Exam Success

1. Exam Success AO1

2. EVERY MARK COUNTS

3. AO1 mark scheme

4. 1. Detail and accuracy

5. Lacking detail Reasonably detailed One psychologist wrote about social learning theory. He suggested that people learn by watching others and gettingrewards. You can see this in his study with Bobo where the children who watched an adulthitting Bobo were more likely to be aggressive. Bandura (1963) wrote about social learning theory. He suggested that people learn through observational learning and getting vicarious reinforcement. You can see this in his study with Bobo where the children who watched a model hitting Bobo were more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour. In another study Bandura showed that imitation did not occur at such a high level if the model was punished.

6. To provide detailed answers … • Include the fine details • Specify exactly what you mean • Use psychological terms • Use examples • Cite named studies • Squeeze that sponge

7. 2 Range of relevant material • 8 marks AO1 • About 10 minutes of writing (20 minutes for AO2). • About 200-300 words of writing. • 10 points of 20-30 words for each possible essay. • For each point remember one KEYWORD.

8. For example Social learning theory 8 marks AO1 • Bandura (1963) • Biological • Observation • Operant conditioning • Vicarious reinforcement • Expectancies of future outcome • Modelling • Direct reinforcement • Self-efficacy

9. A prècis is a summary where one cuts out less important material leaving the key bits. goldennuggets. Why it works • Produces a précis of text. • Gives you the coat pegs. • Ensures you learn just the right amount (not too much or too little).

10. Let’s try it SPECIFICATION • Theories of the formation, maintenance and breakdown of romantic relationships: for example, reward/need satisfaction, social exchange theory Maintenance: Social exchange theory (Thibaut and Kelley, 1959)

11. Approach 1 Six ELABORATED critical points would get you a Grade A. 8 x 25 words = 200 words 8 x 50 words = 400 words

12. 50 words x 12 = 600 words Approach 2 An alternative psychological explanation is that stressful life events cause the onset of schizophrenia. Events such as the death of a close relative act as a trigger. The individual may have a biological predisposition for schizophrenia but only some people with such a predisposition will develop the disorder – those who experience stressors. 52 words In general the biological explanations probably have better research support than psychological ones. There is a large body of evidence, for example, supporting the role of genetic factors such as the research by Gottesman (1991) which showed that the greater the degree of genetic relatedness, the greater the risk of schizophrenia. 51 words A2 Exam Companion

13. Depth & breadth • Needs to be balanced • Describe studies relating to ….(8 marks) • Describe explanations 6 studies in little detail (lack of depth). 3 or 4 studies in an appropriate amount of detail. 2 studies in lots of detail (lack of breadth).

14. The 1 ½ theory rule Wherever the specification says ‘theories’ or explanations this means you have to cover two, BUT … Student has Theory 1 8 marks description 16 marks evaluation Student produces cut down Theory 1 5 marks description 10 marks evaluation Theory 2 3 marks description 6 marks evaluation Describe and evaluate one theory of … (24 marks) Describe and evaluate two theories of … (24 marks)

15. 4. Organisation and structure

16. A well structured answer Why? • Communicates competence Doesn’t require • an introduction • definitions • a conclusion Just answer the question, not ‘I am going to write …’ • What does it require? • A clear plan, rather than a rambling account. • Logical flow. • Focus on the actual question. • AO1 and AO2 clear for examiner and for you

17. Paragraphs • Each AO2 point in one paragraph – so you can see the elaboration. • Organisation counts • Line of argument counts  Tired examiner

18. Organisation, structure, line of argument

19. Generating questions for revision • For each possible essay title. Prepare skeleton plans. Keep it as brief as possible. Practice writing essays from this plan

20. Writing essays

21. Marking exercise Outline and evaluate psychological explanations for the success and/or failure of dieting. (24 marks) There are many different types of dieting, the definition  ‘restricting oneself to smaller amounts of certain kinds of foods’. The restraint theory  was developed to investigate the causes and consequences of dieting. The theory suggests that for some individuals dieting can be successful with weight loss as a result of undereating. On the other had, it can also be unsuccessful resulting in overeating and weight gain. There are many different pressures for individuals to lose weight such as  family, social class, peer groups, ethnicity and the media. The media  plays a big role as to why some people feel the need to lose weight. There is a certain level of individuals observing and imitating celebrities. This is because of positive reinforcement which comes from fame and money and punishment is seen through bad publicity. Therefore there is more attraction for the individual to be like celebrities and ‘skinny’.

