Paper 1

Development
GCSE Psychology

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Key Terms

Brain Stem

Autonomic Nervous
System

Cerebellum

Thalamus

Cerebral Cortex

Schema

Assimilation

Accommodation

Sensorimotor Stage

Pre-operational
Stage

Concrete
Operational Stage

Formal Operational
Stage

Object Permanence

Egocentricity

Conservation

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Concrete Logical
Thinking

Abstract Thinking

Fixed Mindset

Growth Mindset

Praise

Self-efficacy

Verbalisers

Visualisers

Kinaesthetic
Learners

Willingham’s
Learning Theory

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Early Brain Development: The role of nature and nurture
Nature = biological influences on brain development, aspects we have inherited from birth, so brain
development is genetically influenced.
Nurture = environment influences on brain development, in this case with the mothers environment,
lifestyle and experiences during pregnancy can influence brain development.

NATURE
Through inheritance of genetics, the brain develops different areas which are responsible for certain
functions in humans. The ones you need for your exam are below:

Brain Stem
The brain stem connects the brain to the spinal cord
This carries sensory nerves to the brain from the rest of the body
and motor nerves from the brain to the rest of the body via the
spinal cord.
It also controls basic life functions such as heartbeat, breathing,
sleeping and digestion. Many of these functions are controlled by
the autonomic nervous system. These an automatic, unconscious functions.
The brain stem is the most developed part of the brain at birth because it needs to be developed for
survival.

Cerebellum
This is located near the top of the spinal cord.
It coordinates:

• Movement such as balance

• Sensory information with motor information
• It also has some input with regards to language and emotion
It is one of the last parts of the brain to reach maturity

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 Thalamus
This is located deep inside the brain (one in each
hemisphere)
This is a hub of information which receives and sends signal
from other areas of the brain
e.g. receives sensory signals from the retina in the eye and
sends signals to the visual area in the brain to process them

Cerebral Cortex
This is the outer covering of the brain which covers other structures and is divided into two halves (one for
each hemisphere)
Our thinking and processing happen in this area

• Thinking (cognition) takes places mainly in the frontal cortex such as planning and decision making
• Sensory processing takes place in the visual area (for seeing) and the auditory area (for hearing)
• Motor processing is controlled by the motor areas which directs movement
The sensory and motor areas of the cortex are functioning in the womb but continues to develop
throughout an individual’s life as a result of learning.

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Nurture
Although babies genes allow for areas of the brain to develop, the mother environment during pregnancy
can affect these brain areas.

Smoking
Mothers who smoke give birth to smaller babies, so this also affects the size of the
brain because nicotine slows down brain growth

Infections
Rubella (German Measles) can cause brain damage such as hearing loss if she develops
the illness during the first week of pregnancy.

Diet
Women need to make sure they have a healthy diet during pregnancy to help a
child’s brain development. A woman needs to ensure that she has all the right
vitamins and supplements in her diet to ensure that a child’s brain develops
properly e.g. folic acid which prevents spinal bifida. Drinking alcohol also causes
underdevelopment in a child, including their brain.

Voices
Babies appear to hear their mothers’ voices immediately after birth. This shows
the brain is changing in the womb in response to external stimuli.

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Exam Questions
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Q2

Q3

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Q4

Q5

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Piaget

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Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development explains how an individual’s mental processes such as
knowledge, thinking and intelligence develops as they get older.

Schemas
Piaget suggests that children learn about the world through schemas. Schemas are mental
representations that an individual has about the world and are based on past experiences. As a child
learns new things about the world, schemas are developed and become more complex through the
process of assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation
This is a form of learning when an individual acquires new information, but this
does not radically change our understanding of a topic.
For example, a child has a schema of a car, and they understand that people get
into a car, it makes noise and it is red and shiny. However, one day a child
encounters a blue sports car. This doesn’t quite match their existing schema, it is a
different colour and makes a different noise. So, they child needs to add this new
bit of information to their existing schema which is assimilation.

Accommodation
This is a form of learning when an individual acquires new information which
requires them to form a whole new schemas to deal with their new understanding.
For example, a child has a schema of a car, and they understand that people get
into a car, it makes noise and it is red and shiny. But one day they see a tractor
which people also get into, it is shiny and red but has big tyres and moves slower.
This requires a big change to the existing car schema and they need to form a
whole new schema for a tractor.

Application to Education
Piaget suggested there are four stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete
operational, formal operational). In education, activities should be appropriate for the child’s age and
cognitive ability, because if they are not old enough, they will struggle to acquire skills, so they need to
wait until the child is ready.

