AO2 Evaluation at AS Level
Evaluation counts for 12 marks out of 30 on each question apart from research methods, but it is these 12 marks that determine the top grades - A's and B's. Students are often frightened of the word "evaluation" as if it is some kind of scary monster to run away from, but in fact we all evaluate things every day without necessarily using the term "evaluation". Developing the skill of evaluation is vital for exam success at AS and for a good foundation at A2.
This page will give you an idea how to go about producing effective evaluation of psychological theories or results of research. A typical examination question will ask you to evaluate a given theory or to compare and contrast it with a different one. This is no different to considering the relative benefits of using the bus compared to the car - if you can do this, you can evaluate in psychology. Evaluation means looking at positive points as well as negative ones - what is good about using the bus as well as the negative points. That's all evaluation is!
AO2 Evaluation at A2 Level
Evaluation accounts for 50% of the marks at A2, slightly more than at AS level. You will need to build on the skills you developed at AS level, because a key part of exam success will be to write good evaluations of a much greater number of psychological theories, and be able to discuss their strengths and limitations, as well as comparing and contrasting them. At A2, we use research studies to evaluate, so you will need to be able to identify relevant research studies and say whether they support or do not support a theory or explanation. You then need to elaborate by explaining WHY this research either does or does not support it.
How do I develop evaluation skills?
First, start by reading the section in the textbook, research report, news item or lesson plan that you have been asked to evaluate. You may need to read it several times, ideally in a quiet environment without the TV or other talking in the background. Psychological evidence suggests that this will slow down your ability to deal with the information you are reading, because the part of your memory that processes the information is having to divide its time between two things - your reading and the noise in the background.
To test this for yourself, ask someone to read you a strange 6 or 7 digit phone number at random from the phone book, and try to remember it for 30 seconds without writing it down in a quiet environment. Now ask someone to read you another strange 6 or 7 digit phone number but then talk to you constantly for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds see if you can remember the phone number. Which phone number was easier to remember? If it was the first one, you have demonstrated that interference does occur when you have two similar things vying for your attention. If you want to know more, look at the section on "working memory" in the articles and activities section of the CD-ROM.
Hints and tips - things you can do to understand the material
Having read the material in question, there are a variety of techniques you can use to draw out the key points.
- Close the book and note down the points you can remember
- Discuss the material with a friend and make a note of the key evaluation points - positive and negative
- Use the busy BEES: Brief explanation, Evidence in favour, Evidence against, Summary
- If you have your own textbook, you could underline or highlight key research studies in the book
- Create a table in Word with two columns; put positive points on the left and negative points on the right
- If you are working from my material on the CD-ROM, reduce the number of words to 150
- Use the tables or revision material on the CD-ROM to create evaluation tables
- Record your ideas on an audio tape to play back later on (makes a change from writing!)
- Be a salesman and "market" the idea to someone else - pretend it is a product you are selling that has to compete against all the other "products" (psychological theories) in the market
- Be the "customer" and explain to the "salesman" why you don't want to buy their "product"; explain that you have another product you prefer (alternative theory), and why
What not to do!
- Copy huge chunks word for word from the book - less is more, keep it short. Who wants to revise from the whole textbook?
- Write down things you don't understand - look up any terms in the glossary, or discuss ideas with a friend
- Turn up to the lesson with the excuse "I didn't understand it so I didn't do it" - if you need some help, ask BEFORE the lesson
- Miss the next lesson because you are not prepared - it will just add to your problems because then you will have an hour's lesson plus homework to catch up, and the original task still isn't done!
- Copy other people's work or internet essay - this is called plagiarism and you can be disqualified from the exam for this - and you still won't understand the work
- Keep quiet about any problems - we are here to help, and the earlier we can get you back on track, the better for everyone. Don't be afraid to ask any of the staff for help.
AO2 Questions to ask yourself
- What evidence supports the idea or theory?
- What is it good at explaining?
- What are its strengths?
- What successes has it had?
- What evidence does not support this theory?
- What does it have trouble explaining?
- What are its limitations?
- What has it failed to explain?
- What alternative explanations ot theories are there?
- How do other theories compare and contrast with this one?
- What questions does it raise?
- Overall, what does this theory help us to understand?
- If I could develop the idea further, where would I go next?
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