How to Revise Approaches in Psychology — AQA A-Level Psychology

Approaches in Psychology provides the foundational theoretical frameworks for understanding human behaviour, tracing the discipline's evolution from Wundt’s 1879 experimental laboratory in Leipzig to modern cognitive neuroscience. It encompasses the shift from subjective introspection to objective, empirical methodologies, evaluating the competing paradigms of behaviourism, psychodynamics, humanism, and biological determinism. This study area is critical for assessing the validity of psychological inquiry and the application of scientific principles to the study of the mind, requiring students to evaluate the philosophical underpinnings and practical applications of each major school of thought.

Examiner Tips for Approaches in Psychology

• Ensure you can clearly distinguish between the assumptions of each approach.
• When comparing approaches, use clear criteria such as determinism vs free will or nature vs nurture.
• Use specific terminology (e.g., 'vicarious reinforcement', 'congruence') rather than vague descriptions.
• Be prepared to apply the assumptions of an approach to a novel scenario.
• For the origins of psychology, focus on the transition from philosophy to scientific methodology.

Common Mistakes in Approaches in Psychology

• Confusing the different types of reinforcement in operant conditioning.
• Failing to explicitly link mediational processes to Social Learning Theory.
• Confusing genotype and phenotype.
• Misidentifying the specific defence mechanisms or psychosexual stages in the psychodynamic approach.
• Overlooking the influence of Humanistic Psychology on counselling.
• Generalising comparisons without focusing on specific theoretical differences.

Key Marking Points

• Origins of Psychology: Wundt, introspection, and the emergence of Psychology as a science.
• Behaviourist approach: classical conditioning (Pavlov), operant conditioning, and types of reinforcement (Skinner).
• Social learning theory: imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, mediational processes, and Bandura’s research.
• Cognitive approach: internal mental processes, schema, theoretical/computer models, and cognitive neuroscience.
• Biological approach: genes, biological structures, neurochemistry, genotype/phenotype, genetic basis of behaviour, and evolution.
• Psychodynamic approach: unconscious, structure of personality (Id, Ego, Superego), defence mechanisms (repression, denial, displacement), and psychosexual stages.