England · OCRSyllabus
Psychology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Psychologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Criminal psychology
Module overview →- What do the criminal psychology core studies show about how crime is learned and whether personality predicts delinquency?The criminal psychology core studies: the classic study Cooper and Mackie (1986) on video games and aggression in children, and the contemporary study Heaven (1996) on personality and self-reported delinquency.11 min answer →
- Is there a criminal personality, and can being labelled a criminal make offending more likely?The criminal personality (Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) and the self-fulfilling prophecy: how a label can change behaviour so that the prediction comes true.10 min answer →
- Does punishment work, and how does it differ from rehabilitation in dealing with offenders?The aims of punishment (deterrence, retribution, incapacitation and rehabilitation), how custodial and non-custodial sentences are used, and the psychological evidence on whether punishment reduces reoffending.10 min answer →
- How can psychology be used to reduce and prevent criminal and anti-social behaviour?Applications of criminal psychology: ways of reducing and preventing crime, including the role of token economy programmes, anger management and restorative justice, and how these link to the theories of crime.10 min answer →
- What makes a person behave in a criminal or anti-social way, and is it learned or biological?Theories of criminal and anti-social behaviour: the biological explanation (brain structure, genetics and inherited traits) and the social learning explanation (observation, imitation, modelling, vicarious reinforcement and identification).10 min answer →
Development
Module overview →- What do the development core studies show about how children think and how mindset affects achievement?The development core studies: the classic study Piaget (1952) on the conservation of number, and the contemporary study Blackwell et al. (2007) on mindset and mathematics achievement.11 min answer →
- How is psychology used in the classroom to help children learn?Applications of developmental psychology to education: how Piaget's stage theory and Dweck's mindset theory inform teaching methods, including readiness, discovery learning, praise and intervention programmes.9 min answer →
- How do mindset and the way we are praised affect how well we learn?Dweck's mindset theory: fixed and growth mindsets, the effect of praise (for effort versus ability) on motivation and achievement, and the role of learning and effort in development.9 min answer →
- Is development driven by our genes (nature) or our experiences (nurture), and how does the brain develop?The nature-nurture debate in development, early brain development and the role of maturation, and how genetic and environmental factors interact to shape cognitive and behavioural development.10 min answer →
- How does Piaget explain the way children's thinking develops as they grow?Piaget's theory of cognitive development: schemas, assimilation and accommodation, and the four stages (sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational) with conservation, egocentrism and object permanence.10 min answer →
Memory and sleep and dreaming
Module overview →- What do the memory core studies show about amnesia and how memory can be distorted?The memory core studies: the classic study Wilson et al. (2008) on a patient with severe amnesia (Clive Wearing), and the contemporary study Braun et al. (2002) on how misleading advertising can create false memories.11 min answer →
- What makes memory better or worse, and what happens to memory in amnesia?Factors affecting the accuracy of memory: interference, context and cues, false memories and the effect of leading information, plus amnesia (anterograde and retrograde) and the unreliability of eyewitness testimony.10 min answer →
- Why do we sleep and dream, and what do the main theories say?The features and functions of sleep (the stages of sleep, circadian rhythms and the restoration and evolutionary theories) and theories of dreaming, including Freud's psychoanalytic theory and the activation-synthesis theory.11 min answer →
- What causes sleep disorders like insomnia, and what do the sleep and dreaming core studies show?Sleep disorders (insomnia and narcolepsy) and treatments such as sleep hygiene, plus the sleep and dreaming core studies: the classic study Freud (1918) on the Wolf Man and the contemporary study Williams et al. (1992) on dreaming.11 min answer →
- How is memory structured, and is it a faithful recording or a reconstruction?The structure of memory: the multi-store model (sensory, short-term and long-term memory, with encoding, capacity and duration) and the theory of reconstructive memory (memory as an active, fallible process).11 min answer →
Psychological problems
Module overview →- What causes addiction, and how can it be treated?Addiction: clinical characteristics, the biological explanation (genes and the role of dopamine) and the psychological explanation (learning through reinforcement), and treatments including drug therapy and behavioural approaches such as aversion therapy.10 min answer →
- What do the psychological problems core studies show about the causes of depression?The psychological problems core studies: the classic study Caspi et al. (2003) on the 5-HTT gene and the influence of life stress on depression, and the contemporary study Tandoc et al. (2015) on Facebook use, envy and depression.11 min answer →
- What makes behaviour 'abnormal', and how common are mental health problems?Defining mental health and abnormality, the increasing incidence of mental health problems, the effects of mental health problems on individuals and society, and changing attitudes towards mental health.10 min answer →
- What causes depression, and how can it be treated biologically and psychologically?Depression: clinical characteristics, the biological explanation (genes and neurotransmitters such as serotonin) and the psychological explanation (cognitive, negative thinking), and treatments including antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy.11 min answer →
- What effects do mental health problems have on the individual and society, and how can we reduce their impact?The effects of mental health problems on individuals (relationships, work, physical health) and on society (the economy and healthcare), the role of stigma, and ways of supporting mental health and reducing its impact.9 min answer →
Research methods
Module overview →- How do psychologists summarise and present their data?Types of data (quantitative and qualitative; primary and secondary) and descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), the range, percentages and ratios, and ways of presenting data (tables, bar charts and scatter graphs).11 min answer →
- How do psychologists make sure their research is ethical?Ethical issues and guidelines in psychological research: informed consent, deception, the right to withdraw, protection from harm, confidentiality and debriefing, and how researchers deal with these issues.10 min answer →
- What research methods do psychologists use besides experiments, and how reliable and valid are they?Non-experimental methods: observations, self-report (questionnaires and interviews), case studies and correlations, plus the concepts of reliability and validity used to evaluate all research.10 min answer →
- How do psychologists plan an investigation and design an experiment?Planning research: aims and hypotheses (directional and non-directional, the null hypothesis), experimental methods (laboratory, field and natural experiments), and experimental designs (independent measures, repeated measures and matched pairs).11 min answer →
- How do psychologists choose who to study and control the variables in an experiment?Sampling methods (random, opportunity, systematic, stratified) and variables: independent and dependent variables, operationalisation, extraneous and confounding variables, and controls.10 min answer →
Social influence
Module overview →- How can understanding social influence be used to encourage helpful behaviour and resist harmful pressure?Applications of social influence: how social influence research is used to promote pro-social behaviour and independent behaviour, including how people resist conformity and obedience and the value of dissent and social support.9 min answer →
- Why do people behave differently in a crowd, and what causes collective behaviour like rioting?Collective and crowd behaviour: deindividuation, the effect of being in a crowd on behaviour, social loafing, and explanations of why crowds can behave in pro-social or anti-social ways.10 min answer →
- Why do people conform to a group and obey authority?Conformity and obedience: the difference between them, the main types and reasons for conformity (normative and informational influence), and explanations of obedience to authority.10 min answer →
- What do the social influence core studies show about obedience and the causes of collective behaviour?The social influence core studies: the classic study Bickman (1974) on the social power of a uniform (a situational factor in obedience), and the contemporary study NatCen (2011) on the 2011 English riots (dispositional and situational factors).11 min answer →
- What makes people more or less likely to conform or obey?Factors affecting conformity and obedience: situational factors (group size, anonymity, task difficulty, presence of an ally, locus of authority) and dispositional factors (personality, including locus of control).10 min answer →