GCSE Psychology (AQA) 2024: 9 Mark Theories

• Attention Rehearsal
  Sensory —>Short Term —> Long Term
  Memory —> Memory
  -sensory memory: capacity: large. encoding: visually, semantically and acoustically. duration: fraction of a second. for info from the sensory memory to get into STM we must pay attention to it.
  -STM: capacity: 5-9 items. encoding: visually and acoustically. duration: 30 seconds. rehearsal moves information from the STM to LTM
  -LTM: capacity: unlimited .encoding: semantically. duration: lifetime.

P- support for the existence of different memory stores
E- Baddeley’s study of encoding shows that STM and LTM encode information differently
L-STM and LTM have qualitative differences

P- too simple as it suggests we only have 1 STM and 1 LTM
E-research shows that STM is divided into visual and acoustic stores and that LTM is divided into semantic, procedural and episodic
L- memory is more complex

P- research uses artificial materials
E- eg. word lists and nonsense syllables
L- doesn’t illustrate the different ways we use memory

• memory is an active process. we store fragments of information and when we need to recall something we build these fragments into a meaningful whole however some elements are missing and is not accurate

• we record small pieces of information when events occur. later during recall we recombine the pieces to tell the story, every time we retell the story the elements are combined differently (reconstruction)

• when recombining pieces of information they can be impacted to what we believe to be true therefore social and cultural expectations may influence our memory

• effort after meaning: we focus on the meaning of events and afterwards we make an effort to interpret the meaning in more familiar terms

P- wrong to suggest all memories are inaccurate
E- other studies have shown that sometimes memory can be accurate. (eg. in Bartlett’s war of the ghosts study people remembered the phrase “something black came out of his mouth” because it was distinctive)
L- shows that people don’t always actively construct memories and that some memories are accurate

P- Bartlett’s way of investigating memory reflects how we use memory in everyday life
E- he had his participants learn a story rather than using artificial tasks like word lists
L- therefore his research is more relevant to real-life memory processes

P- can explain issues with eye witness testimony
E- eye witness testimonies used to be regarded as important/valuable evidence however, Bartlett showed that our memory isn’t always accurate and can be affected by our expectations. due to this it is no longer heavily relied on
L- shows that Bartlett’s research had important consequences

NATURE

• perceptual abilities are innate

• direct perception: perceive using the information we receive through our senses, no need to make inferences from past experience (sufficient info for perception)

• no difference between perception and sensation

• affordances: use of an object can be perceived directly without past experience of it

• optic flow: allows us to know when we’re moving (make judgements about speed and distance), point we’re moving towards remains stationary and the rest of the view seems to push away from it

• motion parallax: helps us understand the speed of our movements , objects closer to us appear to be moving faster than objects further in the distance

• optic array (everything we can see) gives us all the information we need to be able to judge depth, distance and movement

• don’t need to learn to perceive the world around us. the environment around us is rich with information and our eyes are sophisticated enough to perceive it

P- supported by research with pilots
E- when he worked for the US Army Air Force he found that all the information he needed to land a plane was the pattern of light that reached the eye
L- real world relevance, explains how we perceive the world around us on a daily basis

P- the research being done on young infants provides good support
E- tested on very young children so its unlikely that their reluctance to crawl over the edge was something they learnt
L- shows that some perceptual abilities are due to nature and don’t need past experience to perceive the world

P- perceptual errors aren’t easily explained
E- visual illusions are good examples of when we make perceptual errors and draw wrong conclusions about what we’re looking at, Gibson argues that what you see is what you get but illusions show that perception and sensation are separate processes
L- he doesn’t explain this so his research is limited

NURTURE

• stimuli in our environment are frequently ambiguous so for us to interpret it we need to access knowledge stored in our brain and makes inferences about what we perceive

• perception was influenced by past experiences

• constructivist theory: idea that we make sense of the world by building up our perceptions based on incoming data and clues we know about the world

• inferences: taking info and forming a conclusion about what it means based on other things you know

• nurture: refers to the aspects of behaviour that are acquired through experience

