AQA A Level Psychology
AQA A Level Psychology 3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology Exam Questions
Free AQA A Level Psychology exam questions for 3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers the origins of psychology, learning approaches, the cognitive, biological, psychodynamic and humanistic approaches and comparing approaches.
3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology exam questions
7 question packs of real past exam questions, each with its mark scheme. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can without notes, then mark every answer with the mark scheme. The more questions you do, the more quickly you will spot how examiners ask about each idea.
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A-Level Psychology Flashcards for 2027 Onwards
Every answer is written in mark scheme wording, so you learn exactly what examiners give marks for. Then test yourself with the questions on this page.
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About AQA A Level Psychology 3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology
Approaches in Psychology is the first topic on AQA A Level Paper 2, Psychology in Context. It traces psychology from Wundt's introspection to the different ways psychologists explain behaviour today. You learn the behaviourist approach and social learning theory, the cognitive approach and cognitive neuroscience, the biological approach, Freud's psychodynamic approach and the humanistic approach of Maslow and Rogers, then compare them. Approaches underpin almost every other topic: psychopathology, attachment, aggression and gender all apply these explanations. Examiners test key concepts precisely, ask you to apply them to scenarios, and set extended questions comparing two approaches on issues such as determinism and reductionism.
What you need to know
- Origins of psychology Wundt opened the first psychology lab in Leipzig in 1879 and used introspection, a systematic analysis of conscious experience. Psychology later emerged as a science through behaviourism, cognitive psychology and biological approaches.
- Learning approaches Behaviourism covers classical conditioning (Pavlov's dogs) and operant conditioning (Skinner: positive and negative reinforcement, punishment). Social learning theory (Bandura) adds imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement and mediational processes: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
- Cognitive approach Studies internal mental processes indirectly through inference, using theoretical and computer models and schemas. Cognitive neuroscience links mental processes to brain structures using scanning techniques.
- Biological approach Behaviour is explained by genes, neurochemistry, brain structure and evolution. Key terms include genotype and phenotype, and twin studies compare concordance rates in MZ and DZ twins.
- Psychodynamic approach Freud proposed the role of the unconscious, the tripartite personality (id, ego, superego), defence mechanisms (repression, denial, displacement) and psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital.
- Humanistic approach Emphasises free will and self-actualisation. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Rogers' concepts of self, congruence and conditions of worth, and client-centred therapy.
Common mistakes in 3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology
- Calling negative reinforcement a form of punishment; negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant and increases a behaviour.
- Listing the mediational processes without explaining that attention and retention concern learning, while reproduction and motivation concern performance.
- Describing the ego as the moral part of personality; that is the superego, while the ego works on the reality principle and mediates.
- Writing that the cognitive approach studies the mind directly; it uses inference from observable behaviour.
- In comparison questions, describing each approach separately instead of making direct points of similarity and difference.
Try three 3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology exam-style questions
1. Explain what is meant by vicarious reinforcement. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Learning that occurs by observing a model's behaviour being rewarded; the observer is then more likely to imitate that behaviour, even though they were not directly reinforced themselves.
2. Outline Freud's psychosexual stages of development. (4 marks)
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Children pass through five stages, each with a different conflict that must be resolved; oral (0 to 1 year, focus on the mouth); anal (1 to 3 years, focus on the anus and retaining or expelling faeces); phallic (3 to 6 years, Oedipus or Electra complex); latency (earlier conflicts repressed); genital (puberty, sexual desires become conscious); unresolved conflict leads to fixation.
3. Distinguish between genotype and phenotype. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Genotype is a person's actual genetic make-up; phenotype is the way genes are expressed through physical, behavioural and psychological characteristics, which is influenced by the environment; for example MZ twins share a genotype but may differ in phenotype.
3.2.1 Approaches in Psychology FAQs
What does AQA A Level Psychology Approaches cover?
It covers the origins of psychology, behaviourism and social learning theory, the cognitive approach and cognitive neuroscience, the biological approach, the psychodynamic approach, humanistic psychology and comparing the approaches.
Which paper is Approaches in Psychology examined in?
Approaches is examined on AQA A Level Paper 2, Psychology in Context, together with Biopsychology and Research Methods.
How should I revise comparison of approaches?
Make a grid with each approach against views on development, nature-nurture, reductionism, determinism and explanation and treatment of abnormal behaviour, then practise writing direct comparisons rather than separate descriptions.
