Comprehensive AQA Psychology Checklist

Social Influence & Memory Foundations

Social influence is everywhere - from copying your mates' fashion choices to following orders from authority figures. You'll need to understand three types of conformity: compliance (going along publicly), identification (copying role models), and internalisation (genuinely changing your mind).

Asch's conformity studies show how people give obviously wrong answers just to fit in with a group. The pressure gets stronger with larger groups, unanimous decisions, and when tasks feel difficult. Meanwhile, Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates how quickly people slip into social roles, even when they're just acting.

Milgram's obedience experiments reveal the shocking extent to which people will harm others when told to by an authority figure. Situational factors like proximity to authority and gradual escalation of demands make obedience more likely than you'd expect.

Key Point: Social influence isn't just about weak-willed people - even strong personalities can be swayed by the right combination of social pressures and situational factors.

Memory Models & Key Studies

Your brain processes information through distinct memory systems that work like a factory line. Sperling's research on sensory memory shows how your brain briefly holds massive amounts of information before most of it disappears within seconds.

The multi-store model explains memory as three separate stores: sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Miller found STM capacity is about 7±2 items, whilst Peterson & Peterson showed STM duration lasts roughly 18 seconds without rehearsal. Baddeley's studies revealed that STM uses acoustic encoding whilst LTM prefers semantic encoding.

Working memory model goes deeper than STM, showing how your central executive coordinates different subsystems. The phonological loop handles sound-based information, whilst the visuo-spatial sketchpad processes visual and spatial data. This explains why you can listen to music whilst doing maths but struggle to follow two conversations simultaneously.

Exam Tip: Remember the specific researchers for each finding - Bahrick showed LTM can last a lifetime, whilst Shepard & Feng demonstrated the visuo-spatial sketchpad through mental rotation tasks.

Forgetting & Eyewitness Testimony

Forgetting isn't just about having a rubbish memory - it's often about interference between different memories competing for space. Underwood and Postman showed how new learning can mess with old memories (retroactive interference) and vice versa (proactive interference).

Retrieval failure explains forgetting through missing cue-dependent triggers. Godden and Baddeley's underwater study proves that matching your learning and recall environments dramatically improves memory performance - context really matters.

Eyewitness testimony is far less reliable than most people think. Loftus and Palmer's car crash experiments demonstrate how misleading information and leading questions can completely alter what people remember. Even post-event discussion between witnesses can contaminate memories, as Gabbert's research shows.

The relationship between anxiety and eyewitness accuracy follows the Yerkes-Dodson Law - moderate anxiety helps focus attention, but extreme stress impairs memory formation. Cognitive interviews can improve eyewitness testimony by using specific techniques to enhance recall without leading the witness.

Real-World Application: These findings have revolutionised police interviewing techniques and highlight why eyewitness testimony alone shouldn't determine court verdicts.

Attachment Theory & Development

Attachment isn't just about cute babies - it's the foundation for all your future relationships. Early caregiver interactions create templates that influence how you connect with others throughout life.

Animal studies provide crucial insights into attachment formation. Lorenz's imprinting research with geese shows critical periods exist for bonding, whilst Harlow's monkey experiments prove that comfort matters more than food for developing secure attachments.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation identifies different attachment styles: secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant. About 65% of children show secure attachment, characterised by using caregivers as a safe base for exploration.

Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that disrupting the mother-child bond during the critical period (first 2.5 years) causes permanent emotional damage. The continuity hypothesis proposes that early attachment experiences create internal working models that shape later relationships - though this isn't set in stone.

Modern Relevance: Understanding attachment styles helps explain adult relationship patterns and informs childcare policies around separation and adoption.

Psychopathology & Research Methods

Mental health conditions affect millions, but defining "abnormal" behaviour is trickier than you'd think. You'll explore different approaches: statistical deviation, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately, and deviation from ideal mental health.

Phobias involve behavioural avoidance, emotional anxiety responses, and cognitive distortions about the feared object. Depression shows itself through reduced activity levels, persistent sadness, and negative thinking patterns. OCD combines compulsive behaviours, anxiety and disgust emotions, plus obsessive thoughts.

Different approaches explain and treat these conditions. The behavioural approach sees phobias as learned through classical conditioning and treats them via systematic desensitisation. Cognitive approaches focus on faulty thinking patterns in depression, using CBT to challenge negative thoughts. Biological approaches to OCD examine neurotransmitter imbalances and genetic factors.

Research methods form psychology's backbone - you'll need to understand experimental designs, sampling techniques, and ethical considerations. The scientific method ensures psychology maintains credibility whilst peer review maintains quality standards.

Career Connection: These research skills transfer to countless careers, from market research to healthcare, making psychology incredibly versatile for your future.

Research Design & Statistical Analysis

Designing solid psychological experiments requires careful control of variables and clear hypothesis formation. You'll distinguish between experimental designs like independent groups, repeated measures, and matched pairs - each with specific advantages and limitations.

Sampling techniques determine how representative your findings are. Random sampling gives everyone equal chances of selection, whilst opportunity sampling is convenient but potentially biased. Ethical issues must be considered throughout - protecting participants' wellbeing matters more than getting interesting results.

Statistical analysis turns raw data into meaningful conclusions. Descriptive statistics like mean and standard deviation summarise your findings, whilst different distribution types reveal patterns in your data. Understanding when data is normally distributed versus skewed affects which statistical tests you can use.

Reliability and validity determine research quality - you need consistent, accurate measurements that actually test what you claim to study. Choosing appropriate statistical tests depends on your data type and research design, whilst significance testing tells you whether findings are likely due to chance.

Practical Skills: These research and analysis skills are essential for your coursework and incredibly valuable for university study in any subject requiring data interpretation.