Study
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
Forensic Psychology
- 4 subtopics
- 20 things to know
- Paper 3
- Paper 3, one topic chosen from the third option block
What Forensic Psychology covers
Forensic Psychology is an optional topic for Paper 3. It covers how offenders are profiled, biological and psychological explanations of offending, and the ways offending behaviour is dealt with through custodial sentencing and behaviour change programmes.
The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Offender profilingThe FBI typology approach with its organised and disorganised categories, and the investigative psychology approach developed as an alternative.Open →
- Biological explanations of offending behaviourLombroso's atavistic form and its evaluation, twin and adoption evidence for inherited criminality, and the brain differences linked to violent offending.Open →
- Psychological explanations of offending behaviourEysenck's personality dimensions and their link to offending, Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning, and cognitive distortions.Open →
- Dealing with offending behaviourThe four aims of custodial sentencing and its psychological effects, token economy programmes in prisons, and the three stages of anger management.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What does the typology approach expect of an organised offender?
Key term
What does the typology approach expect of a disorganised offender?
Who and when
What is investigative psychology and who proposed it?
Process
How does geographical profiling narrow down where an offender lives?
Who and when
What did Lombroso claim about the origins of criminality?
Evaluation
Evaluate the atavistic form explanation of offending.
Key term
How do twin and adoption studies test inherited criminality?
Key term
Which brain differences have been linked to violent offending?
Evaluation
Why are biological explanations of offending judged incomplete?
Who and when
Which personality dimensions did Eysenck link to offending?
Key term
Define Eysenck's three personality dimensions.
Process
How does Kohlberg's moral development relate to offending?
Key term
What are cognitive distortions, and give two examples.
Who and when
What did Sutherland propose about how offending is learned?
Key term
Name and explain the four aims of custodial sentencing.
Evaluation
What psychological harms and outcomes follow imprisonment?
Process
How does a prison token economy change behaviour?
Process
Describe the three stages of anger management for offenders.
Key term
What is restorative justice and what does it aim to achieve?
Take Forensic Psychology further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Marauder vs Commuter
Marauder: an offender who works within a defined area around a home base and returns there. Commuter: an offender who travels away from the home area to offend and then goes back.
Prisonisation vs Institutionalisation
Prisonisation: adopting the norms, values and behaviour of prison culture, raising antisocial attitudes. Institutionalisation: becoming dependent on the daily regime and unable to function independently outside.
Individual deterrence vs General deterrence
Individual deterrence: discouraging the punished offender from reoffending through their own experience of custody. General deterrence: discouraging the wider public from crime by making an example of one offender.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the typology approach to offender profiling?
Model answer
A method that classifies offenders into distinct types based on crime scene characteristics and offender behaviour patterns.
- 2
How was the typology approach to offender profiling developed?
Model answer
It was developed by the FBI from interviews with 36 convicted sexually motivated murderers in the USA.
- 3
What does the crime scene of an organised offender reveal about planning?
Model answer
Evidence of planning the crime is present.
- 4
How do organised offenders select their victims?
Model answer
They use targeted victim selection rather than choosing victims randomly.
- 5
What is characteristic of an organised offender's approach to weapons?
Model answer
They bring a weapon to the scene rather than using one found there.
- 6
What typically happens to the victim's body at an organised offender's crime scene?
Model answer
The body is likely to be removed or hidden from the scene.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Forensic Psychology revision questions
- What does Forensic Psychology cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
- 4 subtopics: offender profiling, biological explanations of offending behaviour, psychological explanations of offending behaviour and dealing with offending behaviour. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Forensic Psychology organised?
- By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Forensic Psychology, 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.
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