• mistaken hypothesis: where our brain draws the wrong conclusion from available evidence

• past experience: our understanding of visual cues is learned from experience. our perception becomes more sophistic as we grow older and interact more with the world around us. the way we’re raised can have a big influence of on our perception

P- support from studies investigating cultural differences in perception
E- people in different parts of the world interpret visual cues differently (cultures with higher levels of schooling were better judges of depth)
L-: “nurture” effects our perception and our prior knowledge influences how we interpret objects

P- good explanation of illusions but its not our usual perception
E- illusions are designed to fool us
L- therefore not a good explanation of how we perceive objects every day

P- can’t explain how perception can be driven by nature
E- research shows that babies prefer human faces compare to random patterns from birth (before they received environmental input)
L- not all perception is a result of nurture, if culture was so influential we’d expect to see more differences in culture

Theory:
-changes in thinking (cognition) over time (as we get older)
-children think differently from adults
Stages:-young children aren’t able to think logically about the world (brains aren’t mature enough)
-as the child gets older their brain develops and different kinds of thinking such as being able to think in abstract ways
Schemas:
-the world is represented in the mind where knowledge is stored
-as the child develops the construct more and more detailed and complex schemas
-number of schemas increase as we grow older through assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation:
when we we understand a new experience and add that new information to a new schema
Accommodation:
receiving new information that changes our understanding so a new schema is formed

P- enormous amount of research (evidence) to test his ideas
E- many studies have been conducted to test Piaget’s theory
L- we can be more certain about what aspects of his theory need refining which has helped improve our understanding of how children’s thinking develops

P- his research involved middle class European children

E- children were in European academic families who valued academic abilities, in other social classes/cultures a greater value may be placed on a more basic level of concrete operations (eg.making things rather than abstract ideas)

L- theory may not be universally applicable

P- has real world application
E- the theory has helped change classroom teaching so it’s now more activity based
L- demonstrates it’s positive value (usefulness)

mindset: set of assumptions we have–> affects success
Fixed Mindset:
-abilities/talent is fixed in their genes
-aren’t doing well , give up
-no amount of effort will change the situation
-focused on performance goals (doing well=feel good)
Growth Mindset:
-can improve with effort
-enjoy challenges
-focused on learning goals (working hard=feel good)
Dealing with failure:
-fixed: failure indicates lack of talent=give up
-growth: opportunity to learn more and put in more effort
Continuum:
-people are a mixture (not just one or the other)
-depends on the situation

P- research evidence shows that a growth mindset leads to better grades
E- Dweck found that children taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation
L- shows that a growth mindset can be taught and can improve performance

P- any sort of praise may be damaging
E- praising effort can still lead to doing things for approval from others rather than self satisfaction which can discourage independent behaviour
L- praise of effort may not be the best way to motivate learners

P- has real world application
E- in business, sport and relationships ect. seeing failure as a lack of effort rather than talent motivates future effort
L- shows the positive value

Theory:
-critical of learning styles theory as it had no evidence
-cognitive psychology and neuroscience can be used to improve learning
Praise:
-important to praise process (effort) rather than ability
-should be unexpected
-praise before a task led to less motivation in the future
-if performance depends on praise it destroys your natural sense of motivation
Memory and Forgetting:
-key reason for forgetting in not having the right cues
-rather than trying to memorise, practising retrieval of the information is more effective
Self-Regulation:
-self control is being able to control your behaviour, emotions, attention ect
-research has shown that young children who showed a high ability to delay gratification (marshmallow) performed higher on tests of school progress
Neuroscience:
-learning disorder like dyslexia have been associated with poor function in specific areas of the brain (brain waves in dyslexics are different)
-could benefit progress by receiving help earlier

P- all evidence based
E- based on scientific basis
L- great validity

P- focuses on applications to learning
E- positive impact on education as he gives an alternate approach to learning styles
L- research has real world value

P- diagnosis on the basis of brain difference may not be possible
E- dyslexia can't be diagnosed by brain waves as learning disorders are likely to have a number of causes
L- diagnosis of a condition such as dyslexia based of brain differences is unlikely and may be misleading