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Exam Question

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 Stage Age Cognitive Development Application to Education
• Interact with the world using senses. • Sensory toys such as those which make
• They learn through trial and error e.g. pulling a lever on a music noises or squeak
box makes a sound
Sensorimotor 0-2 years
• They do not remember these things until about 18 months • Peekaboo
• Object Permanence (8 months): An object still exists even if they
cannot see it.
Egocentrism:
• A child’s thinking is egocentric: they only see the world from their • Play dress up or house (so they have to
point of view use their imagination to make sense of
the world)
Preoperational 2-7 years
• The cannot conserve: they do not understand that if the
appearance changes, the quantity remains the same Conservation:
• Play with toys that change shape such as
playdough or water play
• Children are less egocentric • Simple experiments to give them a
chance to manipulate objects and tests
• Children develop the ability to conserve ideas
Concrete
7-11 years • They have better understanding of logic and problem solving if • Give them concrete apparatus like
Operational
they can see or physically handle the problem (concrete logical counters to problem solve
thinking) but will have difficulty if asked to imagine the problem.
• Read books with a limited number of
characters
• Have developed abstract thinking which means they are able to • Teach broad concepts rather than just
think through complicated ideas in their heads without having to facts e.g. poetry
Formal see a concrete image
11-18 years
Operational • Ask them to write short stories on
hypothetical topics e.g. living in outer
space

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Egocentricity
Egocentrism is a child’s tendency to only see the word from their point of view. Children are egocentric in
the pre-operational stage.

Piaget’s Mountain Task

Piaget demonstrated egocentricity through the Mountain Task, where he showed children a model of
three mountains and placed a doll somewhere besides the mountain. The child was then shown photos
that had been taken from each side of the mountain and asked to choose the photo that represented the
doll’s point of view.
He found that children in the preoperational stage chose a photo that showed their own viewpoint
however, older children in the concrete operational stage chose the one from the doll’s viewpoint. From
this he concluded that children are egocentric during the preoperational stage (below 7) and after seven
are not egocentric.

Hughes (1975) - Policeman Doll Study (AO1)

Aim: To investigate whether children are egocentric in the pre-operational stage
Sample: 30 children between 3.5 and 5 years from Edinburgh

Procedure:

• The child was shown a model with two intersecting walls.

• A policeman doll was placed on the model.
• Each child was asked to hide a boy doll on the model where the policeman could not see it.
• A second policeman doll was introduced, and the children were asked to do the same with the
boy doll

Findings:

• 90% of the children were able to hide the boy doll from the policeman doll(s)

Conclusion: Most children between 3.5-5 years old can see things from another person’s point of view
so are not egocentric in their thinking (criticising Piaget’s idea that children are egocentric in their
thinking)

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 Hughes (1975) - Policeman Doll Study (AO3)

One strength of Hughes’ policeman doll study is that it was a more realistic task compared to
Piaget’s mountain task. This is because the task was engaging and meaningful and similar to a problem
they might experience in every day life. This means that children are more likely to show their cognitive
abilities and not just getting it wrong because they didn’t understand the task, increasing the validity of
the policeman doll research.

However, a weakness of Hughes’ policeman doll study is that the sample is culture bias as it was
only conducted on children from Edinburgh. This is an individualistic culture which means they are
more concerned with their own views which makes it difficult to generalise the findings to collectivists
cultures because they may be even less egocentric or may still be egocentric at this age. Therefore
Hughes’ policeman doll study is not representative of all cultures.
Stretch:

A strength of Hughes’ policeman doll study is that it challenges some of Piaget’s assumptions. It
suggests that children from 3.5 years and upward can see the world from other people’s perspectives
and demonstrates that not all children in Piaget’s preoperational stage are egocentric and this is a skill
that can be developed earlier than what Piaget suggests. Therefore, the policeman doll study has
provided useful information into the cognitive abilities of young children.

Exam Question
Q1

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Q2
Hughes investigated egocentrism in his policeman doll study. Describe this study (4 marks)
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Q3
Evaluate Hughes’ policeman doll study (5 marks)
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Conservation
Conservation is the ability to understand that even though appearance changes, the quantity remains the
same. Piaget suggests that this ability developed in the concrete operational stage.

Piaget demonstrated that children in the preoperational stage could not conserve. One way was through
water experiments by showing children two identical small containers with the same quantity of water in
them. Children would say they both had the same amount of water. He would then pour the water from
one container into a tall, thin container and ask children which had more water in. The children would say
the tall thin container.

