Psychology PSYA3/PSYA4 revision thread for 2014

Original post by mightyfrog2_10

You won't be asked to write a 25 mark essay in the exam, each section is worth 24 marks so they can only ask a 24 mark question. 25 markers was based on the old spec, with the new specification they could ask either a 24, 2x12, an 8 and 16 or 2 x 4 and 8 mark questions.
The question will be worded like 'outline and evaluate neural explanations of aggression'. Neural mechanisms refer to structures such as nerve cells, neural circuits and regions of the brain and neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters include serotonin and dopamine, other regions of the brain include the hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. When I did the exam last year I made notes on serotonin and amygdala, these two are the most easiest to learn and there's so much you could write. If you have a look at nm786 essay that's the kind of answer they are looking for I also used the same A01 and A02 points. I remember my teacher saying last year that the best way to answer these question is to write one explanation in detail and the other explanation in less detail.

Original post by Liam2404

Firstly I'd say make sure you don't spend too long writing about Bandura's research in the essay. My teacher is an examiner and says they aren't really interested in that, you need to mention it but not go into masses of detail, your discussing SLT as a explanation of aggression not the nature of the research into it. I would say pick one or two evaluation points which you can elaborate on. For example, the fact it was carried out in a lab raises the issue of ecological validity because the setting was artificial and the bobo doll was not human (and so could not retaliate ect) and thus conclusions are difficult to generalise real-life situations. In spite of this however, other research involving naturalistic observations provide evidence of SLT also.... (and the talk about Moretti, Patterson ect)

:smile:

Thank you both. :smile:

Reply 182

Nabihah

Original post by nm786

For those doing PSYA3: There is so much to learn for this unit so start memorising essays NOW! trust me don't leave it two/three weeks before the exam. Out of all the four units, this is definitely the toughest which is why the grade boundaries are so low. I did Relationships, Aggression and Eating Behaviour and I will be uploading my essays soon! The document will contain all the potential 24 markers for this unit, most of them are marked A grades with some A* by my teacher last year. To help you guys and girls I will upload them soon so just watch out. :smile:

EDIT: My PSYA3 Essays: http://www.mediafire.com/download/2hairlb5rc1dtas/PSYA3+Essays+-+Relationships%2C+Aggression+and+Eating+Behaviour.pdf

If for any reason the above link doesn't work, then try psychexchange: http://www.resourcd.com/@psychexchange/file/show/16534

I've already done this exam last year and here are some tips from me:

-Make sure your A01 is concise
-Do not start your A02 points with a researcher's name, they will mark it as A01! make sure you start your A02 points with e.g. 'There is research to support..., for example .... found'
-Always refer back to what you said in your A01
-Make sure you have 1/3 A01 and about 2/3 A02.
-Make sure you have IDA points!
-SLT and deindividuation are not reductionist theories!

•

Reductionism only refers to reducing behaviour to a lower level of explanation i.e. reducing psychological explanations into biological ones. Examiner Report - June 2010 (bottom of page 3 / top of page 4)

-wherever the word 'including' is on the spec that means you could be asked two seperate 24 mark questions e.g. ‘Biological explanations of AN, including neural and evolutionary explanations’ you could be asked to:

•

and finally start revising early, don't leave it near the exam or you will regret it!

Past papers and Mark schemes can be found here: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/a-level/psychology-a-2180/past-papers-and-mark-schemes

All the best :smile:

What does IDA mean in your Essays? :colondollar:

Reply 183

Nabihah

What do you need to do in your essays to get high marks. My teacher does not give us any information on this. I have no idea.

Reply 184

Original post by Nabihah

What do you need to do in your essays to get high marks. My teacher does not give us any information on this. I have no idea.

I second this. My teacher also hasn't given us any advice regarding them yet. Would anyone be so kind as to give exam technique tips for the essays please? :smile:

Reply 185

nm786

2

Original post by Liam2404

Ive just been reading through some of your essays and they are so helpful thank you very much! I feel really lucky because my psychology teacher is an examiner for unit 4, but shes a VERY harsh marker haha. What did you get in Psychology overall, if you don't mind me asking. I really want an A*!

No problem mate, I'm glad you find them helpful! I got an A wasn't far off an A*.
However, If you really want an A*, Mephestic is the best person to ask as he got 100 ums in both unit 3 and unit 4!

Original post by Nabihah

What does IDA mean in your Essays? :colondollar:

Issues, Debates and Approaches

Original post by Nabihah

What do you need to do in your essays to get high marks. My teacher does not give us any information on this. I have no idea.

Original post by LeaX

I second this. My teacher also hasn't given us any advice regarding them yet. Would anyone be so kind as to give exam technique tips for the essays please? :smile:

I always do A01, A02 then IDA at the end. To get high marks, use about 4 or 5 studies in each essay 2 supporting and 3 contradicting studies (or vice versa), then relate the findings back to what you said in your A01 and elaborate what they suggest overall about the theory. Include methodological issues for each study - SDB, ecological validity, population validity, can't establish cause and effect etc. Then sum up the whole theory with about two or three IDA points (include studies to back them up).

