AO3

Question 1

a general advantage for animal studies

Answer 1

things can be done to animals that it would be impractical or unethical to do to humans

or

they can be kept in a controlled environment and observed for long periods, perhaps for their entire lives.

Question 2

a general disadvantage of animal studies

Answer 2

problem of generalisability. Even if we accept evolutionary psychology, humans have evolved to be very different from most other animals, perhaps all other animals. Drawing conclusions about human behaviour from observing animals reduces the validity of the study.

Question 3

disadvantage for small/specific sample

Memory (Baddeley), Attachment (Schaffer & Emerson), Social Influence (Asch, Milgram)

Answer 3

The study used a small/specific sample (e.g., American male students), making it difficult to generalise findings to the wider population or different cultures.

Question 4

advantage for lab experiments

almost all cognitive and biological approaches, and early behaviorist research.

Answer 4

The study used highly standardised procedures (e.g., lab experiments), allowing for replication to check for consistency in results.

Question 5

disadvantage:
Nature vs. Nurture

Psychopathology, Gender, Approaches

Answer 5

The theory is too deterministic/reductionist as it focuses only on [biological/environmental] factors, ignoring the opposing side. A better approach is interactionist, such as the diathesis-stress model.

Question 6

disadvantage

Reductionism vs. Holism:

Biological Approach, Behaviorist Approach, Memory.

Answer 6

The theory is overly reductionist, breaking complex behaviours down into simple components (e.g. genes or stimulus-response), thus losing the holistic understanding of human behaviour.

Question 7

disadvantage

Free Will vs. Determinism:

Behaviourist, Psychodynamic, and Biological Approaches.

Answer 7

The theory adopts a deterministic view, suggesting behaviour is controlled by external factors, reducing personal responsibility.

Conversely, a free will perspective argues individuals have conscious control.

Question 8

idiographic vs. Nomothetic:

Psychodynamic Approach (Freud), Case Studies (H.M., KF)

Answer 8

The study uses an idiographic approach (case study) providing deep, in-depth data, but this limits the ability to make general laws of behaviour.

Question 9

ethical issues AO3

• zimbardo
• milgram
• harlow

Answer 9

Studies often violate ethical guidelines, such as deception (Milgram) or psychological harm (Harlow), which makes them difficult to justify and reduces their scientific acceptability today.

Question 10

real world application

Answer 10

A strength of _____ is that it has valuable real-life applications. For instance, it has been used to develop [Therapy/Method], such as [Example]. This means that the theory has high practical value, not just theoretical interest