Agency:
act as an agent (for someone else) because they assume that the person giving orders is taking responsibility
Agentic State:
act on behalf of someone else and would follow their orders blindly (person feels no responsibility for their actions
Autonomous State (free):
where they behave according to their own principles and feel responsible for their own actions
Agentic Shift:
moving from making own free choices to following orders (occurs when someone is in authority)
Culture (social hierarchy)
-some people have more authority than others because of their position in the social hierarchy
-depends on society and socialisation
Proximity:
-proximity increases the "moral strain" that a person feels which leads to an increased sense of personal responsibility
-Milgram: less obedient if the learner was in the same room as them

P- research support
E- Blass and Shmitt showed students a film of Milgram's study, they blamed the experimenter rather than the participants
L- students recognised legitimate authority as a cause of obedience

P- doesn't explain why there isn't 100% obedience
E- 35% of participants didn't obey fully
L- social factors can't fully explain obedience

P- it "excuses" people who blindly follow destructive orders
E- offensive to the holocaust survivors as it suggests that the Nazis just obeyed orders and ignores roles that racism and prejudice played
L- dangerous, as it allows people to think they aren't always personally responsible

The Authoritarian Personality:
-exaggerated respect for authority
-more likely to obey orders
-very aware of their own and other's social status
-look down on people of inferior social status
-very respectful to people of higher status
Cognitive Style:
-"black and white"
-belief in rigid stereotypes
Originates in Childhood:
-develops when a child experiences strict parenting/discipline
-child only receives love when they behave correctly
-the child internalises these values and expects all people to behave the same
-child also feels hostility towards parents but can't express these feelings directly as they fear reprisals
Scapegoating:
-hostility felt towards parents for being critical is put onto people who are socially inferior

P- lack of support due to the flawed questionnaire
E- the F scale used has a response bias
L- challenges validity as it's based on poor evidence

P- data is correlational
E- can't claim that authoritarian personality causes greater obedience as it may also be caused by a lower level of education
L-suggests that other factors may explain apparent link between obedience and the authoritarian personality

P- its both social and dispositional
E- Germans were obedient but didn't all have the same upbringing (otherwise we'd expect all Germans to be authoritarian)
L- shows that a dispositional factor alone can't explain high levels of obedience

we learn through developing schemas

language depends on thought

young children can have language without understanding but will not be able to use it effectively (parrot)

language begins to develop: -at the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) children start to speak

- at the pre operational stage (2-7 years) children can talk about abstract concepts and are still quite egocentric

at the concrete operational stage (7-11 years) children get the ability to use language is a logical way and can develop own ideas

P- schemas cant be scientifically tested and measured
E- schemas are abstract concepts so there isn't any proof that they exist
L- theory isn't based on solid scientific evidence and lacks scientific rigour

P- Sapir Whorf hypothesis suggests the opposite of Piaget's theory
E- Sapir and Whorf arguaed that language must come first as cultural research shows that if a word for an object for an object doesn't exist we aren't able to think about it
L-suggests that Piaget may have been about the relationship between language and thought (sometimes language may come first)

P- has supporting evidence
E- the order of children's two word phrases (eg.mummy car) shows understanding of possession and the relationships between objects and people before they start to talk
L- shows that children start to use language once their schemas for people and objects develop

• -----strong version:

• language determines thought

• if there are no words for an object or idea then you can't think about it

• language you learn-->determines what you think about

• inuits have many different words for snow, shows that language and culture are linked, Inuits are able to perceive snow in many different ways which is not available to English speakers

• -----weak version:

• language influences thought

• words help to "carve up" the world, you can still imagine things with no words for them

• English speakers can still imagine/think about the different type of snow such as "soft snow on the ground"

• although there aren't any specific words for it we can still imagine what it looks like

• -----which is better?:

• the weaker version

• we have limited memory for things we haven no words for

• info is easily described=better remembered

P- explains the link between language and intelligence

E- working class children use restricted language which affects their ability to think explaining lower intelligence