Easy IDA Marks:

•

General IDA point for evolutionary explanation - Evolutionary explanations are post hoc and therefore lack scientific validity. Since there is no way of researching our evolutionary past, the explanations of human social behaviour are post hoc (made up after the event). Since the explanations cannot be verified or falsified, they do not fulfil Popper’s key criteria of what constitutes a science, they must be supported empirically, falsifiable and objective. On this basis the explanations lack scientific validity.

•

For psychological explanations - they are limited, you could always write they don't take into account other factors e.g. 'Whilst SLT and Bruch’s theory does appear to account well for AN to some extent. These explanations are not able to account for the significant biological differences that are seen in anorexics. In order to fully understand AN it is important to consider biological factors such as neurotransmitters. For example...'

•

Also for evolutionary explanations - same as above you say they are limited and they don't take into account psychological factors e.g. 'Whilst genetic vulnerability may have evolved there is however considerable evidence to suggests other approaches play a significant role of aetiology of AN. For example....'

•

For genetic explanations oversimplifies complex causes of anything - e.g. 'Genetic theory of aggression is an example of biological reductionism it oversimplifies the complex causes of aggression and could be explained as well or better by another approach such as SLT social factors like modelling also contribute to Aggression. It is also an example of biological genetic determinism – and suggests that we are at the mercy of our biology – we have no free will to decide whether to behave in an aggressive way or not – which clearly is not true. It is clear that genetics alone cannot cause aggressive behaviours - genes do increase the risk of aggression, but perhaps only when combined with environmental risk factors – suggesting a diathesis of nature (genes) and Nurture (environment).

I hope that helps :smile:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 186

Original post by nm786

x

Thank you, you're seriously the best. :biggrin:

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I was just wondering what revision guides or textbooks everyone uses and if they recommend any? I currently have just been using the AQA endorsed textbook which is very limited and only usually has 1-2 studies per theory. :/ Does anyone have any they recommend for PSYA3?

Thank you. :smile:

Reply 187

nm786

2

Original post by LeaX

Thank you, you're seriously the best. :biggrin:

---

I was just wondering what revision guides or textbooks everyone uses and if they recommend any? I currently have just been using the AQA endorsed textbook which is very limited and only usually has 1-2 studies per theory. :/ Does anyone have any they recommend for PSYA3?

Thank you. :smile:

No problem, lol i'm just happy to help :biggrin:

For A2, I wouldn't recommend buying any revision guides they are a waste of money, you should use the complete companion 3rd edition : http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Companions-Student-Psychology/dp/0199129843 and the exam companion: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Companions-Companion-Psychology/dp/0199129851 (the documents I uploaded were from these books)

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 188

Original post by nm786

No problem, lol i'm just happy to help :biggrin:

For A2, I wouldn't recommend buying any revision guides they are a waste of money, you should use the complete companion 3rd edition : http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Companions-Student-Psychology/dp/0199129843 and the exam companion: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Companions-Companion-Psychology/dp/0199129851 (the documents I uploaded were from these books)

Ooh thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to order the exam companion. :smile:

Reply 189

nm786

2

Original post by LeaX

Ooh thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to order the exam companion. :smile:

Cool, sorry just saw it now it costs £15 on book depository which is the cheapest (plus free delivery) : http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Complete-Companions%3A-A2-Exam-Companion-for-AQA-Psychology-Mike-Cardwell/9780199129850

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 190

Original post by nm786

x]

I'm not able to reply on inbox for some reason but thank you so much, I'm so grateful. :biggrin:

Do any of you guys know how many studies we should remember per essay? My teacher has told us that we can remember one big study in detail per essay and gain all our AO2 + AO2 by evaluating it but I don't really believe that...

Reply 191

Mezzy

How is everyone approaching unit 3? I've decided to write out all the possible 24 mark essays for each topic and then do smaller essays after, and then planning on studying/learning those essays that I have written out.

Reply 192

Original post by Nabihah

For Unit 3 im doing Gender, aggression and Sleep
For Unit 4 im doing Media, Research methods and Schizophrenia

Is anyone else doing any of these? and How are you guys revising. Im finding it difficult to remember so much, any tips?

poor you doing schizo.
I do phobia instead which is a lot easier and a lot less to learn. :colone:

Reply 193

Hey, I've only really looked at the current page I'm on, but can someone give me advice on how to write a 24 marker?
Im sure you're all sick to death of this Q, but could you tell me:

- An estimate of how many words you write per page
- How many pages you would write
- how many studies you would include in it (let's say for a phobias/schizo 24 mark)
- how you go through your points e.g. Intro; A01 on approach; A02 on this; A01 on other approach.
- Whether you write introductions/conclusions (if so, how do you do it. If not, why)
- what mark you typically get from your teachers.

