WJEC A-Level Psychology Unit 2 Psychology: Using Psychological Concepts: a deep dive on debates, research methods and core studies

What Unit 2 actually demands

Psychology: Using Psychological Concepts puts the approaches to work. It has two sections: Section A contemporary debates, where you argue both sides of a current issue using the five approaches; and Section B research methods, where you show you can design, evaluate and reason about studies. The unit also names two pieces of core research, Milgram (1963) and Kohlberg (1968), that supply evidence and examples.

This guide maps the two sections and the core studies, then sets out the exam patterns WJEC repeats. Each topic has a matching dot-point page with practice questions; this overview ties them together.

Section A: contemporary debates

A debate question is an argument, not a description. You state the debate, argue for and against using the approaches and evidence, and reach a justified conclusion. WJEC's named debates include the ethics of neuroscience (biological), the importance of mothering (psychodynamic and attachment), conditioning children (behaviourist), the reliability of eyewitness testimony (cognitive), and the value of positive psychology (positive). Naming the approach behind each point shows the synoptic thinking the mark scheme rewards.

Section B: research methods

The research-methods content is the toolkit of scientific psychology:

• Hypotheses. Directional (one-tailed), non-directional (two-tailed) and the null.
• Variables. Independent and dependent variables, operationalisation, and the control of extraneous and confounding variables.
• Methods. Laboratory, field and natural experiments; observation, self-report and correlation.
• Experimental designs. Independent groups, repeated measures (with counterbalancing) and matched pairs.
• Sampling. Random, opportunity, volunteer, systematic and stratified.
• Reliability and validity. Consistency and accuracy, with ways to assess and improve each.
• Ethics. Consent, deception, protection from harm, confidentiality and the right to withdraw.

This content is revisited and extended in Unit 4, so build it firmly here.

The core studies

Milgram (1963) tested obedience: 40 men gave what they believed were shocks up to 450 volts on the orders of an experimenter, and 65 percent obeyed to the maximum, showing situational pressure can produce destructive obedience. Kohlberg (1968) studied moral development using moral dilemmas (the Heinz dilemma) and proposed three levels (pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional), each with two stages, through which moral reasoning develops. Both are landmark studies and both face ethical and bias criticisms.

How Unit 2 is examined

AS Unit 2 is a 1 hour 30 minute written paper worth 80 marks (20 percent of the A level). A typical profile:

• A contemporary debate. An extended question requiring arguments for and against and a conclusion, drawing on the approaches.
• Research-methods questions. Writing and operationalising hypotheses, identifying variables and designs, choosing and evaluating sampling, and explaining reliability, validity and ethics, often built around a described study.
• Core-study questions. Describing and evaluating Milgram or Kohlberg.

Check your knowledge

A mix of debate, methods and core-study questions. Attempt them under timed conditions, then check against the solutions.

1. Name the two sections of Unit 2. (2 marks)
2. Write a non-directional hypothesis for a study on the effect of music on concentration. (2 marks)
3. Identify the experimental design that uses different participants matched on key variables. (1 mark)
4. State two ethical guidelines a psychologist must follow. (2 marks)
5. Outline the structure of a good contemporary debate answer. (3 marks)
6. Describe the procedure of Milgram's (1963) study. (4 marks)
7. Name Kohlberg's six stages by level. (3 marks)
8. Explain one weakness of opportunity sampling. (2 marks)