Another example is the counter task. Piaget would show the children two identical rows of six counters
that were equally spaced. The children would correctly state that each row had the same number of
counters. He would then spread out one row of the counters. The children would then say that the more
spread-out row had more counters.

McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) - Naughty Teddy Study (AO1)

Aim: To investigate whether children had the ability to conserve in the pre-operational stage.
Stretch: The researchers wanted to see whether a child’s reaction would be different when they thought
the change was accidental, unlike in Piaget’s experiments when they saw a deliberate change.
Sample: 80 children from Edinburgh aged from 4 to 6 years.
Procedure:

• Children were shown two identical rows of counters and were asked whether there were the
same number of counters in each row.
• The ‘naughty teddy’ the accidentally moved one row of counters so they were more spaced out.
• The children were asked whether there were the same amount of counters in each row, again.

Findings:

• Over 60% of the children gave the correct answer that there were the same amount of counters
in each row.
• A higher proportion of the older children, compared to the younger children answered
correctly.

Conclusion: This suggests that children under the age of seven can conserve and that the ability to
conserve increase with age (criticising Piaget’s theory that children cannot conserve in the
preoperational stage).

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McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) - Naughty Teddy Study (AO1)

One strength of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study is that it was a lab experiment so has high
control over extraneous variables such as the number of counters given and the standardised
instructions. This means it is easy to repeat the study in the same conditions to see if researchers gain
consistent results into conservation. Therefore the Naughty Teddy study can be said to have high
reliability.

One weakness of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study is that the study lacks ecological validity. This is
because the research took place in an artificial environment which would have been strange for the
child and with an adult that they do not know. This make it difficult to generalise the findings to a more
familiar setting for the children as they may have been more or less likely to conserve. This lowers the
validity of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study.
Stretch:

A strength of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study is that it challenges some of Piaget’s assumptions.
It suggests that children younger than seven do demonstrate the ability to conserve and that this is a
skill that can be developed earlier than what Piaget suggests. His previous research into conservation
may have confused the children in his original sample. Therefore, the naughty teddy study has provided
useful information into the cognitive abilities of young children.

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Exam Questions

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McGarrigle and Donaldson investigated conversation in the naughty teddy study.

Describe and evaluate this study (6 marks)
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Overall AO3 of Piaget’s Theory
What research can we use to support Piaget’s idea that children are egocentric in the preoperational
stage?
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What research can we use to contradict Piaget’s idea that children are egocentric in the preoperational
stage?
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What research can we use to support Piaget’s idea that children do not have the ability to conserve in the
preoperational stage?
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What research can we use to contradict Piaget’s idea that children do not have the ability to conserve in
the preoperational stage?
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Piaget’s theory has application to the real world because it has been applied to the education system.
Explain 2 examples of activities that teachers can use in the classroom and how this helps cognitive
development
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In Piaget’s studies into cognitive abilities, he used a sample of middle-class children from Switzerland. Why
is this a problem for the validity of Piaget’s research?
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Piaget overestimated children’s abilities. He states that all children show the ability to think abstractly from
the age of 11. Do you think this is true? Explain your answer.
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Exam Questions
Q1

Q2

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Q3
Read the following information

a) What is Mikey’s likely age? (1 mark)

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b) How can Piaget’s theory of cognitive development be used to explain Mikey’s behaviour? (6 marks)

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Q4
Give two ways in which Piaget’s theory of cognitive development could be applied to
education and support each way you have given with an example that could be used in the classroom. (4
marks)

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Q5
Look at the following table which identifies and describes the characteristics of Piaget’s four stages of cognitive
development

Complete the table using the letters given below. Choose the letter than matches each missing stage of
characteristic and write it in the correct box (5 marks)

Stages

A Preoperational

B Assimilation

C Sensorimotor

Characteristics

D Accommodation

E Conservation

F Lack of object permanence

G Inferential reasoning

Q6 Briefly evaluate Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (4 marks)

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Dweck’s Mindset Theory of Learning
Dweck (2007) believes that the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is due to their
mindset
Fixed Mindset
People with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities, such as intelligence, are innate e.g. fixed by their
genetics. They do not believe that you must work hard to achieve because if you have to work hard then
you cannot really be that talented, so you might as well give up. For example, practising basketball over
and over again will not make you any better at the sport because no amount of effort will change the
situation.
They are focused on performance goals; they feel good when they are doing well.
If someone with a fixed mindset fails at something, they believe there is no point in trying and might as
well give up.
Praising achievement will lead to a fixed mindset.

