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Psychology AQA A PSYA3 11th June 2012!

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Original post by Eternal*
We've been given our 3 topics
But teacher said
"You do not need to do these 3 topics, if you want to self-teach other topics, your free to do so, you may find others more interesting or just easier to learn"


Ohhh! I may see if i can do eating behaviours! We have have to learn, sleep, relationships and gender i think. But I really would be SO much more interested in eating behaviours! :-)
Reply 21
Original post by chelsey
In the same position but know what I'm doing thanks to a helpful friend and teacher at my old school. xD

There are eight sections:

(a) Biological rhythms and sleep
(b) Perception
(c) Relationships
(d) Aggression
(e) Eating behaviour
(f) Gender
(g) Intelligence and learning
(h) Cognition and development

You have to study three of them. It doesn't matter which three as long as you study everything in those sections. :smile: There will be 8 questions, one on each section, and you'll just answer the 3 that you've studied.

Any more questions then feel free to ask; as I said I'm in the same situation that you are so more than happy to help. :smile:


thanks so much that was very helpful! i think im gonna do gender, definitely perception, and maybe intelligence or sleep? ill have a skim through the book and see which looks better. are there any that are supposedly 'easier'? i guess its down to the individual.... thanks again! :smile:
Reply 22
Original post by lorahayes
as i am teaching myself this a level, im unsure what the protocol is? i have been given 3 topics by the course guide thing that im using but i cant say i really want to do those ones! i work better when im interested in a subject.
so i was wondering if anyone can explain? im assuming the A2 exams are quite different to the AS if you get to pick and choose etc.
is it possible that i have been advised to study the topics as they are 'more likely to come up' or whatever? sorry to sound totally clueless! any info you guys have would be much appreciated as i dont have a teacher or anyone to ask haha :smile: thanks


Am sure you can do which ever one you want...look at past papers for the exam you'll be sitting....there's 3 sections..in which there is about 2-3 topics each..and you have to choose one topic per section...i think youve been 'told' to do them topics as teachers are at school which teach specific topics...but as youre self teaching am sure u can manipulate it to whatever you want to do...its all gunna get graded..the boards dont know what topic youve been studying, they just mark the answers. :o:D
Original post by misslaura_bee
Ohhh! I may see if i can do eating behaviours! We have have to learn, sleep, relationships and gender i think. But I really would be SO much more interested in eating behaviours! :-)

gender sounds super interesting too
Reply 24
Thankyou for the mention in the first post Chelsey. :smile:

I am not ruling out a result for this unit! Hopefully I did well enough. I'll be doing Sleep, Eating and Relationships if I have to resit. If anybody has any questions about these topics or the exam itself, don't hesitate to ask. :smile:
Reply 25
This needs a bump.
Yes,

A bump on dat Ass
Reply 27
Hey guys; I sat this paper in January ( I started the last psya3 thread on that here) and just thought I would give some tips:

I sat Sleep, Relationships and Aggression.

Relationships is by far the easiest I found as it appears to have a simply understandable structure for the most part (formation, maintenance and breakdown) coupled with a few wildcards like sexual selection theory (easy enough once you get your head around) and that parental investment element (I took a gamble and never revised this element! phew)

Predictions: Im placing my bets on Sexual selection theory coming up as that has some evolutionary element to it and there seems to be a shift towards evolutionary explanations...but guessing is a risky game! but thats just my 2 cents.

Aggression I found the next easiest and fairly straight forward; Evolutionary explanations of group-aggression appears to have caused a lot of people trouble as there is hardly any texts or information on it out there as most theories are all social explanations and not evolutionary ; so if you do do this make sure you understand the evolutionary elements too as well as the social elements (deindividuation etc)

Predictions: I think institutional aggression is likely as is Genes and aggression..call me bonkers but I reckon one of these two.

Sleep : Man I hated sleep with a passion; it felt like it had no structure to the questions and felt very much pointless...but it just seemed easier than what else was left..which all seemed difficult.

It wasnt too bad though and it seems to click a lot easier for others.

Predictions: I have a feeling Circadian rhythms is going to come up or Lifespan changes in sleep.

Advice:
This paper is HARD!!! I mean really overwhelming as there is just way way way too much to remember.
My advice is get an early start on it and keep writing model answers over and over and over until it sticks. I filled about 2 big black bin bags with my notes that I did over and over...with the 3 topics you do; you will find you are likely needing to memorise up to about 15-18 model essay answers.

A good way I memorised the essays was with Acronyms to trigger my memory: for example for Genes and aggression I remembered "MHBC" and each letter triggered my memory for studies related to the outline:
M= Mcguffin H=Hutchings B=brunner C=Caspi

I had about 15 acronyms to remember for each but it helps and better than going into the exam blank trying to remember.

LAstly issues, approaches and debates; Get into the habit of throwing this in with everything you evaluate; animal studies, reductionism, determinism, ethical research, Gender bias etc...you need to know this all for your evaluation.

