AQA A Level Psychology
AQA A Level Psychology 3.3.4 Cognition and Development Exam Questions
Free AQA A Level Psychology exam questions for 3.3.4 Cognition and Development, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories, Baillargeon's infant research, perspective-taking, theory of mind and the mirror neuron system.
3.3.4 Cognition and Development exam questions
4 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.
StemUp mark scheme flashcards
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.
£15.99View flashcards
About AQA A Level Psychology 3.3.4 Cognition and Development
Cognition and Development is the third Option 1 choice on AQA A Level Paper 3, Issues and Options. It explores how children's thinking develops and how they come to understand other people. You study Piaget's schemas and stages, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and scaffolding, Baillargeon's research on infants' knowledge of the physical world, Selman's levels of perspective-taking, theory of mind including its role in autism, and the mirror neuron system. The topic links to the cognitive approach, to research methods with young children, and to the nature-nurture debate. Examiners often ask about classic tasks such as the three mountains task and the Sally-Anne test.
What you need to know
- Piaget's theory Schemas develop through assimilation and accommodation, driven by equilibration. Stages are sensorimotor (object permanence), pre-operational (egocentrism, lack of conservation and class inclusion), concrete operational and formal operational.
- Piaget's research The three mountains task (Piaget and Inhelder, 1956) tested egocentrism; conservation tasks showed pre-operational children judge by appearance. Critics such as Hughes (policeman doll study) found younger children performed better on more meaningful tasks.
- Vygotsky's theory Learning is social: the more knowledgeable other guides the child through the zone of proximal development, the gap between what a child can do alone and with help. Scaffolding (Wood, Bruner and Ross, 1976) and semiotics and cultural tools are key concepts.
- Baillargeon Baillargeon used the violation of expectation paradigm, where infants look longer at impossible events. Baillargeon and DeVos (1991) found infants as young as 3 to 4 months showed some understanding of object permanence, earlier than Piaget claimed.
- Social cognition Selman described levels of perspective-taking, from undifferentiated to societal. Theory of mind is understanding that others have different beliefs; Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) found 80% of autistic children failed the Sally-Anne false belief task compared with 85% of typically developing children and 86% of children with Down's syndrome who passed.
- Mirror neuron system Mirror neurons fire both when performing an action and when watching another person perform it, possibly underpinning empathy, perspective-taking and theory of mind.
Common mistakes in 3.3.4 Cognition and Development
- Confusing assimilation with accommodation; assimilation adds new information to an existing schema, accommodation changes the schema or creates a new one.
- Treating Piaget's ages as fixed; they are approximate and later research shows earlier abilities.
- Writing that the ZPD is what a child can do alone; it is what they can do with support but not yet independently.
- Describing Baillargeon's studies as testing whether infants reach for hidden objects; she used looking time, not reaching.
- Saying autistic children failed the Sally-Anne test because of low intelligence; the comparison group with Down's syndrome had lower mental age but mostly passed.
Try three 3.3.4 Cognition and Development exam-style questions
1. Explain what is meant by the zone of proximal development. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
The gap between what a child can achieve on their own and what they can achieve with help from a more knowledgeable other; learning takes place in this zone when instruction is pitched just beyond current ability.
2. Outline the violation of expectation research method used by Baillargeon. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Infants are shown a possible event and an impossible event; the researcher measures looking time to each; if infants look longer at the impossible event, this suggests they are surprised because their expectations about the physical world have been violated; e.g. in the carrot study a tall carrot did not appear in a window.
3. Describe the Sally-Anne study as evidence for theory of mind. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Baron-Cohen et al. (1985) tested autistic children, typically developing children and children with Down's syndrome; Sally puts a marble in her basket and leaves, Anne moves it to her box; children are asked where Sally will look for the marble; the correct answer requires understanding Sally's false belief; 80% of autistic children failed, while 85% of typically developing and 86% of Down's syndrome children passed.
3.3.4 Cognition and Development FAQs
What does AQA A Level Psychology Cognition and Development cover?
It covers Piaget's theory and stages, Vygotsky's theory, Baillargeon's explanation of early infant abilities, the development of social cognition including Selman's levels of perspective-taking and theory of mind, and the mirror neuron system.
Which paper is Cognition and Development examined in?
Cognition and Development is an option in Section B (Option 1) of AQA A Level Paper 3, Issues and Options in Psychology.
Which tasks and studies should I learn for Cognition and Development?
Learn the three mountains task, conservation and class inclusion tasks, Hughes' policeman doll study, Wood, Bruner and Ross on scaffolding, Baillargeon and DeVos (1991) and Baron-Cohen et al. (1985).