L- supports the Sapir Whorf hypothesis that language influences thought

P- evidence from Boas may have exaggerated the difference in language between cultures
E- "Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax" may only be 2 words for snow in Eskimo culture
L- challenges the conclusion that language may determine thought

P- just because a culture has more words doesn't mean that the words came first
E- the more likely explanation-->Inuit language reflects the environment within it's population-->always lots of snow-->language develops, thinking did come first but there was a need for a wider range of words
L- thoughts (about environment) come before language, Piaget

Darwin and Evolution:
-natural selection-->genes for behaviours that promote survival are passed to the next generation
NVC as Evolved and Adaptive:
-NVC evolved in animals to express emotion
-eg. barring teeth is adaptive as it reduces death in a conflict and protects survival
Comparisons with Human Behaviour:
-all animals are linked through evolution
-adaptive behaviours continue to be in the gene pool which was passed to humans from animal ancestors
-eg.in our distant ancestors opening eyes widely was adaptive because they could see the route to safety more easily-->passed down to humans and still expresses surprise
Serviceable Habits:
-adaptive behaviours used by ancestors to promote survival are still used by humans but may not serve the same purpose--->help us express emotion
-eg. barring teeth=angry

P- supported by research into facial expressions
E- Elkman found that 6 emotions in all cultures are associated with the same facial expressions
L- behaviours are universal/innate

P- supported by studies of newborn babies
E- babies are born with the ability to use eye contacts and smile which suggests that NVCs are innate and evolved
L- strengthens the idea that NVC is innate

P- Darwin's theory can't explain cultural differences in NVC
E- many differences, especially in personal space and the way we interpret gestures
L- cant explain all NVC, limited

EVENT-AROUSAL-INTERPRETATION-EMOTION
-event occurs
-hypothalamus arouses sympathetic division of ANS, adrenaline gets released (physiological arousal)
-brain interprets physiological activity and causes emotion
no physical change=no emotion

P- real life examples of when emotions follow after physiological arousal
E-emotional states come after physiological arousal in the case of phobias
L- supports the theory

P- challenged by the Cannon-Bard theory
E- some emotions occur at the same time (embarrassment) as physiological arousal (we blush simultaneously), some physiological changes don't lead to emotion as the James-Lange theory would predict
L- the Cannon-Brad theory draws attention to emotional situations the James-Lange theory would struggle to explain

P- the Two-Factor theory suggests emotion may be more complex
E- we need social cues to correctly label the emotion we're feeling (heart racing in dark alley and heart racing kissing crush), can explain how we can interpret the same physical state differently based on the situation
L-shows that the James-Lange theory doesn't explain how a person "decides" what emotion they're experiencing

• synaptic connections become stronger the more they're used

• brain isn't fixed in structure and can change and develop

• the brain can adopt, change structure and form new connections as we learn at any age

• learning leaves a trace called an engram-which can become permanent if learning is rehearsed

• during learning, cell assemblies fire together-the more this happens the stronger the synaptic connections become more efficient

• neuronal growth occurs to manage new learning more efficiently

P- has scientific basis
E- Hebb explained learning in terms of brain function (objective basis) for understanding behavior
L- shows that learning can be studied through brain processes (validity+credibility)

P- real world application to education
E- he found that rats that were raised in stimulating settings were better able to find their way through mazes as adults
L- could be applied to education by creating more stimulating environments to encourage learning (neuronal growth)

P- learning is reduced to a neuronal level
E- learning itself is complicated and involves different levels of understanding but other factors aren't considered eg-as a social activity (learning alone, being directly instructed)
L- reduces learning to the activity of brain cells and doesn't look at the wider factors that create learning

Neurotransmitters:
-transmit messages chemically across synapses
Serotonin:
-low levels at synapse--->less stimulation of postsynaptic neuron causing low mood
-due to an imbalance of this neurotransmitter, mood related info isn't passed
Other Effects of Serotonin:
-serotonin affects memory, sleep and appetite
-lack of concentration, disturbed sleep and reduced appetite
Reasons for Low Serotonin Levels:
-genes could cause inheritance of low serotonin production
-low levels of tryptophan (ingredient of serotonin) due to diet--->lack of protein or carbohydrates
-if diet is low in tryptophan the body wont produce much serotonin

