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A* A-level AQA Psychology: Approaches essay plans
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- Approaches
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A-level AQA Psychology Approaches essay plans including AO1 and AO3 with studies and statistics.
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Approaches 16 marker essay plans Origins of psychology
AO1: Wundt – first person to open a psychological lab in Germany in 1879. Encouraged
standardisation, structuralism, and controlled lab studies. Led to first systematic way to
study mind = introspection. Introspection – technique to study mental processes in the
mind. Gives person knowledge about their emotional state. Individuals were trained to
report their inner experiences in response to a stimulus in a controlled environment.
Standardises scripts used to allow replicability of procedures. Psychology emerging as a
science – Wundt, PD, behaviourist, SLT, cog, humanistic, bio, cog neuroscience.
AO3: Strengths of introspection – first systematic way to study mind, paved way for other
approaches like cog approach, encouraged controlled lab studies. Weaknesses of
introspection – unreliable, no consistency, can’t be applied to children an animal, individual
differences.
Psychodynamic approach
AO1: Assumptions – the unconscious influences our behaviour and childhood is also an
important part of later development. Role of unconscious – beneath the surface of
awareness lies our innate drives and disturbing memories that have been repressed but can
be brought to the surface through psychoanalysis/therapy. Id – gratification, pleasure,
selfish, Thanatos, eros. Ego – mediator between id and se, adopts defence mechanisms to
resolve disputes. Superego – moral compass, sense of right/wrong moral developed from
childhood and identification with same-sex parent, punishes id through guilt. Defence
mechanisms – repression (pushing memories from conscious to unconscious mind),
displacement (projecting behaviour on something else), denial (false sense of reality).
Psychosexual stages of development – oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital. Oedipus complex –
boy has sexual desire for mother and is jealous of father = castration anxiety, resolved when
he identifies with father and this is when superego develops. Electra complex – Jung, girls
initially identify with mother but find out they don’t have penis so identify with father =
penis envy, fear losing mother’s love so eventually identify with her and adopt her gender
behaviour too.
AO3: Little Hans study – case study where he had a phobia of horses, techniques such as
dream analysis, free association, and contact with parents. His parents wrote Freud letters
as he tried to explain his phobia of horses. Freud analyses his dream where he has a
plumber increase his “waddler” – saw as an expression of OC as horse was symbolic of
father due to large penis. Freud thought Hans was resolving his castration anxiety by
identifying with his father. Strengths – led to first talking therapy + psychoanalysis, bringing
unconscious thoughts to conscious. Weaknesses – limited evidence, little Hans study cannot
be generalised as it is one case study and his parents were neo-Freudians, psychic
determinism, phallocentric, genital inferiority of women, too much focus on infantile
sexuality, unscientific as unconscious cannot be observed.
, Behaviourist approach/contribution of behaviourist psychologists such as Pavlov and
Skinner to our understanding of human behaviour (2017 specimen 1)/describe and
evaluate operant conditioning as a way of explaining people’s behaviour (2020)
AO1: Assumptions – learning through experience, learning through reward and punishment
(OC) and learning through association (CC), born a blank slate, non-humans and humans
learn the same way, only study observable behaviour to eliminate speculation about mental
processes. Classical conditioning – NS paired with UCS to get CS which creates a CR the
same as the UCR. Stimulus generalisation – same response to stimulus as to CS. Stimulus
desensitisation – treatment for phobias/counter-conditioning through overriding response
of fear with relaxation. Extinction – weakening of CR in presence of CS without UCS.
Skinner’s operant conditioning – learning through consequences, pos reinforcement = pos
consequence to behaviour to let it happen again, neg reinforcement = avoiding behaviour as
it will be avoided again, punishment = neg consequence to behaviour so behaviour is not
repeated. Reinforcement schedules – continuous = every response reinforces, fixed =
behaviour reinforced every 30 seconds e.g., varied = reinforcement varies.
AO3: Pavlov – CC on dogs and salivation – bell (NS) + food (UCS) = salivation (UCR) bell
(CS) = salivation (CR). Watson and Raynor – supported CC in humans with rat and Little
Albert. Rat (NS) + loud noise (UCS) = fear (UCR) rat (CS) = fear (CR). Also led to stimulus
generalisation as Little Albert became afraid of animals that looked like stimulus rat. Broke
ethical guidelines (RTW, protection from harm) and no opportunity for follow up counter
conditioning. Skinner Box – enclosed box where animal can do carry out a specific response
which is recorded whilst consequence is controlled. Strengths of behaviourist – research
support (Pavlov, Watson and Raynor, Skinner), scientific evidence so visible behaviour, led to
treatment of phobias using same principles of conditioning. Weaknesses of behaviourist –
enviro determinism, reductionist (reduced behaviour to stimulus and response), only looks
at nurture, ignores intrinsic value of mind, limited generalisability, problem of extrapolation
of animal studies to humans as they are more complex.
Outline and evaluate the humanistic approach (2017)
AO1: Assumptions – Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, focus on individual and subjective
experience of humans, positive view of humans and focuses on their potential, free will
outside of external/bio factors – opposite of determinism. Self-actualisation – the innate
drive to develop psychologically and reach full potential and what you are capable of, may
not be possible for everyone due to barriers. Focus on the self/congruent/incongruent state
– self-concept = how you see yourself, self-worth = how much you value yourself, ideal-self
= who you want to be, congruent state = ideal self and self-concept are similar, so self-worth
is increased to move towards self-actualisation, incongruent state = self-concept and ideal
self are different so self-worth is low and makes self-actualisation impossible. Conditions of
worth – parents put limitations to love for children leading them to act in ways to gain
positive regard from others which may mean not acting like their true selves.
AO3: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualisation.
Influence on counselling – Carl Rogers developed client-centred therapy which focuses on
overcoming conditions of worth and implementing a positive self-image. Aim is to help
clients to understand themselves and increase self-worth whilst reducing incongruent self.
Therapists are non-directive and give unconditional positive regard as they accept client as
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