📚 Year 12 OCR Psychology: Core Knowledge Organiser | OCR 心理学 Year 12 核心知识点梳理
Mastering Year 12 OCR Psychology begins with a clear map of the course. The AS specification is built around ten pairs of core studies, a rich variety of research methods, four classic debates and five key areas/perspectives. This knowledge organiser breaks down the essential content into manageable sections, helping you check understanding, strengthen retrieval and spot connections between topics.
掌握 Year 12 OCR 心理学，首先需要对课程有清晰的整体认识。AS 大纲围绕十对核心研究、丰富多样的研究方法、四组经典辩论和五个关键领域/视角构建。本文梳理了最核心的知识点，帮助你检查理解、强化记忆、发现主题之间的联系。
1. Research Methods: The Basics | 研究方法基础
Every psychological study relies on a sound methodology. You need to know how hypotheses are written, how variables are operationalised and how designs control for extraneous factors.
每一项心理学研究都依靠可靠的方法。你需要掌握如何撰写假设、如何操作化变量以及如何通过实验设计控制无关因素。
An experimental hypothesis predicts a significant difference or relationship (e.g., ‘There will be a significant difference in obedience levels between the proximity condition and the remote condition’).
实验假设预测显著差异或关系（例如，“接近条件与远程条件之间的服从水平将存在显著差异”）。
A null hypothesis states that any observed difference or correlation is due to chance. Operationalising variables turns abstract ideas (like ‘aggression’) into measurable behaviours (such as a rating scale score).
虚无假设认为任何观察到的差异或相关都是由偶然因素造成的。操作化变量是将抽象概念（如“攻击性”）转化为可测量的行为（如评分量表得分）。
Independent variable (IV) – the factor manipulated by the researcher. Dependent variable (DV) – the factor measured. Extraneous variables are any other variables that might affect the DV and must be controlled.
自变量 (IV) – 研究者操纵的变量。因变量 (DV) – 测量的变量。额外变量是任何可能影响因变量的其他变量，必须加以控制。
2. Experiments and Designs | 实验与实验设计
Experiments can be laboratory, field, quasi or natural. OCR expects you to match every core study to its experimental design and method.
实验可分为实验室实验、现场实验、准实验和自然实验。OCR 要求你将每项核心研究与其实验设计和方法对应起来。
Laboratory experiments – high control but low ecological validity (e.g., Sperry’s split-brain study). Field experiments – higher ecological validity but less control (e.g., Piliavin’s subway study). Quasi-experiments – the IV is a naturally occurring difference such as gender or brain damage (e.g., Baron-Cohen’s autism study).
实验室实验 – 控制程度高但生态效度低（例如 Sperry 的裂脑研究）。现场实验 – 生态效度较高但控制较弱（例如 Piliavin 的地铁助人研究）。准实验 – 自变量是自然存在的差异，如性别或脑损伤（例如 Baron-Cohen 的自闭症研究）。
Experimental designs are independent measures, repeated measures and matched pairs. Independent measures avoids order effects but needs more participants. Repeated measures controls participant variables but introduces order effects. Matched pairs reduces individual differences but matching is imperfect.
实验设计包括独立组设计、重复测量设计和匹配对设计。独立组设计避免顺序效应但需要更多被试。重复测量设计控制被试变量但引入顺序效应。匹配对设计减少个体差异但匹配难以完美。
3. Observations and Self-reports | 观察法与自陈报告
Beyond experiments, psychologists gather data through observations, questionnaires and interviews. You must recognise the type of observation used in studies like Bandura’s Bobo doll or Levine’s cross-cultural helping.
实验之外，心理学家还通过观察、问卷和访谈收集数据。你必须识别班杜拉波波玩偶研究或 Levine 跨文化助人研究等所采用的观察类型。
Structured observations use behaviour checklists; unstructured observations record all behaviours. Participant observation (researcher joins the group) versus non-participant observation. Overt observation (participants know they are watched) versus covert observation (unaware).
结构化观察使用行为核查表；非结构化观察记录所有行为。参与观察（研究者加入群体）与非参与观察。公开观察（被试知道自己被观察）与隐蔽观察（被试不知情）。
Closed questions generate quantitative data and are easy to analyse; open questions yield rich qualitative data. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured. Self-report methods can be affected by social desirability bias.