Any advice on these 3 topics feel free to ask; I somehow got 100 ums A*..but it wasnt easy...anything less than 100% effort on this paper and your in trouble! it will consume you and overwhelm you if you leave it last minute.

Good luck.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 28
Original post by Mephestic
^


Hey, i took out the text from the quote, didnt want to make the page repetitive,

Anyway that advice is amazing, im doing all 3 topics that you did.
I find relationships easiest, then sleep, and aggression is URGH :banghead:

I have model essays but dont know how to learn them, i can do the discussion points evaluation thats fine but i need to learn my model essay. Help please....

And any help for getting my head around aggression??????
Reply 29
Original post by Mephestic
x


Thanks for the advice. :smile: This was quite useful.
Original post by Mephestic
Hey guys; I sat this paper in January ( I started the last psya3 thread on that here) and just thought I would give some tips:

I sat Sleep, Relationships and Aggression.

Relationships is by far the easiest I found as it appears to have a simply understandable structure for the most part (formation, maintenance and breakdown) coupled with a few wildcards like sexual selection theory (easy enough once you get your head around) and that parental investment element (I took a gamble and never revised this element! phew)

Predictions: Im placing my bets on Sexual selection theory coming up as that has some evolutionary element to it and there seems to be a shift towards evolutionary explanations...but guessing is a risky game! but thats just my 2 cents.

Aggression I found the next easiest and fairly straight forward; Evolutionary explanations of group-aggression appears to have caused a lot of people trouble as there is hardly any texts or information on it out there as most theories are all social explanations and not evolutionary ; so if you do do this make sure you understand the evolutionary elements too as well as the social elements (deindividuation etc)

Predictions: I think institutional aggression is likely as is Genes and aggression..call me bonkers but I reckon one of these two.

Sleep : Man I hated sleep with a passion; it felt like it had no structure to the questions and felt very much pointless...but it just seemed easier than what else was left..which all seemed difficult.

It wasnt too bad though and it seems to click a lot easier for others.

Predictions: I have a feeling Circadian rhythms is going to come up or Lifespan changes in sleep.

Advice:
This paper is HARD!!! I mean really overwhelming as there is just way way way too much to remember.
My advice is get an early start on it and keep writing model answers over and over and over until it sticks. I filled about 2 big black bin bags with my notes that I did over and over...with the 3 topics you do; you will find you are likely needing to memorise up to about 15-18 model essay answers.

A good way I memorised the essays was with Acronyms to trigger my memory: for example for Genes and aggression I remembered "MHBC" and each letter triggered my memory for studies related to the outline:
M= Mcguffin H=Hutchings B=brunner C=Caspi

I had about 15 acronyms to remember for each but it helps and better than going into the exam blank trying to remember.

LAstly issues, approaches and debates; Get into the habit of throwing this in with everything you evaluate; animal studies, reductionism, determinism, ethical research, Gender bias etc...you need to know this all for your evaluation.

Any advice on these 3 topics feel free to ask; I somehow got 100 ums A*..but it wasnt easy...anything less than 100% effort on this paper and your in trouble! it will consume you and overwhelm you if you leave it last minute.

Good luck.



Hi there, I'm taking this paper for the first time in june 2012, and I keep getting stuck on the structuring of the essay questions, do you have any tips or guild lines for me to follow in order to achieve the perfect (A GRADE) essay structure?
Reply 31
Original post by Eternal*
Hey, i took out the text from the quote, didnt want to make the page repetitive,

Anyway that advice is amazing, im doing all 3 topics that you did.
I find relationships easiest, then sleep, and aggression is URGH :banghead:

I have model essays but dont know how to learn them, i can do the discussion points evaluation thats fine but i need to learn my model essay. Help please....

And any help for getting my head around aggression??????


Original post by singingmermaid
Hi there, I'm taking this paper for the first time in june 2012, and I keep getting stuck on the structuring of the essay questions, do you have any tips or guild lines for me to follow in order to achieve the perfect (A GRADE) essay structure?


Hey guys,

Ok so tips on revising and essay structure; I use the TEEI approach which is my own invention ( I added the I at the end for the normal TEE approach).

This is basically T=Theory E=Evidence E=Evaluation I=Issues,debates and approaches.

So always put your Theory first for whatever the question is - This is basically the outline; For example for Genes and aggression you would outline how Genes have been investigated through the use of Twin studies, family studies and Adoption studies looking for high concordance rates.
For something like Evolutionary explanations for group aggression there are lots of theories you can use for your outline; I personally used the concept of lynch mobs and theory elements such as the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization and related this to how they may serve an evolutionary purpose (increase survival)

For Evidence: This is basically studies to back up what your saying or evidence against the theory ; So remember studies and what happened in them to backup your theory element.
So for example after outlining the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization I would have studies that supported this or contradicted this.

Evaluation: For evaluation I would begin to highlight flaws in the theory or evidence in favour of it, methodological flaws in the studies, flaws in the theory etc or strengths etc and the implications for the theory >>always refer back to implications it has; never just make a statement but state what this means then!

