AQA Psychology A-level: Eating Behaviour (A* notes)

AQA Psychology A-level: Eating behaviour
From specification 7181, 7182 - Issues and options in Psychology - paper 3 (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!)

Includes

• Evolutionary explanations for food preferences, taste aversion, neophobia and evaluation
• Role of learning - classical and operant conditioning, social influence; family, media, peer etc. and evaluation
• Cultural influence in eating - norms, meat-eating, learning and evaluation
• Neural mechanisms - dual-centre model of eating - Lateral hypothalamus and ventro-medial hypothalamus
• Hormonal mechanisms - role of ghrelin and leptin, studies and evaluation

Explanations for anorexia nervosa (AN)*

• Genetic explanations - twin studies, candidate-gene and genome-wide associate studies and evaluation
• Neural explanations - role of serotonin and dopamine and evaluation
• Psychodynamic approach - Family Systems Theory (FST) and evaluation
• Social learning theory - modelling, vicarious reinforcement, media, Dittmar et al’s Barbie study (2006)
• Cognitive theory - cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, cognitive inflexibility and evaluation

Explanations for obesity

• Genetic explanations - family/twin studies, polygenic determination and ‘thrifty’ gene hypothesis

• Neural explanations -hypothalamus, leptin, serotonin and dopamine and evaluation

• Psychological explanations - restraint theory, disinhibition, boundary model and evaluation

• Success and failure of dieting - spiral model, ironic process theory, restrained eating and disinhibition

• Theory of hedonic eating

• Evaluation of success and failure of dieting with key studies

• Overview of key biological components in eating behaviour