22. Outline and evaluate psychological explanations for the success and/or failure of dieting. (24 marks) There are three main categories  which are effective in losing weight these being calorie control diets, behavioural therapy and healthy eating. There are different types of dieting available such as surgery, drugs, external monitoring (such as keeping food diaries) and low calorie diets. Wilenbring  et al (1986) carried out a laboratory study on humans which they found that research participants ate less during periods of stress. This study is easy to apply to the target population as it was carried out on humans. There is also ease of replication, however it lacks mundane realism because it was carried out in a laboratory. Many studies have been carried out as to the successfulness of dieting. Rodin  (1977) found that central to dieting success was individuals’ belief about the cause of their obesity and their motivation for change. Kiernan  (1998) carried out a study which found that people who were most dissatisfied with their bodies prior to dieting were more likely to succeed in their dieting attempts. Ogden and Hills  interviewed people who had successfully lost weight and maintained weight loss. It was found that a life event such as a milestone, illness or divorce had an effect on their eating style. Therefore research shows that it is four  main factors that help increase the successfulness of dieting, this being motivation, individual belief, dissatisfaction with their body and life events.

23. Outline and evaluate psychological explanations for the success and/or failure of dieting. (24 marks) Dieting is not always successful and can often fail . Davey suggested that stress  is directly related to overeating. This suggestion is subjective as individual differences are not taken into account. A dramatic restriction  on calorie intake over a short period of time is ineffective, therefore people who diet by just reducing their calorie intake are not actually successful in their dieting. Research has suggested that a reason for why diets fail can be due to a negative mood , dieters tend to overeat in response to their low mood. Another reason for why diets fail could be due to the fact that today there is greater availability  of food choices, combining this with an evolutionary tendency to store fat has contributed to weight gain. External eaters will eat for other reasons rather than just when they are hungry, restrained eaters are careful about their diets and watch the calorie intake therefore when put under stress could eat a lot more and emotional eaters eat what they want and when they want depending on their mood. These are all examples  of diets failing, it is due to vulnerability.

24. Outline and evaluate psychological explanations for the success and/or failure of dieting. (24 marks) Studies have been carried out on unsuccessful diets and assess the reasons why. Herman and Mack  (1975) took a sample of dieters and non dieters. They were then given a high or low calorie pre-load and then a high calorie load. It was found that the dieters who ate high calories in the preload stage continue to eat in the loading stage, whereas non-dieters continued to binge because they were psychologically hungry. Therefore the study suggests that dieting can lead to overeating and excess calorie intake. Although the study had ease of replication , the study had low ecological validity and mundane realism as it is unlikely that individuals would be put in a situation like this in real life. Another study was carried out by Wardle and Beales  (1988) to investigate whether dieting results in overeating. They randomly assigned 27 obese women to a group, either a diet group, exercise group or a control group. It was found that the participants in the diet group ate more. They concluded that attempting to diet can increase the desire to overeat. Due to small samples of 27 women it is hard to generalise as it was found that 70% of women diet in a lifestyle . 765 words

25. Marking exercise Discuss the influence of childhood on adult relationships. (8 marks + 16 marks) The continuity  hypothesis suggests that an individual’s relationship with their primary caregiver provides foundation for adult relationships by creating an internal working model (IWM). The IWM influences a person’s expectation of later relationships thus affects his attitudes towards them. Adult relationships are likely to reflect early attachment style. This is because the experience a person has with their caregiver in childhood would lead to the expectation of the same experiences in later relationships. This is illustrated  in Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz experiment. They conducted a study to collect information of participants’ early attachment styles and their attitudes towards loving relationships. They found that those who were securely attached as infants tended to have happy lasting relationships. On the other hand, insecurely attached people found adult relationships more difficult, tended to divorce and believed love was rare. This supports  the idea that childhood experiences have significant impact on people’s attitude toward later relationships.

