What you have to know for paper 3
General guidance
The AO1 will usually be the theory but for certain areas (as noted by the area being underlined) it will be studies. Where the AO1 is theories learn at least 2 pieces of evidence per theory.
What follows is a copy of the wording of the specification; anything added in italics is interpretation of the specification according to our advice, so could be replaced with other research
Aggression
· Social psychological theories of aggression: social learning theory, deindividuation
· Institutional aggression: the power of the situation and dehumanising labels and the importation model
· Neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression: the role of low serotonin and various explanations for the link between testosterone and aggression
· Genetic factors in aggressive behaviour: general genetic theory and the warrior gene
· Evolutionary explanations of human aggression, including infidelity and jealousy
· Evolutionary explanations of group display in humans, for example sport and warfare
Gender
· The role of hormones and genes in gender development
· Evolutionary explanations of gender: parental investment and empathising systemising
· The biosocial approach to gender development including gender dysphoria: make sure you know both, so the biosocial approach overall and how it applies to gender dysphoria
· Cognitive developmental theory, including Kohlberg: gender consistency theory
· Gender schema theory
· Social influences on gender for example, the influence of parents, peers, schools, media: at least 4 studies covering at least 2 areas
· Cultural influences on gender role: at least 4 studies
Biological rhythms and sleep
· Circadian, infradian and ultradian rhythms, including the role of endogenous pacemakers and of exogenous zeitgebers in the control of circadian rhythms: here note that the AO1 is not exactly theory but a description of the rhythm
· Disruption of biological rhythms for example shift work, jet lag: at least 4 studies in total, but make sure to cover both, and be able to explain why they are bad for you
· The nature of sleep including stages of sleep and lifespan changes in sleep: here note that the AO1 is not theory but a description of the stages and the changes
· Functions of sleep, including evolutionary (hibernation theory and predation theory) and restoration (Oswald and Horne) explanations
· Explanations for sleep disorders, including insomnia (predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors , sleep walking (diathesis-stress model) and narcolepsy (the role of hypocretin)
What you have to know for paper 4
As before, this is a copy of the specification but anything in italics is an interpretation of it for your guidance
Research methods
In addition to everything you had to know at AS:
· The major features of science, including replicability, objectivity, theory construction, hypothesis testing, the use of empirical methods
· Validating new knowledge and the role of peer review
· Selection and application of appropriate research methods
· Implications of sampling strategies, for example, bias and generalising
· Issues of reliability, including types of reliability, assessment of reliability,
· improving reliability
· Assessing and improving validity, including internal and external
· Ethical considerations in design and conduct of psychological research
· Appropriate selection of graphical representations
· Probability and significance, including the interpretation of significance and
· Type 1/Type 2 errors
· Factors affecting choice of statistical test, including levels of measurement
· The use of inferential analysis, including Spearman’s Rho, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, Chi-Squared
· Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data
· Conventions of reporting on psychological investigations
Anomalistic psychology
· Pseudoscience and the scientific status of parapsychology
· Methodological issues related to the study of paranormal cognition (ESP, including Ganzfeld) including sensory leakage, statistical analysis, non-randomisation of targets, and lack of reliability owing to different methods of replication
· Methodological issues related to the study of paranormal action (psychokinesis) including sleight of hand, experimenter bias, flawed methodology of earlier studies, publication bias for meta-analyses only
· The role of coincidence and probability judgements in anomalous experience including Diaconis and Mosteller’s explanations for why we underestimate the probability of coincidences occurring , probability judgements for ourselves and others, whether underestimating the probability of coincidences occurring ties in with anomalous beliefs
· Explanations for superstitious behaviour including operant conditioning and the magical thinking explanations
· Explanations for magical thinking including the psychodynamic functions hypothesis, the cognitive deficits hypothesis and contagion theory
· Personality factors underlying anomalous experience: extraversion, fantasy proneness, creativity, neuroticism and sensation seeking – know research for 2 factors
· Psychological research into and explanations for psychic healing: placebo effect, anxiety reduction
· Psychological research into and explanations for near death experience: a neurological explanation looking at the TPJ and a cognitive explanation looking at sensory breakdown
· Psychological research into and explanations for out of body experience: two neurological explanations – the role of endorphins and hypoxia/the role of ketamines
· Psychological research into and explanations for psychic mediumship: the biological explanation of the trance state of the medium or the explanation that psychic mediumship does not exist and is simply cold reading
Depression
· Clinical characteristics of the chosen depression, unipolar depression
· Issues surrounding the classification and diagnosis of depression, including reliability and validity: learn at least 6 points which must include the benefits of diagnosis, reliability of diagnosis/classification and validity of diagnosis/classification
· Biological explanations of depression, for example, genetics, biochemistry
· Psychological explanations of depression, for example, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and socio-cultural: just know cognitive and psychodynamic explanations
· Biological therapies for depression, including their evaluation in terms of appropriateness and effectiveness: have drugs and ECT at the biological therapies
· Psychological therapies for depression, for example, behavioural, psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural, including their evaluation in terms of appropriateness and effectiveness: have CBT and psychodynamic treatments as the therapies