AQA Psychology for A Level Year 1 & AS - Student Book
These are detailed Essay Plans for the Psychopathology Topic of AQA A-Level Psychology. They were written by me using a combination of the textbook and class notes. I will also be uploading the other topics and creating bundles.
Topics Included:
- Definitions of Abnormality
- Behavioural Approa...
AQA Psychology AS/A Level - Topic 1: Social Influence
Memory summary notes, aqa a level psychology
AQA A-Level Psychology | A* Student Notes | Social Influence
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Psychology
Psychopathology
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Psychopathology Essay Plans
Describe and Evaluate two definitions of abnormality
AO1:
- Statistical infrequency ~ human behaviour is abnormal if it falls outside the range that is typical for most people
- Average IQ is 100, normal distribution is between 85 and 115. Only 2& are below 70 – these have intellectual disability
disorder
- Deviation from social norms ~ defining abnormal behaviour based off of what is seen as socially acceptable and normal.
- DSM-5 ‘an absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful and culturally normative
ethical behaviour’
- Antisocial Personality Disorder (psychopathy) makes people impulsive, aggressive and irresponsible; these are classed as
abnormal in most cultures because they don’t conform to moral standards.
SI – useful part of clinical Statistical infrequency has real-life practical applications in diagnosis. It is a useful part of clinical
assessment assessment and helps professionals measure IQ and compare with the rest of the population to
highlight those with extremely high or low IQ in quantitative methods. It is standardised and provides
diagnosis cut off points, making it easier to diagnose. IT is also objective because of the mathematical
nature so there is no bias.
SI – Not all unusual Not all unusual characteristics are negative, for example having a high IQ is considered a positive trait,
characteristics are negative however according to statistical infrequency it is still classed as abnormal. Whereas having a low IQ is
and not all usual behaviours abnormal and can have mental and psychological health implications. The people with high IQs do not
are positive need treatment, only those with extremely low IQ may need intervention.
Also, just because a behaviour is common or normal does not mean that it is positive. For example,
depression is common, however it is not a desirable behaviour
SI – Cut off points The cut-off points for diagnosis can be very objective, how can an IQ of 70 be classed as normal but
69 be classed as abnormal, it is important to assess other factors when diagnosing, as there can be a
fine line between the classifications of normal and abnormal.
DFSN – cultural relativism Cultures have different social norms, and this can cause problems when it comes to defining
abnormality, particularly when people live in a culture different to their own or being diagnosed by
someone from a different culture. For example, hearing voices is socially acceptable in some cultures in
Africa; however, this would be seen as a sign of mental illness in the UK. African Americans are 7
times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than white Americans. This is a limitation because
it demonstrates how diagnoses may be inaccurate, especially when people live in a culture different to
their own. Cultural norms also change over time, for example homosexuality used to be illegal and seen
as abnormal and a sign of mental illness, however now it is seen as normal and socially acceptable.
This can also potentially lead to a systematic abuse of human rights as it has the potential to allow
health professionals to classify people transgressing against social attitudes as mentally ill. For example,
they categorised black slaves trying to escape as mentally ill and names it Drapetomania.
DSFSN – Hard to draw a It is very difficult to tell the difference between whether someone is going against social norms or if
line between personality and they just have an unusual personality or are eccentric. The line between the two is very objective.
abnormality Content is also very important in this as certain behaviours could be seen as both normal and
abnormal depending on the context. For example, wearing a bikini on a beach is normal, however
wearing a bikini in a supermarket would be seen as abnormal.
Describe and Evaluate the Two-Process Model of Phobias
AO1:
- Mowrer (1960) proposed the two-process model to explain how phobias are learnt. They are learnt by classical conditioning
and maintained by operant conditioning.
- Classical conditioning – learning by association, occurs when the two stimuli are repeatedly paired together, the neutral
stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus.
- Watson & Rayner (1920) Little Albert study created a phobia of rats in a 9-month-old baby, by using a loud noise, this fear
generalised to similar objects (fur coat, Santa beard).
