AS and A Level: Psychology Essays, Coursework and Assignments

"#1#This question on Social Psychology focuses on the ethical debate of Stanley Milgram's study of Obedience to an Authority Figure. The candidate shows an unbroken focus on the question and the entire answer is focused on the ethical regard in the experiment. A lengthy procedure that is often considered very unethical, this candidate has done well in structuring their answer by first explaining some background research to the experiment; briefly outlining the experiment itself; what ethics are; and why ethics are so important when evaluating Milgram's study. Al this shows the examiner the candidate possesses a deeply developed knowledge of the ethics of Psychology and how to apply them to psychological evidence for obedience and authority. #2# The Level of Analysis here is very good. There is a sound evaluation of the ethical issues of informed consent; possibility of deception; debriefing and follow-up procedures; and potential harm to the participant. Each ethical issue is backed up with evidence that is relevant to the study and there is a clear justification for the presence of such ethical issues, for example, ethical issues must be disregarded at time to ensure psychological studies like Milgram's don't become a role-playing exercise like Reicher & Haslam's failed BBC Prison Study). The answer also considers how temporal changes permitted Milgram's procedures in the 60s, but in modern day society, the ethical issues raised in Milgram's study wouldn't even get the all-clear from a ethics committee and therefore would achieve no funding. This kind of analysis is exactly what the question asking for - all the ethical issues are discussed in turn and then linked wherever possible, and it is this integration (such as the low validity if the participants gave informed consent) which makes reading the essay so interesting, because it is obvious the candidate has a good knowledge of psychology and it's ethical regards. #3# The Quality of Written Communication is good. There are only very few moments that feature a typing/spelling error, but none of these compromise the clarity of written expression. Overall the QWC is very high, as demonstrated by the extensive use of appropriate, field-specific lexis to approach the question (all of which are spelt accurately)."

" Good clear and easy to understand attchments"

"great"

"#1#This review of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is structurally very clear and provides a good summary of the method and theoretical aspects of the technique. The student covers each necessary topic (e.g. introduction to attachment, aims, procedure, findings, and so on) demonstrating a thorough understanding of the entire concept. It is nice to see an introductory paragraph for attachment, which provides the reader with some background information on what the Strange Situation is measuring (e.g. “Attachment is a mutual and intense emotional relationship between two people, in this instance child and caregiver”), however, the definition is slightly vague and perhaps it could be improved by referencing an official definition of attachment from another author – this would ensure 100% clarity for the reader, and gain extra marks for further reading. #2#The student provides a good level of analysis, exploring in detail the findings from the study (e.g. the three types of attachment theorised) as well as a potential explanation for why these attachments are demonstrated (the temperament hypothesis) Furthermore, the student summarises with some nice concluding remarks (e.g. “The strange situation is a good method of assessing an infant’s attachment, but it is important to remember that these attachment styles are malleable”) demonstrating their ability to bring the review to a clear end. The concluding statement also demonstrates the student’s high ability as they address the strengths of the Strange Situation (e.g. influenced other attachment methods), but also show that other factors must be considered (e.g. family stress) – this is important as it demonstrates good critical analysis, showing both sides of an argument objectively. What would improve this, however, is if the student discussed limitations of the Strange Situation method itself, for example, how there may be differences between children who regularly have contact with strangers (in day care for examples) and those who spend most time with their mothers. #3#Spelling and grammar are of a consistently high level, only minor points would be to avoid the repetition of the word ‘spurious’ in the evaluation paragraph – the essay is very short so repetition of words like this is not really necessary. "

"Contains a complete bibliography and reference section and is well written "