P- there is supporting research evidence
E- lower levels of serotonin were found in the brains of depressed people in comparison to those who weren't depressed
L- suggests that there's a link between low levels of serotonin and depression

P- low serotonin levels could be and effect of being depressed rather than being a cause
E- negative thoughts could lead to changes in the brain and affect the production of neurotransmitters in the brain
L- means that low serotonin levels may be an effect of psychological experiences rather than the cause

P- depression may not be solely caused by abnormal levels of neurotransmitters
E- some people with depression don't have low serotonin levels and vice versa
L- explanation is too simple, other factors must be involved

Faulty Thinking (half cup):
-depressed people only pay attention to negatives aspects in every situation and ignore the positive (irrational)
-"black and white" thinking creates hopelessness
Negative Schemas:
-cause a person to interpret all information about the self negatively
Attributions:
-process of explaining causes of behaviour
-negative attributional style:
internal=blaming failure on self
stable=failure will continue in future
global=failure will affect other areas of life
Influence of Nurture:
-learned helplessness: if someone has an unpleasant experience, the natural reaction is to try to escape but if they can't, the person learns to give up trying
-negative schemas are created early in life and are later activated in new situations resembling the original condition in which these schemas were learned

P- research support for learned helplessness
E- Seligman found that dogs no longer tried to escape electric shocks that they previously had no control over, they learned to react to challenge by giving up
L-the dog's previous negative attributions caused them to give up

P- cognitive explanations lead to ways of treating depression
E- CBT's basis is that people need to learn to think differently by challenging their faulty thinking as if they start to think rationally it'll relieve their depression
L- leads to a very successful way of treating depression as it suggests a way to improve our human world

P- negative beliefs may simply be realistic rather than depressing
E- Alloy and Abramson found that depressed people gave more realistic/accurate estimates of the likelihood of a disaster than "normal" people (sadder but wiser)
L- negative attributional style may be a more accurate way of looking at the world than the cognitive explanation suggests

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI);
-the drug selectively targets serotonin at the synapse
-the drug inhibits the reuptake of the serotonin molecule
--->increases serotonin levels in synaptic cleft
Presynaptic Neuron:
-serotonin is stored in vesicles
-electrical signals in neuron causes the vesicles the release serotonin into the synaptic cleft
Synaptic Cleft:
-serotonin locks into postsynaptic receptor which then transmits the signal from the presynaptic neuron
Reuptake:
-SSRI's block reuptake so there is more serotonin in the synaptic cleft

P- such drugs have side effects
E- for example:nausea, insomnia, dizziness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, although it takes less effort many people stop taking them
L- side effects are a threat to it's effectiveness

P- there's questionable evidence for effectiveness
E- it takes a few months for significant impacts which doesn't make sense if serotonin quantities are immediately increased ,research has also shown that the serotonin levels of depressed people isn't much different from the normal population
L- drug effectiveness may just be a placebo effect

P- regarded as reductionist
E- antidepressant medication only targets imbalance of neurotransmitters which overlooks other necessary treatments
L- a more holistic approach would include psychological factors as well for a more successful treatment

Cognitive:
-focuses on what the client thinks
-aims to change faulty thinking and catastrophising (all or nothing) to rational thinking
Behaviour:
-focuses on the client's behaviour
-behavioural activation:planning and doing a pleasant activity creates positive emotions and improves mood
Therapist deals with Irrational Thoughts:
-disputing negative irrational thoughts to develop self belief and self liking
Client deals with Irrational Thoughts:
-thought diary: records unpleasant emotions and "automatic thoughts"
-participant rates their belief in the rational thoughts compared to automatic thoughts

P- has lasting effectiveness
E- therapy provides lifelong skills (like thinking more rationally) to deal future episodes
L- doesn't only deal with short term; offers a long term solution

