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What is your Method to remembering AO3 Evaluation Points in Psychology?

I find memorising the AO1 content for psychology is alright, but I struggle with memorising the AO3, especially if it’s similar to another sub-topic or has lots of researcher’s names. I’ver essentially given up on remembering names unless it’s a study we need to know etc. (I’m really bad with names in general), but how do you remember the AO3 content for each sub-topic without confusing them?

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 1

username6164978

Original post by Esisaxis

Hi, I got an A* in Psychology, so I hopefully will be able to provide some help.

You do not need to remember every bit of research for AO3, attempt to remember one, absolute max two, for each page of the Illuminate textbook, and then learn the generic evaluation points. We had the acronym “BINDREAMS”
-Bias, internal validity/ idiographic approach, Nomothetic approach, Determinism, Reductionism, External validity, Method, Scientific”
So, for max 2 of your evaluations in a 16 marker, ask yourself how you can apply two of the above acronym to any strengths or weaknesses. E.g. Is the theory/study scientific?

This will prevent you from having to remember all of the named evaluations, because this is impossible. The reality of Psychology is, in the exam hall you aren’t going to be able to remember everything that you’ve revised, so writing BINDREAMS at the top of your page will hopefully trigger your memory of these generic evaluation points.

In my exam, I put one bit of research as evaluation, and then 2 from BINDREAMS. I did remember about one name per 16 marker for the evaluations. For instance, Moscovici’s Slide Study. I also found ways of using the same bits of research to back up different studies/theories.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 2

tomhughesa

Some really useful advice that my teacher, an AQA Psychology exam marker, gave me is to not be afraid to use and apply your AO1 knowledge when evaluating. Use support (this is really useful in topics like Psychopathology and Schizophrenia): the Behaviourist Approach to explaining Phobias has support and practical application in its therapy, and vice versa: the therapy is supported by the explanation. It can also challenge the research: in the Schizophrenia topic, the Psychological explanation contradicts the Biological Explanation and vice versa. Issues and Debates is also really useful in evaluating: as they provide inbuilt counterpoints to your answer (due to there being the alternative perspective of the debate: a reductionist approach increases validity as it targets the specific, localised area/ relationship to investigate but may also neglects important other factors) which enhances evaluation and reduces the number of evaluation points needed in an essay from 4 to 3. Using this AO1 content to dictate your AO3 is really useful as it reduces having three of four specific evaluation points to remember for every single lesson down to a handful per topic. This is good because it reduces time spent revising AO3 content, and being so familiar with the AO3 points your writing because you’re writing the same sort of thing over and over again reduces thinking time in exams as you don’t need to think about your points, you know them so well, so you can spend less time thinking about your evaluation points, and more time using your knowledge elsewhere.

Take Forensic Psychology, for example, you can pretty much use the same 3 evaluation points for all the possible essay questions that could come up:

An alternative: all the explanations for offending behaviour can be used against each other. An evaluation point for an essay on Differential Association could be any other explanation for offending behaviour. It shows a lack of consensus in the psychological community and how some believe that there is a more accurate dipictor of how offending behaviour is explained, hence reducing explanatory power and validity. Anger management can be used by alternatives such as behaviour modification (both are used in custody- why would one place choose another over this one? It implies some don’t believe in its credibility) and vice versa. Restorative justice and Custodial Sentencing can also be used against each other, as can each of the Offender Profiling methods.

An issue and debate- for example, the psychodynamic approach is reductionist and hence its application to offending behaviour is reductionist, then you could discuss if that’s a good or bad thing, leading to your counterpoint.

Multi-use evaluation points really help. My teacher told us about the idea that ‘all criminals are not the same’. A shoplifter cannot be held to the same standards as a mass murderer. Their motivations are so different, one is based on aggression and one is more of a white-collar, victimless crime. How can they be in the same prisons through custodial sentencing? How can they be explained the same way when their actions are so different?

For Schizophrenia, take the question “Discuss Psychological treatments of Schizophrenia”

The principles of psychological treatments are supported by the psychological explanations, as it’s geared towards treating the exact same psychological problems identified in psychological explanations of schizophrenia.

Psychological treatments are contradicted by the biological treatments for schizophrenia.

An issue and debate can again be used and also provides a counterpoint- the biological approach is reductionist. Is that good as it targets the specific things going on at the synapse, allowing for an easier, localised investigation of how to treat the disorder? Or does it ignore other important factors?

Trying to condense the amount of AO3 content you have to learn can save time in both revision schedules and exams. Going into an exam with a few useful AO3 points per topic can really help. This kind of evaluation can be used through a lot of psychology, whenever there is two possible explanations: use the other as an alternative, and wherever it’s been applied, such as in psychopathology, take advantage of that as an AO3 point. Multiuseful points such as the ‘All criminals aren’t the same’ point in Forensic Psychology is also really useful and worth finding for most topics. It takes off pressure in exams, saves thinking time, and allows you to spend time remembering specific evaluation points needed in other areas of the course. Hope this helps.