT ANSWER The theory that different areas of the brain
are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities"
"Motor area - CORRECT ANSWER A region of the frontal lobe involved in regulating
movement"
"Somatosensory area - CORRECT ANSWER An area of the parietal lobe that processes
sensory information such as touch"
"Visual area - CORRECT ANSWER A part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes
visual information"
"Auditory area - CORRECT ANSWER Located in the temporal lobe and concerned with the
analysis of speech-based information"
"Broca's area - CORRECT ANSWER An area of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere
responsible for speech production"
"Wernicke's area - CORRECT ANSWER An area of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere
responsible for language comprehension"
"Localisation of function - research support - CORRECT ANSWER Tulving's LTM study found
different parts for semantic and episodic memories in the frontal cortex"
"Localisation of function - case study evidence - CORRECT ANSWER Phineas Gage suffered
brain damage when a tamping iron went through his skull - he became aggressive and quick tempered. Suggests the frontal lobe is responsible for mood"
"Functional recovery - CORRECT ANSWER A form of plasticity. Following damage through
trauma, the brain's ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area to other, undamaged areas."
"What happens in the brain during recovery? - CORRECT ANSWER - axonal sprouting: the
growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways
- reformation of blood vessels
- recruitment of homologous areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform specific tasks"
"Synaptic pruning - CORRECT ANSWER Where rarely used synaptic connections are deleted
and frequently used connections are strengthened from infancy"
"Research unto plasticity - CORRECT ANSWER Maguire studied London taxi drivers and
found a large volume of 'grey matter' in the hippocampus. They take 'the knowledge' to assess
"Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) - CORRECT ANSWER A method used to
measure brain activity while a person is performing a task that uses MRI technology - detect regions with lots of oxygen and therefore active"
"Siffre's cave study - CORRECT ANSWER After spending 2 months in a cave in the alps and
Texas, deprived of exposure to natural light and sound, biological rhythms went to 25 hours"
"Circadian rhythms - application to shift work - CORRECT ANSWER Shows researchers the
effects of night shift workers (experience reduced concentration at about 6am) - also more likely to develop heart disease may be due to stress"
"Circadian rhythms - application to drugs - CORRECT ANSWER Shows most effective times
to take drugs to treat illnesses - helping with timings and dosage of drugs"
"Circadian rhythms - small sample - CORRECT ANSWER Involves small groups of
participants which may not be representative of the wider population, may be down to individual differences"
"Infradian rhythms - CORRECT ANSWER A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of
LESS THAN ONE CYCLE IN 24 HOURS"
"Ultradian rhythms - CORRECT ANSWER A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of
MORE THAN ONE CYCLE IN 24 HOURS, such as the stages of sleep."
"Ultradian rhythms - stages of sleep - CORRECT ANSWER Stage 1&2 - alpha waves -> theta
waves as sleep gets deeper Stage 3&4 - delta waves (deep sleep) Stage 5 - REM paralysis whilst dreaming"
"Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) - CORRECT ANSWER a mood disorder caused by the
body's reaction to low levels of sunlight in the winter months, it's a particular type of infradian rhythms but is classed as a circadian rhythm as it's due to the sleep/wake cycle"
"The menstrual cycle - CORRECT ANSWER Infradian rhythm that occurs on a monthly basis
(usually 28 days)"
"Endogenous Pacemakers and Exogenous Zeitgebers - ethics - CORRECT ANSWER Issues
with ethics in animal studies, can be hard to generalise but also exposed to considerable risk"
"Endogenous Pacemakers and Exogenous Zeitgebers - overstated influence - CORRECT
ANSWER Overstated influence of exogenous zeitgebers - Miles showed a young man who was
blind from birth with a circadian rhythm of 24.9 hours and could not be influenced by social cues"
"Endogenous Pacemakers and Exogenous Zeitgebers - methodological issues - CORRECT
ANSWER Campbell and Murphy study - possible that light was still exposed to participants - a
major confounding variable"
"Research methods - CORRECT ANSWER The processes by which information or data is
collected for the purpose of testing s hypothesis and/or theory"
"Correlation - CORRECT ANSWER A meathematical technique in which a researcher
investigates an association between two variables (co-variables)"
"Correlation coefficient - CORRECT ANSWER A number between -1 and 1 that represents the
direction and strength of a relationship between co-variables"
"Case studies - CORRECT ANSWER An in-depth investigation of an individual subject."
"Content analysis - CORRECT ANSWER A research technique that enables the indirect study
of behaviour by examining communications that people produce"
"Coding - CORRECT ANSWER the stage of a content analysis in which the communication to
be studied is analysed by identifying each instance of the chosen categories (which may be words, sentences, phrases etc)"
"Strengths of content analysis - CORRECT ANSWER Good for summarizing large quantities
of mediated information Unobtrusive - Does not require interaction with participants Systematically study historical events/media Flexible as it produces a variety of data"
"Weaknesses of content analysis - CORRECT ANSWER Information produced is analysed out
of context Can be subjective"
"Reliability - CORRECT ANSWER How consistent findings are"
"Test-retest reliability - CORRECT ANSWER Method of assessing reliability of a test by
assessing the same person on two separate occasions"
"Inter-observer reliability - CORRECT ANSWER Extent to which there is agreement between
two or more observers involved in observation of behaviour (total number of agreements / total number of observations > 0.8 then its reliable)"
