Specification points

Edexcel International AS and A level Psychology XPS01/YPS01

231 points in 4 topics, with Edexcel's codes and titles.

Codes and titles are read by a script from Edexcel's published specification and have not been checked by a person. What each point covers is in the specification itself: Edexcel’s specification.

U1 Social and cognitive psychology

1 Topic A: Social psychology
1.1 Content
1.1.1 Theories of obedience, including agency theory and social power theory
1.1.2 Milgram's research into obedience and its variations
1.1.3 Factors affecting obedience and resistance
1.1.4 Types and explanations of conformity
1.1.5 Research into conformity including Asch (1951) and his variation studies (1952, 1956)
1.1.6 Minority influence (Moscovici, 1976)
1.1.7 Factors affecting conformity and minority influence
1.2 Research methods
1.2.1 Designing and conducting questionnaires and interviews, considering researcher effects
1.2.2 Primary and secondary data
1.2.3 Unstructured, semi-structured and structured interviews, open, closed (including ranked scale) questions
1.2.4 Alternative hypotheses
1.2.5 Random, stratified, volunteer, and opportunity sampling techniques
1.2.6 Analysis of quantitative data (List A)
1.2.7 Normal and skewed distribution
1.2.8 Analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis
1.2.9 BPS code of ethics and conduct
1.3 Studies
1.3.1 Moscovici et al. (1969): minority influence
1.3.2 Burger (2009): replicating Milgram
1.3.3 Huang et al. (2014): duration of conformity
1.3.4 Haun et al. (2014): conformity in children and great apes
1.4 Practical investigation
1.4.1 Practical research exercise in social psychology
2 Topic B: Cognitive psychology
2.1 Content
2.1.1 The multi-store model of memory
2.1.2 The working memory model
2.1.3 Reconstructive memory (Bartlett, 1932), including schema theory
2.2 Research methods
2.2.1 Designing and conducting experiments, including field and laboratory experiments
2.2.2 Independent and dependent variables
2.2.3 Experimental and null hypotheses
2.2.4 Directional (one-tailed) and non-directional (two-tailed) tests and hypotheses
2.2.5 Experimental and research designs
2.2.6 Operationalisation of variables, extraneous variables and confounding variables
2.2.7 The use of control groups, counterbalancing, randomisation and order effects
2.2.8 Situational and participant variables
2.2.9 Objectivity, reliability and validity (internal, predictive and ecological)
2.2.10 Experimenter effects, demand characteristics and control issues
2.2.11 Quantitative data analysis (List A)
2.2.12 Inferential statistics (List B)
2.2.13 Case studies of brain-damaged patients, including HM
2.3 Studies
2.3.1 Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts
2.3.2 Schmolck et al. (2002): semantic knowledge in patient HM
2.3.3 Darling et al. (2007): visuo-spatial working memory
2.3.4 Sacchi et al. (2007): doctored photographs and memory
2.4 Practical investigation
2.4.1 Practical research exercise in cognitive psychology

U2 Biological psychology, learning theories and development

3 Topic C: Biological psychology
3.1 Content
3.1.1 The central nervous system and neurotransmitters in behaviour
3.1.2 Brain structure and aggression
3.1.3 The role of, and research into hormones and genes in aggression
3.1.4 Internal pacemakers, zeitgebers and the sleep-wake cycle
3.1.5 Infradian rhythms and light therapy
3.1.6 Research into the circadian sleep-wake cycle and infradian rhythms
3.2 Research methods
3.2.1 The use of the correlational research method in psychology, including co-variables
3.2.2 Types of correlation
3.2.3 Issues with correlations in psychology
3.2.4 Spearman's rank test (List B)
3.2.5 Brain-scanning techniques
3.2.6 The use of twin studies to investigate genetic relatedness and aggression
3.2.7 Quantitative data analysis (List A)
3.3 Studies
3.3.1 Raine et al. (1997): brain abnormalities in murderers
3.3.2 Brendgen et al. (2005): genes, environment and social aggression
3.3.3 McDermott (2008) Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) predicts behavioural aggression following provocation
3.3.4 Hoefelmann et al. (2006): sleep behaviours of high school learners
3.4 Practical investigation
3.4.1 Practical research exercise in biological psychology
4 Topic D: Learning theories and development
4.1 Content
4.1.1 Classical conditioning
4.1.2 Operant conditioning
4.1.3 Social learning theory
4.1.4 The psychodynamic approach to personality development
4.1.5 Systematic desensitisation
4.1.6 Psychoanalysis
4.2 Research methods
4.2.1 The observational research method
4.2.2 Types of observation
4.2.3 Content analysis
4.2.4 Freud's use of the case study as a research method
4.2.5 Quantitative data analysis (List A)
4.2.6 Analysis of qualitative data using thematic analysis
4.2.7 Chi-squared test (List B)
4.2.8 Animal research and ethics
4.3 Studies
4.3.1 Watson and Rayner (1920): Little Albert
4.3.2 Capafóns et al. (1998): systematic desensitisation for fear of flying
4.3.3 Prot (2014) Long-Term Relations Among Prosocial-Media Use, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior
4.3.4 Bastian et al. (2011): violent video games and dehumanisation
4.4 Practical investigation
4.4.1 Two observations

