Specification

Caregiver-infant interactions in humans:

·       Reciprocity

·       Interactional synchrony

Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer

Multiple attachments and the role of the father

Animal studies of attachment:

·       Lorenz

·       Harlow

Explanations of attachment:

·       Learning theory

·       Bowlby’s monotropic theory

The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’

Types of attachment:

·       Secure

·       Insecure-avoidant

·       Insecure-resistant

Cultural variations in attachment, including Van Ljzendoorn

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation

The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model

Definitions of abnormality:

·      Deviation from social norms

·      failure to function adequately,

·      statistical infrequency

·      deviation from ideal mental health

Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias.

Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression.

Behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD

Behavioural approach to explaining phobias:

two-way process model,

classical and operant conditioning

Behavioural approach to treating phobias:

systematic desensitisation,

flooding

Cognitive approach to explaining depression:

Beck's negative triad

Ellis's ABC model

Cognitive approach to treating depression:

CBT

Biological approach to explaining OCD:

genetic and neural explanations

Biological approach to treating OCD:

drug therapy

Origins of Psychology:

·       Wundt,

·       Introspection

·       The emergence of Psychology as a science

The basic assumptions of the following approaches:

Learning approaches- the behaviourist approach, including:

·       Classical conditioning and Pavlov’s research

·       Operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner’s research

·       Social learning theory including imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious reinforcement, the role of mediational processes and Bandura’s research

The cognitive approach:

·       The study of internal mental processes

·       The role of schema

·       The use of theoretical and computer models to explain and make inferences about mental processes.

·       The emergence of cognitive neuroscience.

The biological approach:

·       The influence of genes- Genotype and Phenotype

·       Genetic basis of behaviour

·       Evolution and behaviour

·       Biological structures

·       Neurochemistry on behaviour

The psychodynamic approach:

·       The role of the unconscious

·       The structure of personality, that is Id, Ego and Superego

·       Defence mechanisms including repression, denial and displacement

·       Psychosexual stages

Humanistic Psychology:

·       Free will

·       Self-actualisation

·       Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

·       Focus on the self

·       Congruence

·       The role of conditions of worth

·       The influence on counselling Psychology

Comparison of approaches

Research Methods and Experimental Designs

Experimental method. Types of experiment, laboratory and field experiments; natural and quasi-experiments

Observational techniques. Types of observation: naturalistic and controlled observation; covert and overt observation; participant and non-participant observation.

Self-report techniques. Questionnaires; interviews, structured and unstructured.

Content analysis

Case studies.

Scientific Processes

Aims: stating aims, the difference between aims and hypotheses.

Hypotheses: directional and non-directional.

Sampling: the difference between population and sample; sampling techniques including: random, systematic, stratified, opportunity and volunteer; implications of sampling techniques, including bias and generalisation.

Pilot studies and the aims of piloting.

Experimental designs: repeated measures, independent groups, matched pairs.

Observational design: behavioural categories; event sampling; time sampling.

Questionnaire construction, including use of open and closed questions; design of interviews.

Variables: manipulation and control of variables, including independent, dependent, extraneous, confounding; operationalisation of variables.

Control: random allocation and counterbalancing, randomisation and standardisation.

Demand characteristics and investigator effects.

Ethics, including the role of the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics; ethical issues in the design and conduct of psychological studies; dealing with ethical issues in research.

The role of peer review in the scientific process.

The implications of psychological research for the economy.

Reliability across all methods of investigation. Ways of assessing reliability: test-retest and inter-observer; improving reliability.

Types of validity across all methods of investigation: face validity, concurrent validity, ecological validity and temporal validity. Assessment of validity. Improving validity.

Features of science: objectivity and the empirical method; replicability and falsifiability; theory construction and hypothesis testing; paradigms and paradigm shifts.

Reporting psychological investigations. Sections of a scientific report: abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and referencing

Data Handling and Analysis

Quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques.

Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis.

Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency – mean, median, mode; calculation of mean, median and mode; measures of dispersion; range and standard deviation; calculation of range; calculation of percentages; positive, negative and zero correlations.

Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar charts, histograms.

Distributions: normal and skewed distributions; characteristics of normal and skewed distributions.

Analysis and interpretation of correlation, including correlation coefficients.

Levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal and interval.

Content analysis and coding. Thematic analysis

Inferential Testing

Introduction to statistical testing; the sign test.

Probability and significance: use of statistical tables and critical values in interpretation of significance; Type I and Type II errors.

Factors affecting the choice of statistical test, including level of measurement and experimental design. When to use the following tests: Spearman’s rho, Pearson’s r, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, related t-test, unrelated t-test and Chi-Squared test.

Gender and culture in psychology including universality and bias.

Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and beta bias.

Cultural bias, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Free will and determinism:

·      hard determinism and soft determinism;

·      biological, environmental and psychic determinism.

·      The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.

The nature-nurture debate:

·      the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour;

·      the interactionist approach.

Holism and reductionism:

·      levels of explanation in psychology.

·      Biological reductionism and environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism.

Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.

Ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity.

Gender and culture in psychology including universality and bias.

Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and beta bias.

Cultural bias, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Free will and determinism:

·      hard determinism and soft determinism;

·      biological, environmental and psychic determinism.

·      The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.

The nature-nurture debate:

·      the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour;

·      the interactionist approach.

Holism and reductionism:

·      levels of explanation in psychology.

·      Biological reductionism and environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism.

Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.

Ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity.

Classification of schizophrenia:

·       Positive symptoms of schizophrenia, including hallucinations and delusions

·       Negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including speech poverty and avolition

Reliability and validity in diagnosis and classification of schizophrenia, including:

·       Co-morbidity

·       Culture bias

·       Gender bias

·       Symptom overlap

Biological explanations for schizophrenia:

·       Genetics

·       The dopamine hypothesis

·       Neural correlates

Psychological explanations for schizophrenia:

·       Family dysfunction

·       Cognitive explanations, including dysfunctional thought processing

Drug therapy:

·       Typical antipsychotics

·       Atypical antipsychotics

Cognitive behaviour therapy and family therapy as used in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Token economies as used in the management of schizophrenia

The importance of an interactionist approach in explaining and treating schizophrenia

The diathesis stress model

Offender profiling: top-down approach

Offender profiling: Bottom-up approach - investigative psychology and geographical profiling

Biological explanations: Atavistic form.

Biological explanations: Genetics and neural explanations

Psychological explanations: Eysenck's theory of the criminal personality.

Psychological explanations: Cognitive explanations (moral reasoning, attribution).

Psychological explanations: Differential association theory.

Psychological explanations: Psychodynamic explanations

Dealing with offender behaviour: Aims of custodial sentencing and its effects.  Recidivism.

Dealing with offender behaviour: Behaviour modification,

5. Dealing with offender behaviour: Anger management

5. Dealing with offender behaviour: Restorative justice programmes