Key term
AQA A-Level Psychology 7182
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Topic overviewCaregiver-infant interactions: reciprocity and interactional synchronySchaffer's stages of attachmentMultiple attachments and the role of the fatherAnimal studies of attachmentExplanations of attachmentAinsworth's Strange Situation and types of attachmentBowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and effects of institutionalisationInfluence of early attachment on relationshipsCultural variations in attachment
Approaches in Psychology
Biopsychology
Topic overviewDivisions of the nervous systemStructure and function of neurons and synaptic transmissionThe endocrine systemThe fight or flight responseWays of studying the brainLocalisation of function and hemispheric lateralisationPlasticity and functional recovery of the brain after traumaBiological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian
Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
Research Methods
Scientific Processes
Topic overviewAims and hypothesesSamplingPilot studiesExperimental designsObservational designQuestionnaire construction and design of interviewsVariablesControlDemand characteristics and investigator effectsEthicsPeer reviewImplications of psychological research for the economyReliabilityValidityFeatures of scienceReporting psychological investigations
Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Topic overviewQuantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniquesPrimary and secondary data, including meta-analysisDescriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersionPresentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar chartsDistributions: normal and skewed distributionsIntroduction to statistical testing; the sign test
Data Handling and Analysis
Inferential Testing
Issues and Debates in Psychology
RelationshipsOption 1
GenderOption 1
Cognition and DevelopmentOption 1
SchizophreniaOption 2
Eating BehaviourOption 2
StressOption 2
AggressionOption 3
Forensic PsychologyOption 3
AddictionOption 3
Explanations for Nicotine AddictionOption 3
Biopsychology
- 8 subtopics
- 31 things to know
- Paper 2
What Biopsychology covers
Biopsychology is the second topic of Paper 2. It covers the structure of the nervous and endocrine systems, how neurons communicate, the fight or flight response, how the brain is organised and studied, how it recovers after injury, and the rhythms that govern the body over time.
The 8 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Divisions of the nervous systemThe central and peripheral divisions, the role of the somatic nervous system, and the contrasting effects of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.Open →
- Structure and function of neurons and synaptic transmissionSensory, relay and motor neurons, the effect of myelination on conduction speed, and the sequence of chemical transmission at a synapse, including excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.Open →
- The endocrine systemThe glands of the endocrine system and the hormones each secretes, and how hormonal communication compares with neural communication.Open →
- The fight or flight responseThe sequence from perceiving a threat to adrenaline release, the physiological changes that prepare the body for action, and why the response is adaptive.Open →
- Ways of studying the brainFunctional magnetic resonance imaging, EEG and event-related potentials as ways of recording activity in the living brain, with the strengths and limitations of each.Open →
- Localisation of function and hemispheric lateralisationThe main cortical areas and what each does, the brain areas responsible for speech production and language understanding, hemispheric lateralisation, and split-brain research by Sperry and Gazzaniga.Open →
- Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after traumaHow the brain reorganises in response to experience, Maguire's taxi driver research, the mechanisms behind recovery after injury, and what affects how fully someone recovers.Open →
- Biological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradianCircadian, infradian and ultradian rhythms, the internal body clock's control of the sleep/wake cycle, and the effect of exogenous zeitgebers and of removing them.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What does the somatic nervous system do?
Key term
Contrast the two branches of the autonomic nervous system.
Key term
What do the three types of neuron each transmit?
Process
Why does a myelinated axon conduct impulses faster?
Process
Outline the sequence of chemical transmission at a synapse.
Key term
How do the two kinds of neurotransmitter differ in their effect?
Key term
What is the endocrine system?
Key term
How does hormonal communication compare with neural communication?
Key term
Which gland secretes which hormone?
Process
Outline the sequence from perceiving a threat to adrenaline release.
Process
What physiological changes prepare the body for action?
Evaluation
Why is the fight or flight response considered adaptive?
Process
How does functional magnetic resonance imaging show brain activity?
Evaluation
Evaluate fMRI as a way of studying the living brain.
Process
What do EEG and event-related potential recordings measure?
Evaluation
What are the strengths and weaknesses of scalp electrical recording?
Evaluation
What can examining the brain after death reveal, and what limits it?
Key term
What is meant by localisation of function?
Key term
Where do the four main cortical areas sit, and what does each do?
Key term
Which brain areas handle speech production and language understanding?
Study
What did split-brain research by Sperry and Gazzaniga involve and find?
Evaluation
How strong is the evidence for localisation of function?
Key term
What is brain plasticity?
Study
What did Maguire's taxi driver study demonstrate?
Process
By what mechanisms does the brain recover function after injury?
Evaluation
What affects how fully someone recovers after brain trauma?
Key term
How do the three lengths of biological rhythm differ?
Process
How does the internal body clock control the sleep/wake cycle?
Key term
What is an exogenous zeitgeber and what does it do?
Study
What happens to the sleep/wake rhythm without external time cues?
Take Biopsychology further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Sympathetic branch vs Parasympathetic branch
Sympathetic branch: the arm of the autonomic system that prepares the body for action under threat. Parasympathetic branch: the arm of the autonomic system that returns the body to rest and conserves energy.
Excitation vs Inhibition
Excitation: a signal that makes the receiving neuron more likely to fire. Inhibition: a signal that makes the receiving neuron less likely to fire.
Endogenous pacemaker vs Exogenous zeitgeber
Endogenous pacemaker: an internal body clock that generates a rhythm from within the organism. Exogenous zeitgeber: an external environmental cue, such as light, that resets a rhythm.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What are the two main divisions of the nervous system?
Model answer
The central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
- 2
Which division of the nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord?
Model answer
The central nervous system.
- 3
What two structures make up the central nervous system?
Model answer
The brain and the spinal cord.
- 4
The brain is a component of which part of the nervous system?
Model answer
The central nervous system.
- 5
The spinal cord belongs to which major division of the nervous system?
Model answer
The central nervous system.
- 6
Which division of the nervous system encompasses all nerves outside the brain and spinal cord?
Model answer
The peripheral nervous system.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Biopsychology revision questions
- What does Biopsychology cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
- 8 subtopics: divisions of the nervous system, structure and function of neurons and synaptic transmission, the endocrine system, the fight or flight response, ways of studying the brain, localisation of function and hemispheric lateralisation, plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma and biological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Biopsychology organised?
- By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Biopsychology, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.