P- some people aren't willing to spend all the time and thought for CBT to be successful
E- benefits of CBT come after a lot of time and effort (medication is easier/passive)
L- many clients drop out-->reduces overall effectiveness

P- regarded as holistic
E-concerned with how the person feels and thinks, deals with core symptoms (negative thoughts)
L- more effective (treats whole person)

Hereditary Factors (genetic info that is passed down):
-genetic information has a moderate to strong effect on addiction
Genetic Vulnerability (genes increase an individual's risk of disorder):
-multiple genes are involved in increasing the risk of addiction

Peer Influence:
-peers are people who are equal (eg.age or education)
Social Learning Theory:
-we learn through observing others and imitating their behaviours (especially if they're rewarded for them)
-we are more likely to imitate someone we admire/identify with (peers)
Social Norms:
-we look to others to know what is "normal"/acceptable which creates social norms
-social norms may be overestimated
Social Identity Theory:
-we identify with and want to be accepted by our social groups
-this creates pressure to conform to the social norms of the group
Creating Opportunities for Addictive Behaviour:
-peers provide opportunities for addictive behaviours (purchase alcohol)
-peers can also provide direct instruction about what to do

P- there's supporting research
E- Simons Morton and Farhat reviewed 40 studies and found a positive correlation between peers and smoking
L- suggests that peer influences are a risk factor for addiction

P- direction of influence may be different
E- peers may actively select others who are like them rather than conforming to the social norms of the group
L- means that addictive behaviours shared within a friendship group happen as a consequence of addiction rather than the group causing addiction

P- has many real world applications
E- Tober et al. created peer pressure resistance training to help prevent young people from smoking
L- demonstrates the positive value of peer influence explanations

• classical conditioning

• addict will learn to associate their addiction with something unpleasant; they will then avoid this addictive substance

• ---alcoholism:

• Antabuse: drug that causes nausea/vomiting

• just before vomiting the alcoholic has several alcoholic drinks

• neutral stimulus (alcohol) associated with unconditioned response (vomiting) which becomes a conditioned response

• ---gambling:

• phrases on cards about the individual's gambling or non gambling behaviour

• gambler reads out each card

• electric shock (unconditioned stimulus) given for any gambling related phrase (neutral stimulus)

• association of gambling behaviours with pain

• ---smoking:

• intensive/rapid smoking (unconditioned stimulus) in closed room causing nausea

• feel disgust/nausea when looking at cigarette (now a conditioned response)

P- addicts may abandon the therapy
E- aversion therapy uses stimuli that are very unpleasant/negative so many addicts drop out before the treatment is completed
L- makes it difficult to asses the treatment's overall effectiveness

P- poor long term effectiveness
E- McConaghy et al. found that 9 years later aversion therapy was no more effective than a placebo
L- suggests that "overt" aversion therapy lacks overall effectiveness

P- aversion therapy can be combined with CBT for greater effectiveness
E- aversion therapy deals with the addiction directly whereas CBT focuses on the underlying factors and coping strategies
L- aversion therapy gets rid of immediate urge and CBT can provide long lasting support which is more effectiveness

12 Step Recovery Programs:
-individuals organise therapy without professional guidance (eg.alcoholics anonymous)
Higher Power:
-addict surrenders their control to a higher power (lets go of will)
Admitting and Sharing Guilt:
-members of group and higher power listen to confession to accept the sinner
Lifelong Process:
-recovery is never complete/lifelong process
-members of group support each other
-safe harbour in case of relapse
Self-Help Groups:
-peer sharing and support
-avoids religious element
-may include local traditions
-focus on internal control

P- lack of clear research indicating effectiveness
E- information reported doesn't include how many people left without success
L- shows that its difficult to obtain data on overall effectiveness

P- self help programs may only be effective for certain types of people
E- dropout rates are high because it demanding and requires motivation, some people may not wish to share their feelings/experiences with others
L- treatment is limited to a particular group of people

P- holistic approach
E- steps are concerned with dealing/coping with their emotions and also provide social support
L- better as it contrasts with more reductionist programs (like aversion therapy which only targets stimulus response links)