Issues,debates and approaches: This is where you throw in things such as gender bias, determinism, post-hoc,difficult to falsify or prove, reductionism, gender bias, animal studies, ethical concerns or implications, Free-will,other approaches it ignores that has evidence (cognitive, behavioural, biological,psychodynamic etc)

The only way I found that I remembered all this was literally writing and writing and writing it over and over and over until it stuck a bit more so I could recall it from memory.

You must always remember what we learnt in in AS and memory models: Memory is unlimited with no capacity and up to a lifetime in duration so you can remember it all if you revise it enough; it just needs constant repetition; say it in the bathroom while you shower, while you walk to school go through your answer in your head, say it out loud while your doing nothing..it will all help remember it.

So to summerise:

Theory: Outline the theory or explanation
Evidence: Back this up with evidence in favour or against
Evaluate: Evaluate this evidence and your theory with pros and cons
IDA's: Throw these in and write what this means for the theory? does it support it? does it contradict it?

Use of acronyms in remembering researchers will help as mentioned in my previous post; Its the only way I remembered.

Its long and tiring and you guys have 2 months to do it so its possible - you just need to start....NOW!

Goodluck,

MEph
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 32
Original post by Mephestic
^


Hey, thats really useful, I will defo try that, I have a few more essays to write but I'll start learning my initial ones at the same time.

Are the essays out of 24 or 25?
Reply 33
Original post by Eternal*
Hey, thats really useful, I will defo try that, I have a few more essays to write but I'll start learning my initial ones at the same time.

Are the essays out of 24 or 25?


24.
Reply 34
Original post by Heyimdec
24.


how you getting on with psya4? Did you say you were doing media psychology by any chance? im bit confused on some elements of it as there seems to be some cross-over and need someone to bounce my understanding off lol :biggrin:
subscribing
Original post by Mephestic
Hey guys,

Ok so tips on revising and essay structure; I use the TEEI approach which is my own invention ( I added the I at the end for the normal TEE approach).

This is basically T=Theory E=Evidence E=Evaluation I=Issues,debates and approaches.

So always put your Theory first for whatever the question is - This is basically the outline; For example for Genes and aggression you would outline how Genes have been investigated through the use of Twin studies, family studies and Adoption studies looking for high concordance rates.
For something like Evolutionary explanations for group aggression there are lots of theories you can use for your outline; I personally used the concept of lynch mobs and theory elements such as the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization and related this to how they may serve an evolutionary purpose (increase survival)

For Evidence: This is basically studies to back up what your saying or evidence against the theory ; So remember studies and what happened in them to backup your theory element.
So for example after outlining the power-threat hypothesis and dehumanization I would have studies that supported this or contradicted this.

Evaluation: For evaluation I would begin to highlight flaws in the theory or evidence in favour of it, methodological flaws in the studies, flaws in the theory etc or strengths etc and the implications for the theory >>always refer back to implications it has; never just make a statement but state what this means then!

Issues,debates and approaches: This is where you throw in things such as gender bias, determinism, post-hoc,difficult to falsify or prove, reductionism, gender bias, animal studies, ethical concerns or implications, Free-will,other approaches it ignores that has evidence (cognitive, behavioural, biological,psychodynamic etc)

The only way I found that I remembered all this was literally writing and writing and writing it over and over and over until it stuck a bit more so I could recall it from memory.

You must always remember what we learnt in in AS and memory models: Memory is unlimited with no capacity and up to a lifetime in duration so you can remember it all if you revise it enough; it just needs constant repetition; say it in the bathroom while you shower, while you walk to school go through your answer in your head, say it out loud while your doing nothing..it will all help remember it.

So to summerise:

Theory: Outline the theory or explanation
Evidence: Back this up with evidence in favour or against
Evaluate: Evaluate this evidence and your theory with pros and cons
IDA's: Throw these in and write what this means for the theory? does it support it? does it contradict it?

Use of acronyms in remembering researchers will help as mentioned in my previous post; Its the only way I remembered.

Its long and tiring and you guys have 2 months to do it so its possible - you just need to start....NOW!

Goodluck,

MEph


Hey! thanks so much for your help :biggrin: :biggrin:

Im just a little worried seen as i will have to write three 25 mark essays in only 1 hr 30 mins. There is so much information to include, I don't know how I'm gonna have the time to fit it all in :frown:
Reply 37
Original post by Mephestic
how you getting on with psya4? Did you say you were doing media psychology by any chance? im bit confused on some elements of it as there seems to be some cross-over and need someone to bounce my understanding off lol :biggrin:


I'm not doing media sorry. :tongue:
does any one have a clue what questions are going to come up for eating behaviour, relationship and aggression? Thanks in advances
Reply 39
Original post by LittleMizzSunshine
does any one have a clue what questions are going to come up for eating behaviour, relationship and aggression? Thanks in advances


Relationships I think perhaps either Sexual selection or maintenance.

For Aggression I think Genetics perhaps.

no idea for eating behaviour!

These are just pure guesses btw, im not doing psya3 but i did it january

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