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Paper 2: Applications of Psychology - Child psychology option

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do early attachments shape development, and what happens when they are disrupted?

Child psychology: attachment theory (Bowlby) and types (Ainsworth's Strange Situation), the role of the father, deprivation, privation and institutionalisation, day care, cross-cultural research into attachment, autism, and the named studies for the chosen application option.
An Edexcel A-Level Psychology answer to the child psychology application option, covering Bowlby's attachment theory, Ainsworth's Strange Situation and attachment types, the role of the father, deprivation and privation, institutionalisation, day care, cross-cultural attachment (Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg) and autism, with GRAVE evaluation.
15 min answer →

How does psychology explain criminal behaviour or health behaviour, and how can it be applied?

Criminological or health psychology: explanations of the chosen application (offending or health behaviour), biological and social factors, treatments or interventions, and the named application studies.
An Edexcel A-Level Psychology answer to the application option, covering criminological psychology (biological and social explanations of offending, eyewitness testimony, the cognitive interview and treatments) and health psychology (theories of addiction and interventions), with GRAVE evaluation and named application studies.
14 min answer →

How do psychologists decide whether a result is significant, and how do they analyse qualitative data?

Inferential statistics and qualitative analysis: probability and significance, the five Edexcel inferential tests, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, the normal and skewed distributions, and the analysis of qualitative data through thematic analysis and grounded theory.
An Edexcel A-Level Psychology answer to Paper 3 data analysis, covering probability and significance at p < 0.05, the five inferential tests (sign, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Spearman, chi-squared), Type 1 and Type 2 errors, the normal and skewed distributions, and qualitative analysis through thematic analysis and grounded theory.
15 min answer →

What are the major issues and debates that run through psychology?

Issues and debates: nature-nurture, free will and determinism, reductionism and holism, ethics and social control, gender and cultural bias, and the use of psychology in the real world.
An Edexcel A-Level Psychology answer to issues and debates, covering nature-nurture, free will and determinism, reductionism and holism, ethics and social control, gender and cultural bias, GRAVE evaluation and the practical and social implications of psychological research.
14 min answer →

What are the key classic studies, and how are studies evaluated and reviewed?

Key studies and classic research: the named classic studies across topics, how to evaluate studies methodologically and ethically, and reviewing and synthesising research evidence.
An Edexcel A-Level Psychology answer to the key studies and classic research, covering the named classic studies (Milgram, Sherif, Baddeley, Watson and Rayner, Raine, Rosenhan), how to evaluate methodology and ethics with GRAVE, and how to review and synthesise evidence for Paper 3.
14 min answer →