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Psychology (YPS01)
9 sections available · 56 chapters available
Free Psychology (YPS01) study notes for Pearson Edexcel International A Level students. Each chapter below covers a key topic with worked examples and practice prompts you can take into the thinka app.
Unit 1: Social and cognitive psychology (Topics A-B)
Obedience: theories and Milgram's research
Conformity: types, explanations and Asch
Minority influence and factors affecting social influence
Multi-store model of memory
Working memory model
Reconstructive memory and schema theory
Brain-damaged patients and memory (HM)
Prescribed studies: social and cognitive psychology
Unit 2: Biological psychology (Topic C)
CNS, neurons and neurotransmitters
Brain structure and aggression
Hormones, genes and twin studies of aggression
Circadian and infradian rhythms
Brain-scanning techniques (CAT, PET, fMRI)
Prescribed studies: biological psychology
Unit 2: Learning theories and development (Topic D)
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning and reinforcement
Social learning theory
Psychodynamic approach to personality development
Therapies: systematic desensitisation and psychoanalysis
Prescribed studies: learning theories and development
Unit 3: Developmental psychology (Topic E)
Theories of attachment, deprivation and privation
Ainsworth, attachment types and the Strange Situation
Cognitive and language development
Social and emotional development
Research with children: cross-cultural methods and ethics
Prescribed studies: developmental psychology
Unit 3 option: Criminological psychology (Topic F)
Explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour
Understanding the offender: cognitive interview and case formulation
Eye-witness memory and identification
Jury decision-making
CBT as a treatment for offenders
Prescribed studies: criminological psychology
Unit 3 option: Health psychology (Topic G)
Physiology of stress and the HPA axis
Factors affecting stress
Coping strategies
Treatment and therapy for anxiety
Prescribed studies: health psychology
Unit 4: Clinical psychology (Topic H)
Definitions of abnormality and classification systems
Debates in diagnosis: culture, reliability and validity
Schizophrenia: symptoms and explanations
Unipolar depression or anorexia nervosa
Treatments and therapies for mental disorders
Research methods in clinical psychology
Prescribed studies: clinical psychology
Research methods and statistics
Experiments, variables and design
Self-report methods and sampling
Observations, content analysis and case studies
Correlational research
Descriptive statistics (List A)
Inferential statistics (List B)
Validity, reliability and methodological issues
Ethics in research with humans and animals
Unit 4: Psychological skills and synoptic issues (Topic I)
Issues and debates across psychology
Key questions for society
Conventions of published research and peer review
Synoptic evaluation of studies and theories
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