WHEREAS

Growth Mindset
People with a growth mindset believe that you can always get a little bit better and improve your abilities.
They believe that success is due to hard work and perseverance. They believe in putting effort into their
endeavours because they will become better the more they work at something, and enjoy being
challenged but not always succeeding, this is because you can learn from mistakes.
They are focused on learning goals; they feel good when they are working hard
If someone with a growth mindset fails at something, they believe this is a great opportunity to learn more
and overcome this obstacle.
Praising progress will lead to a growth mindset.

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Dweck’s Mindset Theory of Learning (AO3)

Research to support the Mindset Theory of Learning was conducted by Dweck who conducted a
study on low achieving seventh graders. Half of the students were taught a session on growth mindset
and how intelligence can grow like a muscle if it is exercised. The other half had a study session on
memory. The students in the growth mindset groups showed improved motivation and grades whereas
the other group did not improve. This supports the mindset theory because it demonstrates that a
growth mindset can improve performance.

Another strength of the mindset theory is that the research has been applied in the real world in
order to help education. Teaching students that fail in assessments is part of the learning process and
praising their efforts will help students to achieve a growth mindset and can help to improve academic
performance. Therefore, Dweck’s research and mindset theory is an important part of psychology.

However, in order to achieve a growth mindset, the learner is dependent on praise from someone
else which can be damaging. There is evidence to suggest that praising effort means the individual
continues to work hard but this hard work is to gain another person’s approval rather than for their
own satisfaction. This limits the use of Dweck’s mindset as praise of effort may not be the best way to
motivate learners.

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Exam Questions

Use your knowledge of both negative schemas as an explanation for depression and Dweck’s Mindset
theory of learning to explain why these two students responded in different ways.
Briefly evaluate both negative schemas as an explanation for depression and Dweck’s Mindset theory (9
marks)
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Praise and Self-Efficacy
When an individual is praised (such as for their effort or standard) this acts as a reward, it makes an
individual feel good and they are more likely to repeat that behaviour again. This is because it increases an
individual’s self-esteem and increases motivation to continue that behaviour.
Learners should be praised for effort as well as achievement. Effort is a variable that can be controlled by
a student, and praising someone for effort (even if they did not succeed) will be motivating because you
can always increase your effort.

Self-efficacy is an individual’s understanding of their own abilities. Self-efficacy is based on past

experiences and how others treat you and this can determine how far you believe you can achieve
something.
For example, if a student achieves a grade 4 in their first assessment and a grade 5 in their second
assessment, but their end of year target is a 7, the teacher should still praise the student for effort because
they have achieved progress in the right direction. This will increase their self-efficacy and motivation to
keep trying. If a teacher did not praise their effort and told them they are still not hitting their target, the
student may feel like they will never achieve it, even if they put effort in (fixed mindset) and therefore have
low self-efficacy and low motivation.

How can we help students achieve self-efficacy?

• Set easier questions so that students can complete them successfully

• Break down tasks into steps to complete one at a time
• Show students that other students get stuck sometimes but that is part of the learning process
• Praise when a student successfully completes a task

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Praise and Self-Efficacy (AO3)

Research to support the role of self-efficacy leading to poor performance was conducted by Steele
and Aronson (1995) who found that African-American’s did worse on an IQ test if they were asked to
indicate their race before taking the test. This is because being reminded of their race lowered their
sense of self-efficacy because it is a stereotype that African-Americans do not perform well on IQ tests.
Other researchers have found the same results with women and maths tests. This supports the role of
self-efficacy in learning because it shows that low self-efficacy and can lead to a lack of motivation and
reduced performance.

However, being dependent on praise from someone else can be damaging to internal motivation.
There is evidence to suggest that praising effort means the individual continues to work hard but this
hard work is to gain another person’s approval rather than for their own satisfaction. This limits the use
of praise of effort may not be the best way to motivate learners internally to improve their own self-
efficacy.

Research to contradict the role of praise in learning was conducted by Dweck (1975) who looked at
the effect of feedback on school students. Half of the group were persistently told that the reason they
have not achieved in their schoolwork is because they were lazy and should try harder. The other group
were always praised and given constructive feedback on how to improve. The first group increased
their effort in a difficult test after one month compared to the second group who showed low task
persistence. This contradicts the role of praise because it shows that students improved their
performance even if they were criticised rather than praised.