A lot I know, but it would be interesting to get the perspective from other schools. I don't solely trust my teacher alone.

Reply 194

Original post by Nabihah

What do you need to do in your essays to get high marks. My teacher does not give us any information on this. I have no idea.

I can tell you something my teacher learned from recalling last year's papers: don't do standalone evaluation. I think this means if you're doing an AO2, don't just say "this study decieved it's participants which is bad", particularly if its on like the schizophrenic section. I think you need to always refer it back to the topic to make sure you display you meet the demands of the question.
This sounds very simple, yet my predecessors in the year above pretty much all screwed up this way, capping their grades at C's.
I may have misunderstood the meaning of standalone evaluation a little perhaps, but its important to avoid.

Reply 195

Original post by lovex

Does anyone have any advice on going from a B to an A? I keep getting 15-16 marks in the essays in class and I'm not sure where I'm wrong. Also is it better to have three well-elaborated evaluative points or ~6 points but only 2-3 sentences long. How many evaluative points should I be aiming at and how many IDAs? Does anyone have a generic formula they use when writing essays.

Thanks

Considering *generally* the harshest grade boundaries for full are 64/83 on psya4 and 53/72 on psya3, you're on track.
The A* paper I have from my teacher on psya4 got 17/24, 15/24, 25/35.

Reply 196

Mezzy

Original post by IllmaticDragon

Hey, I've only really looked at the current page I'm on, but can someone give me advice on how to write a 24 marker?
Im sure you're all sick to death of this Q, but could you tell me:

- An estimate of how many words you write per page
- How many pages you would write
- how many studies you would include in it (let's say for a phobias/schizo 24 mark)
- how you go through your points e.g. Intro; A01 on approach; A02 on this; A01 on other approach.
- Whether you write introductions/conclusions (if so, how do you do it. If not, why)
- what mark you typically get from your teachers.

A lot I know, but it would be interesting to get the perspective from other schools. I don't solely trust my teacher alone.

Hey. I would say that for the 24 markers forget an intro, just jump straight into the question. I've read recent examiner's reports and they frown upon students who include intros. Always best to just start directly answering the essay question. For your A01, according to the Exam companion you should be writing roughly 4 paragraphs with around 50-60 words, as they claim that that is the amount that students actually are able to do in the exam. I've been following that and it appears quite helpful. For AO2 you should do eight paragraphs of 50-60 words. This probably won't work for everyone or for every single essay but as long as you write a max of 1 page for AO1 and a max of 2 pages for AO2 then you are on the right track.

In terms of studies, again it depends on the essay question. Some of my essays for e.g. in the Biological Rhythms section they ask us to describe explanations. Studies aren't always needed for the AO1 but can be used to provide support in the AO2. If you have to include studies in the AO1 then I would say focus on a few in detail rather than writing several studies in less detail otherwise. I hope I've managed to help you somewhat and sorry for any confusion. :biggrin:

Reply 197

Original post by Mezzy

Hey. I would say that for the 24 markers forget an intro, just jump straight into the question. I've read recent examiner's reports and they frown upon students who include intros. Always best to just start directly answering the essay question. For your A01, according to the Exam companion you should be writing roughly 4 paragraphs with around 50-60 words, as they claim that that is the amount that students actually are able to do in the exam. I've been following that and it appears quite helpful. For AO2 you should do eight paragraphs of 50-60 words. This probably won't work for everyone or for every single essay but as long as you write a max of 1 page for AO1 and a max of 2 pages for AO2 then you are on the right track.

In terms of studies, again it depends on the essay question. Some of my essays for e.g. in the Biological Rhythms section they ask us to describe explanations. Studies aren't always needed for the AO1 but can be used to provide support in the AO2. If you have to include studies in the AO1 then I would say focus on a few in detail rather than writing several studies in less detail otherwise. I hope I've managed to help you somewhat and sorry for any confusion. :biggrin:

Dope.
Funnily I did one a few weeks ago without an intro and my teacher criticised me for it (a little).
I still got according to him B/C, and he believes that for a C it's 60% of raw marks and for a B it's 70%, so I can assume I still got 16/24.

Would you mind me asking, were the examiners frowning on intros in general as not contributing, or were they frowning on bad ones (which I assume are numerous)?

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Reply 198

Mezzy

Original post by IllmaticDragon

Dope.
Funnily I did one a few weeks ago without an intro and my teacher criticised me for it (a little).
I still got according to him B/C, and he believes that for a C it's 60% of raw marks and for a B it's 70%, so I can assume I still got 16/24.

Would you mind me asking, were the examiners frowning on intros in general as not contributing, or were they frowning on bad ones (which I assume are numerous)?

Posted from TSR Mobile

They frowned because people start describing things that don't need to be described and waste time doing that rather than directly answering the question. Examiners are really harsh and they don't like waffle my teacher says.

Reply 199