封闭式问题产生定量数据且易于分析；开放式问题产生丰富的定性数据。访谈可以是结构化、半结构化或非结构化的。自陈报告法可能受社会赞许性偏差影响。
4. Data Analysis and Ethics | 数据分析与伦理
Psychologists use descriptive and inferential statistics to interpret findings. Ethical principles protect participants and guide every core study.
心理学家使用描述性和推断性统计来解释研究结果。伦理原则保护参与者并指导每项核心研究。
Measures of central tendency: mean, median, mode. Measures of dispersion: range and standard deviation. A normal distribution is bell-shaped; a skewed distribution has a tail to one side. Scatter graphs show correlations (positive, negative or zero).
集中趋势量数：平均数、中位数、众数。离散量数：全距和标准差。正态分布呈钟形；偏态分布尾端偏向一侧。散点图显示相关性（正相关、负相关或零相关）。
Inferential tests (e.g., Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, Chi-square, Spearman’s rho, Binomial Sign test) determine whether results are significant. The level of significance is usually p ≤ 0.05. Type 1 error: rejecting a true null hypothesis; Type 2 error: accepting a false null hypothesis.
推断性检验（如曼-惠特尼 U 检验、威尔科克森检验、卡方检验、斯皮尔曼等级相关、符号检验）判断结果是否显著。显著性水平通常为 p ≤ 0.05。第一类错误：错误拒绝真实的虚无假设；第二类错误：错误接受不真实的虚无假设。
Ethical guidelines: informed consent, deception (and debriefing), right to withdraw, confidentiality, protection from harm. The BPS code is referenced throughout the core studies.
伦理准则：知情同意、欺骗（与事后解释）、退出权利、保密、免受伤害。核心研究中始终提及 BPS 伦理规范。
5. Social Psychology | 社会心理学
Social psychology explores how other people influence behaviour, attitudes and obedience. OCR’s social core studies are Milgram (obedience) and Bocchiaro (whistle-blowing), paired with Piliavin et al. (helping behaviour) and Levine et al. (cross-cultural helping).
社会心理学探索他人如何影响行为、态度和服从。OCR 社会核心研究包括 Milgram（服从）和 Bocchiaro（检举揭发），并与 Piliavin 等（助人行为）和 Levine 等（跨文化助人）配对。
Milgram’s study tested obedience to authority when ordered to administer electric shocks to a learner. 65% obeyed to 450V. Findings support situational explanations – the agentic state. Bocchiaro investigated disobedience and whistle-blowing in a modern pilot study; most predicted they would disobey, yet actual whistle-blowing was only 9.4%.
Milgram 的研究测试了服从权威的电击命令。65% 的被试服从到 450 伏特。结果支持情境解释——代理状态。Bocchiaro 在现代预试中研究了不服从和检举行为；多数人预测自己会不服从，但实际检举率仅为 9.4%。
Piliavin’s field experiment on the New York subway revealed that diffusion of responsibility is not inevitable; people helped more when the victim appeared ill. Levine showed significant cross-cultural variation in helping behaviour, linked to economic prosperity and pace of life.
Piliavin 的纽约地铁现场实验表明，责任扩散并非必然；当受害者看似生病时，人们帮助更多。Levine 展示了跨文化助人行为的显著差异，这与经济繁荣和生活节奏相关。
6. Cognitive Psychology | 认知心理学
Cognitive psychology studies internal mental processes such as memory, attention and perception. The core studies are Loftus & Palmer (eyewitness testimony) and Grant et al. (context-dependent memory).
认知心理学研究记忆、注意、知觉等内部心理过程。核心研究为 Loftus & Palmer（目击者证词）和 Grant 等（情境依赖记忆）。
Loftus & Palmer (1974) used leading questions to alter memory for a car crash; the verb ‘smashed’ produced a higher speed estimate than ‘contacted’. This demonstrates memory reconstruction and the misinformation effect. The schema theory helps explain how prior knowledge distorts recall.
Loftus 和 Palmer (1974) 使用引导性问题改变了对车祸的记忆；动词“撞碎”比“接触”产生了更高的车速估计。这证明了记忆重构和误导信息效应。图式理论有助于解释先验知识如何扭曲回忆。
Grant et al. tested context-dependent memory in a meaningful setting: participants read an article under silent or noisy conditions and recalled more when the test context matched the learning context. This supports the encoding specificity principle.
