Overview of Psychological Skills (Edexcel A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes

Overview of Psychological Skills

Introduction to the synoptic approach

This topic differs from other areas of A-Level Psychology as it requires a synoptic approach. Rather than learning new content, students must draw upon existing knowledge from across the entire psychology course to analyse methodological and conceptual issues. The focus is on applying previously learned material—approaches, theories, studies, methodology, and key issues—to new contexts.

The synoptic approach encompasses several key areas:

• Research methods, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and methodological and ethical issues (both human and animal research)
• Analysis of qualitative data through thematic analysis and grounded theory
• Conventions of reporting published research and the peer review process
• Classic studies in psychology alongside novel unseen research
• Issues and debates across all topic areas

Synopticity

Synoptic thinking involves:

• Drawing together knowledge from different topic areas to explain an issue or construct an argument
• Making connections across topics through issues and debates, research methodology, and ethical considerations
• Considering the implications and applications of research for psychology and wider society

Students develop synoptic skills by establishing a solid understanding of general issues, debates, research methodology, and ethical considerations, then practising the application of this understanding across different contexts. The approach focuses on viewing psychology as a collection of general concepts that can be applied to specific topics rather than as discrete, isolated areas of study.

Thinking critically

All psychology exam papers require critical thinking skills, but the synoptic approach particularly emphasises this. Students must analyse and assess unseen material, focusing on:

• Methodology and data analysis
• Review of studies
• Understanding of synoptic issues and debates

Critical thinking skills developed throughout the course are tested through methodology analysis, data interpretation, study evaluation, and application of synoptic issues. This represents a different way of approaching familiar material rather than entirely new information.

History of psychology

Understanding the historical development of each psychological approach provides essential context for theories and studies. The history of psychology reveals how psychological research has contributed to wider knowledge and societal application.

Several synoptic themes have emerged throughout psychology's historical development:

• The endeavour to establish psychology as a scientific discipline
• The emphasis on nature or nurture explanations for behaviour
• The way specific behaviours have been isolated for easier investigation (reductionism)

These historical developments provide the foundation for understanding contemporary psychological research and theory.

Social psychology

Contemporary social psychology developed from folk psychologists, a group working in Germany during the mid-19th century. They observed that an individual's behaviour could be influenced by others around them—a central tenet that remains important in social psychology today.

Experimental social psychology began in the early 20th century when laboratories were established to investigate social behaviour scientifically. Social psychology developed as a distinct sub-discipline alongside specific historical events, such as economic depression and war, which prompted questions requiring answers.

Cognitive psychology

The modern development of cognitive psychology began during the Second World War and throughout the 1950s, marking a cognitive revolution. This shift occurred largely due to growing dissatisfaction with behaviourism, which was the dominant approach in psychology at that time.

During the war, substantial developments in communication and digital computers led psychologists to consider humans as information processors similar to computer processors. As communication follows a flow of information—receiving, processing, and storing—this led to the information-processing approach.

The rise of computers prompted psychologists to consider the human brain as comparable to machines in how both problem-solve and process information. Ulric Neisser published Cognitive Psychology (1967), which formally named the approach. Today, psychologists explore the neural basis of cognition and how cognitive systems are represented biologically in the human brain.

Learning theories

Learning theories are attributable to the behaviourist approach, founded by John Watson. Although concepts associated with behaviourism existed earlier, Watson published Psychology as the Behaviourist Views it (1913), establishing the discipline as a distinct school of thought built on scientific foundations within the natural sciences.

Edward Thorndike developed classical conditioning as an explanation for learning behaviour through operant conditioning and the Law of Effect: any behaviour followed by a negative consequence is unlikely to be repeated, whilst behaviour followed by a positive consequence will likely occur again.

Behaviourism no longer dominates as a separate discipline, but its roots remain firmly established in behavioural therapies, and its strict scientific methodology continues to influence modern psychology.

Biological psychology

The biological approach in psychology emerged as a discipline during the 18th and 19th centuries. Philosopher René Descartes argued that humans and animals operated like machines, except that humans possessed a soul (1648). Early thinkers believed the soul (or mind) existed separately from the body (dualism), whilst biologists proposed that the mind and body were one entity (monism).

This was evidenced by Pierre Paul Broca (1861) when investigating a man who could only say the word 'tan'. Following the man's death, Broca found damage to a specific part of his brain—Broca's area (named after his discovery)—suggesting that mental functions were localised in specific brain regions.

The role of heredity advanced following Charles Darwin's publication On The Origin of Species (1859), suggesting that physical features could be passed through genetic inheritance. Today, biological psychology investigates how many behaviours—such as aggression, dreaming, consciousness, and memory—can be associated with the structure and function of the brain.

Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology is a sub-discipline of biological psychology that explains human behaviour today as a product of evolutionary adaptedness. Following Darwin's writings, Jerome Barkow and colleagues (1992) promoted evolutionary psychology to explain why behaviours that may appear maladaptive today, such as obesity and aggression, are present because of a genome lag: these behaviours were adaptive in our evolutionary past and aided survival, but social conditions have developed faster than our genetic fitness.

Psychodynamic approach

Psychodynamic psychology is largely attributed to Sigmund Freud during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Freud's theories were established from his clinical work with patients suffering from psychological disorders with no apparent physical cause. This led to the development of psychoanalysis as a therapy to treat psychological disorders.

Freud's work was well received by some in America and led to the establishment of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Carl Jung succeeded Freud as director of the Association, although Jung diverged from Freud by developing his own theories of the unconscious and moving away from psychosexual stages of development and parts of the personality.

Anna Freud became an influential figure in British psychology, working with children and influencing the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth into attachment and child development.