evaluation points

Question 1

MSM

Answer 1

• supporting evidence from Peterson and Bahrick et al’s studies
• supporting evidence from Baddeley’s study
• problems with supporting evidence
• supporting research HM
• counterargument HM
• undermining research KF
• undermining evidence from HM (more than 1 type of LTM)

Question 2

WMM

Answer 2

• supporting evidence from KF
• supporting evidence from dual task performance
• supporting evidence from Braver et al
• weakness from cognitive psychologists

Question 3

types of LTM

Answer 3

• supporting evidence from Clive Wearing
• supporting evidence from HM
• supporting evidence from Tulving et al
• weakness from disagreement with 3 types of LTM
• real world application

Question 4

interference theory

Answer 4

• supporting evidence from McGeoch and McDonald
• weakness of supporting evidence
• supporting evidence from Tulving and Psotka
• undermining evidence from idea that forgetting is temporary

Question 5

retrieval failure

Answer 5

• supporting evidence from Godden and Baddeley and Carter and Cassaday
• weakness of supporting research from Baddeley
• real world application
• weakness from idea that forgetting is temporary

Question 6

anxiety affecting EWT

Answer 6

• supporting evidence from Johnson and Scott
• supporting evidence from Yuille and Cutshall
• undermining evidence from Pickel
• weakness- interview after long time
• weakness- participants aware of fake crime
• weakness from ethical concerns

Question 7

misleading info affecting EWT

Answer 7

• supporting evidence from Loftus and Palmer
• supporting evidence from Gabbert et al
• real world applications- leading questions
• weakness of lack of stress
• weakness of demand characteristics
• weakness of consequences
• strength of controlled experiments

Question 8

cognitive interviews

Answer 8

• supporting evidence from Milne and Bull
• weakness of cognitive interview from special training
• weakness of studies of cognitive interview- some use enhanced
• supporting/undermining evidence from Kohnken et al.

Question 9

strengths of Wundt

Answer 9

• Controlled methods: Wundt used standardised procedures and the same stimuli for all participants, increasing internal validity by ensuring responses were due to the stimulus.
• Replicability: The use of consistent procedures made the experiments repeatable, helping to establish psychology as a scientific discipline.
• Modern relevance: Introspection is still useful today; for example, it helped researchers (Griffiths) understand thought patterns in gamblers and develop treatments, supporting its external validity in real-world applications

Question 10

weaknesses of Wundt

Answer 10

• Limited self-awareness: People often don’t know the true causes of their behaviours or attitudes (e.g., implicit racism), so introspection can’t always uncover these unconscious processes, reducing its validity.
• Subjective data: Introspection results varied by person, making it hard to generalize. Also, processes like memory and perception are unobservable, so introspection can’t reliably measure them.
• Watson’s critique: Watson argued that introspection’s focus on unobservable mental processes made it unscientific. He believed psychology should only study what can be directly observed, which led to the rise of behaviourism.

Question 11

strengths of psychology being a science

Answer 11

• Scientific methods provide objective and systematic knowledge, not just passive acceptance.
• They allow for cause-and-effect relationships, which are empirical and replicable.
• Scientific knowledge is self-correcting, refining or abandoning theories when necessary.

Question 12

weaknesses of psychology being a science

Answer 12

• The control required in experiments may create unrealistic situations, not reflecting real-life behaviour.
• Much of psychology studies unobservable phenomena, making accurate measurement difficult.
• Not all psychologists believe human behaviour can be fully explored using scientific methods, particularly those from humanistic perspectives.

Question 13

behaviourism

Answer 13

• supporting evidence from studies
• real world application
• strength from Skinner’s study
• weakness from animals being passive responders
• weakness from determinism

Question 14

SLT

Answer 14

• supporting evidence from Bandura’s study
• weakness from Bandura’s study
• weakness from Bandura’s lab experiment
• strength from believing in controlled conditions
• strength from explaining cultural differences

Question 15

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 15

-It’s a more scientific/objective way of studying people’s mental processes
- Real-world applications for treatments.
- It supports that the brain’s plasticity (that it changes throughout our lives), which supports the role of experience in shaping our brains and therefore supports that our biology is not our destiny i.e. It supports the both sides of the nature-nurture debate.

Question 16

cognitive approach

Answer 16

real world applications
- strength of it being scientific
- limitation of machine reductionism
- limitation of relying on inferences

Question 17

biological approach

Answer 17

• strength from being scientific
• real world applications
• weakness from determinism
• weakness from assuming environment is the same for MZ and DZ twins

Question 18

psychodynamic approach

Answer 18

• real world application of psychoanalysis
• supporting research from Little Hans
• weakness from falsification
• weakness from determinism

Question 19

humanistic approach

Answer 19

• strength from holism
• strength from everyone being unique
• weakness from vague ideas
• weakness from cultural validity

Question 20

deviation from social norms as an explanation of abnormality

Answer 20

• strength from considering desirability of behaviour
• limitation from social norms varying as times change
• limitation from over-reliance on social norms
• limitation suffers from cultural relativism

Question 21

statistical infrequency as a definition of abnormality

Answer 21

• weakness from desirability
• weakness from being culturally relative
• weakness from being labelled as abnormal
• strength from clinical assessment

Question 22

failure to function adequately as an explanation of abnormality

Answer 22

• weakness from psychopaths
• weakness from cultural relativism
• weakness from subjectiveness of judging distress
• strength from including subjective experience of the individual

Question 23

deviation from mental health as an explanation of abnormality

Answer 23

• weakness from cultural relativism
• weakness from criteria being difficult to measure
• weakness from perceptions changing
• strength from comprehension

Question 24

behavioural approach to explaining phobias

Answer 24

• weakness from developing phobias but not having a related bad experience
• supporting evidence from Watson and Rayner
• weakness from explaining behaviour rather than cognitions
• strength from two-process model having good explanatory power

Question 25

flooding to treating phobias

Answer 25

- supporting evidence for effectiveness from being highly effective - weakness of effectiveness from one phobia disappearing and another appearing in its place - weakness of effectiveness from being less effective for more complex phobias - weakness for appropriateness from being traumatic

Question 26

systematic desensitisation to treating phobias

Answer 26

- supporting evidence for effectiveness from research - weakness for effectiveness from one phobia disappearing and another appearing in its place - strength of appropriateness from being suitable for ppl with learning difficulties - strength of appropriateness from patients preferring it

Question 27

cognitive approach to explaining depression

Answer 27

- real world application of both developing CBT - weakness of both from stating that cognitions cause emotions - weakness of Ellis from depression arising without a cause - supporting evidence of Beck from depression associating with the cognitive vulnerabilities

Question 28

CBT

Answer 28

- supporting evidence for effectiveness from research - weakness of effectiveness and appropriateness from focusing on present and future - weakness for effectiveness and appropriateness from living conditions being overlooked - weakness of appropriateness from client not engaging with hard content