- Operant Conditioning – learning through reinforcement, the phobia was reinforced by negative reinforcement as the fear is
reduced when we avoid the object as we have been given the desired consequence.
, Good explanatory power and A strength of this explanation for phobias is that is shows how the phobia can be created by classical
real-world applications conditioning and then how it is maintained and strengthened by operant conditioning. This can easily be
applied to therapies such as systematic desensitisation and flooding. If a patient is prevented from
practising their avoidance behaviour, then the phobic behaviour declines, this is therapy based on
reversing operant conditioning.
Some phobias are innate Classical and operant conditioning aren’t the only reason for phobias. We sometimes develop phobias
that are not related to bad experiences, this is especially common in things which were dangerous in
our evolutionary past. Seligman (1971) calls this biological preparedness and says that we are innately
prepared to fear some things more than others. For example, it is rare to have a phobia of guns or
cars as these are new things and so the phobia would have to be learnt, whereas it is common to have
a fear of heights as this is innate to keep us safe.
Links between bad The link between bad experiences and phobias is shown in Watson & Raynor’s (1920) Little Albert
experiences and phobias Study. Little Alberts fear of the rats was based off of bad experiences of whenever he touched them,
supporting research he would hear a frightening noise. Ad De Jongh et al (2006) also found that 73% of people with a
fear of dental treatment had experienced a traumatic experience in the past involving dentistry, this
suggests that this experience led to classical conditioning and gave them a phobia.
Alternative explanations for In behaviours such as Agoraphobia there is evidence of the behaviour being motivated by positive
avoidance behaviour feelings of safety as opposed to negative feelings of anxiety. This is positive reinforcement and Buck
(2010) suggests that this is why some agoraphobics are able to leave the house with a friend but not
alone. This is a problem for the 2-process model as avoidance in this case is not motivated by anxiety
reduction.
Describe and Evaluate the Behavioural Approach to Treating Phobias
AO1:
- Systematic desensitisation ~ based on classical conditioning, learning a new response (counterconditioning).
- The phobic stimulus is paired with relaxation and this is reciprocal conditioning because it is not possible to be afraid and
relaxed at the same time.
- Process: anxiety hierarchy – creates a list of fearful stimuli in order of least to most feared, relaxation – taught techniques
such as deep breathing/meditation, exposure – client exposed to stimulus while in relaxed state starting at bottom of
hierarchy.
- Flooding ~ immediate exposure causing an anxiety response until the person realises there is no harm
- Prevent avoidance behaviours, it is an unpleasant experience, informed consent must be given, usually cured in one session.
SD – suitable for a diverse Systematic desensitisation is suitable for a diverse range of people, including those with learning
range of patients disabilities who would often struggle with the deep thought required for cognitive therapies. It is also
effective, Gilroy et al (2003) found that after 3 and 33 months, systematic desensitisation patients
were less fearful than a control group.
SD – Patients prefer it to It is a much less daunting experience than flooding and so patients prefer it because it is less
flooding traumatic, it also has much lower attrition rates.
F – Cost and time effective Flooding is highly effective, and it is much quicker than systematic desensitisation – it often only takes
one session. This makes treatment much cheaper and a more economic use of therapist resources.
F – unpleasant experience However, it is a highly distressing procedure, and has much higher attrition rates, meaning that these
people are not cured or treated. Some therapists also do not use this treatment as they don’t agree
with causing their client’s extreme stress.
It is also potentially less effective for some types of phobias, some complex phobias such as social
phobias are due to cognitive aspects such as anxiety and negative thoughts and therefore cognitive
therapies would be a better option for these types.
Describe and Evaluate the Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression
AO1:
- Beck’s negative triad ~ schema – mental framework
- Negative views of world – impression of no hope, negative views of future – reduced hopefulness and enhances depression,
negative view of self – enhances depressive thoughts because they confirm emotions of low self-esteem.
- Ellis’s ABC model ~ depression is a result of irrational thoughts
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