26. Discuss the influence of childhood on adult relationships. (8 marks + 16 marks) However, the association made by Hazan and Shaver might not be reliable because of the use of a questionnaire . Although this method can provide quantitative and qualitative data participants might answer in a biased way to be more socially desirable, which is called social desirability bias. Moreover, the data might be retrospective  since participants had to recall experience from early childhood which can be inaccurate thus reducing the reliability of the findings. Another methodological flaw of this study is the sample bias . The questionnaire was posted in an American newspaper and people volunteered to answer. This can raise the problem of individual differences, for example people who volunteer tend to be more socially outgoing or have more free time. Therefore the finding cannot be applied to the whole population due to low generalisability. There is difficulty  in investigating the role of childhood experiences in adult relationships due to the concerns of stability of attachment styles. Securely attached children can become insecurely attached due to life events. This suggests that the influence of early childhood on later relationships can be varied.

27. Discuss the influence of childhood on adult relationships. (8 marks + 16 marks) This theory is accused of being reductionist  because it assumes that people who are insecurely attached as infants would have poor quality relationships. This is not always the case. Researchers found plenty of people having happy relationships despite having insecure attachments. Therefore the theory might be an oversimplification. Nevertheless supporting evidence  comes from Simpson who did a longitudinal study on participants from their early childhood to their twenties. They found that securely attached children tend to grow up to be more socially competent and develop secure friendships and have happy relationships. Peer relationships  in this period also have an important influence on how people approach adult relationships. Children develop a sense of their own values and others based on specific experiences which then become internalised and affect the way they behave in adult relationships. Nangle supports  this by highlighting the importance of having a friend to trust which creates a sense of being loved and understood. These characteristics are important in adult relationships. There are gender differences in the early friendship with peers. Boys tend to have more competitive friendships while girls are more cooperative and sharing activities. This suggests that the influence of early childhood peers interaction can be different for males and females. However Erwin argues that sex differences have been over emphasised and many similarities have been overlooked.

28. Discuss the influence of childhood on adult relationships. (8 marks + 16 marks) Adolescence  is a critical period marked by the increasing importance of friendship and the emergence of romantic relationships. Social learning theory suggests that parents can transfer their idea about opposite sex to their children by the process of modelling. Gray  reported how adolescents who were raised in caring warm families are better prepared for adult relationships. Friendships  at this stage are more important because friends provide a secure base for independent exploration to the adult world. Romantic relationships in this period allow individuals to develop physical and emotional intimacy which then affects adolescence and attitudes to adult relationships. Marsden claims that although romantic relationships have positive benefit, too much dating can have negative consequences. This is supported by Neuman who concluded that romantic dating in teenagers is linked to low academic achievement and antisocial behaviour. One criticism for this is cultural bias , if the social context affects adolescent’s dating then the studies which are based on small sample size cannot be applied universally. 718 words

29. BEST AO1 advice • Don’t try to stuff too much in! • Description is generally easier and often students know a lot about the theories/studies. • Remember the marks are restricted for AO1. • Detail is as important as breadth. • Be brutal in sticking to a 10 minute limit (do all AO1 first?). LESS is sometimes MORE

30. BEST AO2 advice • Top AO2 and IDA paragraphs. • Lead-in sentences • ‘One study that supported this …’ • ‘There are limitations to this approach, for example …’. • ‘However …’ • ‘An alternative approach is …’ • ‘The implications of this theory are …’. Top and bottom your paragraphs. • Bottom • Finish every AO2 paragraph by answering the ‘so what’ question, e.g. ‘This suggests that …’. • Link the critical point back to the AO1 point you are criticising.