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Exam Questions

Outline one example of how Mr Taylor can use praise to improve Jana’s learning (2 marks)
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Outline one example of how Mr Taylor can increase Jana’s self-efficacy (2 marks)
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Learning Styles
Learning styles are the difference ways people process (take in) information. Psychologists suggest that
people learn best when information is presented to them in their preferred learning style
There are three learning styles that have been identified by psychologists

• Verbalisers
• Visualisers
• Kinaesthetic Learners

Verbalisers
Verbalisers are individuals who prefer to deal with information that is auditory
(based on sounds) such as hearing words.

• Like to learn by hearing/listening to things

• Like to speak out loud to aid their learning
• Prefer verbal instructions
• Like discussion-based learning
• Like to repeat things verbally

Visualisers
Visualisers like to see information in the forms of pictures and diagrams.
• Like to learn by seeing things through pictures or mind maps.
• Remember things based on what they looked like
• Prefer graphs, illustrations, photos, pictures and videos

Kinaesthetic Learners
Kinaesthetic learners are ‘hands on’ and prefer direct experiences through
physical activities
• Learn best by doing things themselves
• Prefer to get physically involved and do things first-hand
• Like to touch and feel things, move things
• They like active exploration of environments, making things and
experimenting

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Learning Styles (AO3)
One strength of the research into learning styles is that the research has been applied in the real
world in order to help students in the education system. Teachers are encouraged to use preferred
learning style in their classroom in order to help children to learn the information in the best way they
possibly can. Therefore, the research into learning styles is an important part of psychology.

However, research to contradict learning styles was conducted by Pashler et al (2008) who
reviewed several research studies into learning styles. They found there was no scientific evidence to
support the idea that performance is improved if instructions and learning was matched to the
student’s preferred learning style. This contradicts learning styles because it demonstrates that having
information presented in the preferred learning style does not improve learning.

Stretch:
A further weakness of learning styles is that there are too many learning styles to put into practise
in the classroom. Overall, there are 71 different theories referring to learning styles which makes it
impossible to put these into practise in the classroom. It is impossible for teachers to put all learning
styles into one lesson, especially as most of the theories have shown no difference in education. This
suggests that learning styles are not a useful concept when trying to teach information.

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Exam Questions

Q1
What is meant by learning styles? (1 mark)

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Q2

Q3
Vicky is a verbaliser. Describe two ways in which Vicky could revise for a history test using this learning
style (4 marks)
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Q4

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Willingham’s Learning Theory

Willingham criticises the learning style approach to teaching and states that it
does not improve learning as there is no evidence of improved exam results
from using this approach. Willingham believed that students should be taught
using the best method based on the content being taught rather then their
preferred learning style
For example, when learning about maps in geography, a visual learning style should be used, whereas for
learning a new language a verbal/auditory learning style should be used.
Willingham stated there is a difference between ability and style. Ability is
that you can do something, and a style is how you do something. For
example, individuals with learning disabilities may have a lower ability but
this does not affect how the information should be presented. He agrees
there is a difference in abilities but does not see this as evidence for the
existence of learning styles.
If students are only taught using their preferred learning style, then in the future they will have difficulty
accessing information that is not in there preferred learning style. Students should be taught using a wide
range of different learning styles so that they are comfortable with all forms of learning.

Willingham’s Learning Theory (AO3)

Research to support Willingham’s theory was conducted by Pashler et al (2008) who reviewed
several research studies into learning styles. They found there was no scientific evidence to support the
idea that performance is improved if instructions and learning was matched to the student’s preferred
learning style. This supports Willingham’s suggestions that learning does not improve due to using
preferred learning styles.

One strength of Willingham’s learning theory is that research has been applied in the real world in
order to help students and teachers in the education setting. It has allowed teachers to save time
creating three different tasks for each learning style and instead teach students in the format best
suited to the content being taught. This will help students to be able to access and learn information in
a number of different ways. Therefore, Willingham’s learning theory is an important part of applied
psychology.

Willingham’s learning theory can be criticised for ignoring individual differences in students
learning capabilities. Although he does acknowledge there are genetic differences in student’s abilities,
he does not suggest differentiated strategies and instead applies universal ones to all students.
Therefore, this reduces how applicable his theory is to all students to enhance their learning.

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Exam Questions
Q1
Willingham has criticised the use of learning styles.
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Q2

Describe and evaluate Willingham’s learning theory (9 marks)

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