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Option 2

Option 2 belongs to Paper 3 Issues and Options in Psychology in AQA A-Level Psychology 7182 and should be revised as a set of examinable arguments, not as disconnected definitions. Context: the topic asks students to combine named theories, named studies and evaluative comparison across short-answer and extended-writing formats. Key concept: every answer should identify the psychological process, theory, method or debate before applying it to a scenario, data set or evaluative prompt. Named study/example: use a named psychological study, model, method or application example where it fits, then explain the evidence claim, the method used to obtain it and the limitation that affects interpretation. Evaluation: strong responses weigh validity, reliability, ethics, cultural bias, reductionism, determinism, sampling and real-world application instead of adding undeveloped criticism. Exam focus: link each paragraph to the command word, separate description from evaluation, and use AQA terminology from the relevant learning objective. Common mistake: students often describe the whole topic. A stronger answer selects the precise concept, supports it with evidence and makes a direct judgement about what the evidence allows psychologists to conclude.

20

Objectives

10

Flashcards

10

Questions

90 min

Study time

AqaA LevelPsychologyPaper 3 Issues and Options in Psychology

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Syllabus checklist

What you need to know

20 objective pages available

Schizophrenia8 objectives
  • Describe positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including hallucinations and delusions.
  • Describe negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including speech poverty and avolition.
  • Explain issues in diagnosis, including co-morbidity, culture bias, gender bias and symptom overlap.
  • Explain biological explanations for schizophrenia, including genetics and neural correlates.
  • Explain psychological explanations for schizophrenia, including family dysfunction and cognitive explanations.
  • Explain drug therapy using typical and atypical antipsychotics.
  • Explain cognitive behaviour therapy and family therapy as treatments for schizophrenia.
  • Explain the interactionist approach and diathesis-stress model in explaining and treating schizophrenia.
Eating behaviour6 objectives
  • Explain food preferences using evolutionary explanations, neophobia, taste aversion and learning through social and cultural influences.
  • Explain neural and hormonal mechanisms in eating behaviour, including the hypothalamus, ghrelin and leptin.
  • Explain biological explanations for anorexia nervosa, including genetic and neural explanations.
  • Explain psychological explanations for anorexia nervosa, including family systems theory, social learning theory and cognitive theory.
  • Explain biological explanations for obesity, including genetic and neural explanations.
  • Explain psychological explanations for obesity, including restraint theory, disinhibition and the boundary model.
Stress6 objectives
  • Explain the physiology of stress, including general adaptation syndrome, the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal system, the sympathomedullary pathway and cortisol.
  • Explain the role of stress in illness, including immunosuppression and cardiovascular disorders.
  • Explain sources of stress, including life changes, daily hassles and workplace stress.
  • Explain methods of measuring stress, including self-report scales and physiological measures.
  • Explain individual differences in stress, including personality types A, B and C and hardiness.
  • Explain managing and coping with stress, including drug therapy, stress inoculation therapy, biofeedback, gender differences and social support.

Key terms

Positive symptomsHallucinationsSpeech povertyAvolitionSymptom overlapCultural biasConcordance rateNeuroimagingExpressed EmotionCognitive DeficitsD2 receptor antagonismExtrapyramidal symptoms

Exam tips

  • Structure your answer with PEEL: When writing about symptoms, start with a point, provide evidence (e.g., examples of hallucinations), explain how it illustrates the point, and link back to the question.
  • Use the term 'negative symptom' correctly: When answering, first state that negative symptoms are deficits, then give examples such as speech poverty and avolition.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing up positive and negative symptoms: Clarify that positive symptoms are additions (hallucinations, delusions) whereas negative symptoms are deficits (flat affect, social withdrawal).
  • Confusing negative and positive symptoms: Negative symptoms are deficits such as speech poverty and avolition; positive symptoms are excesses like hallucinations.

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