U3 Applications of psychology

5 Topic E: Developmental psychology
5.1 Content
5.1.1 Theories of attachment
5.1.2 Ainsworth’s work on attachment including types of attachment and care giver sensitivity
5.1.3 Theories of cognitive development
5.1.4 Theories of social and emotional development
5.2 Studies
5.2.1 Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988): cross-cultural patterns of attachment
5.2.2 Cassibba et al. (2013): attachment in Italy
5.2.3 Ashdown and Bernard (2012): social and emotional learning
5.2.4 Ding et al. (2014): infant attachment and later development
5.3 Research methods
5.3.1 Research methods in developmental psychology
5.3.2 Cross-cultural research
5.3.3 Ethics and the UNCRC (1989)
5.3.4 Decision making and interpretation of data
5.3.5 Evaluation of research in developmental psychology
5.4 Issues and debates
5.4.1 Ethical issues in research (animal and human)
5.4.2 Practical issues in research design and implementation
5.4.3 Reductionism versus holism when researching human behaviour
5.4.4 Ways of explaining behaviour using different approaches, models or theories
5.4.5 The issue of psychology as a science
5.4.6 Cultural and gender issues in psychological research
5.4.7 The role of both nature and nurture in psychology
5.4.8 How psychology has developed over time
5.4.9 The use of psychology in social control
5.4.10 The use of psychological knowledge in society
5.4.11 Issues relating to socially sensitive research
6 Topic F: Criminological psychology
6.1 Content
6.1.1 Social and personality explanations for crime and anti-social behaviour
6.1.2 Cognitive interview techniques with witnesses
6.1.3 Case formulation and the function of offending
6.1.4 Factors influencing the reliability of eye-witness memory
6.1.5 Factors influencing jury decision-making
6.1.6 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as a therapy for offenders
6.2 Studies
6.2.1 Loftus and Palmer (1974): language and memory
6.2.2 Bradbury and Williams (2013): race and juror decisions
6.2.3 Ruva, McEvoy and Bryant (2007): pre-trial publicity and jury bias
6.2.4 Valentine and Mesout (2009): eyewitness identification under stress
6.3 Research methods
6.3.1 Research methods in criminological psychology
6.3.2 Ethical guidelines
6.3.3 Decision making and interpretation of data
6.3.4 Evaluation of research in criminological psychology
7 Topic G: Health psychology
7.1 Content
7.1.1 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis
7.1.2 Cortisol — the stress hormone
7.1.3 Brain regions associated with stress, including hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex
7.1.4 Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), including the alarm reaction
7.1.5 Life events and daily hassles including the Holmes and Rahe stress scale
7.1.6 Individual differences including, personality traits, Type A personality and links to stress
7.1.7 Social support including family, friends and community
7.1.8 Appraisal-focusing, problem-focusing, emotion-focusing
7.1.9 Positive and negative techniques
7.1.10 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
7.1.11 Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
7.1.12 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders and effectiveness of such treatment
7.2 Studies
7.2.1 Brady (1958) Ulcers in executive monkeys
7.2.2 Nakonz and Shik (2009): religious coping among migrant workers
7.2.3 Avdagic et al. (2014): ACT and CBT for generalised anxiety
7.2.4 Russell et al. (2015): adolescent coping assessment
7.3 Research methods
7.3.1 Research methods in health psychology
7.3.2 Non-human animals in psychology experiments
7.3.3 Decision making and interpretation of data
7.3.4 Evaluation of research in health psychology

U4 Clinical psychology and psychological skills

8 Topic H: Clinical psychology
8.1 Content
8.1.1 Definitions of abnormality
8.1.2 Classification systems
8.1.3 Debates in diagnosis
8.1.4 Schizophrenia
8.1.5 Unipolar depression or anorexia nervosa
8.1.6 Therapy for schizophrenia
8.1.7 Therapy for unipolar depression OR anorexia nervosa
8.2 Studies
8.2.1 Rosenhan (1973) On being sane in insane places
8.2.2 Suzuki et al. (2014): undernutrition in inpatients with schizophrenia
8.2.3 Hans and Hiller (2013): outpatient CBT for depression
8.2.4 Ma, Quan and Liu (2014): social support, self-evaluation and depression
8.2.5 Becker et al. (2002): television and eating in Fijian girls
8.2.6 Reichel et al. (2014): reactions to emaciated body pictures
8.3 Research methods
8.3.1 Research methods in clinical psychology
8.3.2 Conventions of published research and peer review
8.3.3 HCPC guidelines for clinical practitioners
8.3.4 Decision making and interpretation of data
8.3.5 Evaluation of research in clinical psychology
8.4 Practical Investigation
8.4.1 Content analysis of attitudes to mental health
9 Topic I: Psychological skills
9.1 Research methods
9.1.1 Types of data
9.1.2 Sampling techniques
9.1.3 Experimental and research designs
9.1.4 Types of hypothesis
9.1.5 Questionnaires and interviews
9.1.6 Laboratory and field experiments
9.1.7 Observations
9.1.8 Correlation research
9.1.9 Additional research methods and techniques
9.1.10 Control issues in research
9.1.11 Descriptive statistics (List A)
9.1.12 Inferential statistics (List B)
9.1.13 Methodological issues
9.1.14 Analysis of qualitative data — thematic analysis
9.1.15 Conventions of published research and peer review
9.1.16 Ethical issues in research with humans
9.1.17 Ethical issues in research with animals
9.2 Key questions in society
9.2.1 Key questions for society
9.3 Issues and debates
9.3.1 Ethical issues in research (animal and human)
9.3.2 Practical issues in research design and implementation
9.3.3 Reductionism versus holism when researching human behaviour
9.3.4 Ways of explaining behaviour using different approaches, models or theories
9.3.5 The issue of psychology as a science
9.3.6 Cultural and gender issues in psychological research
9.3.7 The role of both nature and nurture in psychology
9.3.8 How psychology has developed over time
9.3.9 The use of psychology in social control
9.3.10 The use of psychological knowledge in society
9.3.11 Issues relating to socially sensitive research