Grant 等在有意义的情境中测试了情境依赖记忆：被试在安静或嘈杂条件下阅读文章，当测试情境与学习情境匹配时回忆更好。这支持了编码特异性原则。
7. Developmental Psychology | 发展心理学
Developmental psychology covers how behaviour changes across the lifespan. Bandura (aggression) and Chaney et al. (operant conditioning in asthma treatment) are the developmental core studies.
发展心理学涵盖行为在生命全程中的变化。Bandura（攻击性）和 Chaney 等（哮喘治疗中的操作性条件作用）是发展核心研究。
Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment showed that children imitate aggressive models, particularly same-sex models. This supported Social Learning Theory: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation (ARRM). Boys imitated physical aggression more; girls imitated verbal aggression.
Bandura 的波波玩偶实验表明，儿童模仿攻击性榜样，尤其是同性别榜样。这支持了社会学习理论：注意、保持、动作再现和动机 (ARRM)。男孩更多地模仿身体攻击；女孩模仿言语攻击。
Chaney et al. used a Funhaler device that reinforced correct inhaler technique through operant conditioning (positive reinforcement). The study reduced poor parental compliance and demonstrated how learning principles can improve health-related behaviour in children.
Chaney 等使用 Funhaler 装置通过操作性条件作用（正强化）强化了正确吸入技术。该研究减少了家长配合不良的情况，展示了学习原理如何改善儿童的健康相关行为。
8. Biological Psychology | 生物心理学
Biological psychology examines how brain structures, hemispheric differences and brain plasticity shape behaviour. The core studies are Sperry (split-brain) and Casey et al. (delay of gratification as a biological marker).
生物心理学考察大脑结构、半球差异和大脑可塑性如何塑造行为。核心研究是 Sperry（裂脑）和 Casey 等（延迟满足作为生物标志物）。
Sperry’s quasi-experiment on split-brain patients revealed hemispheric lateralisation: the left hemisphere is dominant for language, the right for spatial tasks. Visual information presented to one visual field could not be verbally reported if it reached the right hemisphere.
Sperry 对裂脑患者的准实验揭示了半球功能偏侧化：左半球主导语言，右半球主导空间任务。进入右侧视野的信息，若只到达右半球，则无法用语言报告。
Casey et al. (2011) conducted a follow-up fMRI study of participants from Mischel’s marshmallow test. Those who delayed gratification as children showed greater prefrontal cortex activity and lower ventral striatum activity in adulthood, suggesting a biological basis for self-control.
Casey 等 (2011) 对 Mischel 棉花糖测试中的被试进行了后续 fMRI 研究。儿童时期能够延迟满足的人，成年后表现出更强的前额叶皮层活动和更低的腹侧纹状体活动，提示自我控制存在生物基础。
9. Individual Differences | 个体差异
Individual differences focus on abnormalities, disorders and the measurement of personality and ability. The core studies are Freud (Little Hans) and Baron-Cohen et al. (autism and theory of mind).
个体差异领域关注异常、障碍以及人格与能力的测量。核心研究是 Freud（小汉斯）和 Baron-Cohen 等（自闭症与心理理论）。
Freud’s case study of Little Hans used the Oedipus complex to explain the boy’s phobia of horses. The hypothesis was that Hans displaced his fear of his father onto horses. Freud collected data through letters from the father, illustrating the idiographic, qualitative approach.
Freud 对小汉斯的个案研究使用俄狄浦斯情结解释男孩对马的恐惧。假设是汉斯将对父亲的恐惧移置到马身上。Freud 通过父亲的信件收集数据，展示了特殊规律法及定性研究取向。
Baron-Cohen’s revised ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ test compared adults with Asperger’s Syndrome, normal adults and Tourette’s patients. High-functioning adults with autism scored significantly lower, supporting the theory of mind deficit. The study used a quasi-experimental design and controlled self-paced timing.
Baron-Cohen 修订的“眼神读心”测验比较了阿斯伯格综合征成人、正常成人和抽动秽语综合征患者。高功能自闭症成人得分显著较低，支持了心理理论缺陷假说。该研究使用准实验设计并控制了自定节奏的时间。
10. Areas and Perspectives | 领域与视角
OCR expects you to categorise each core study within five areas: Social, Cognitive, Developmental, Biological and Individual Differences. Additionally, you must understand two perspectives: behaviourist and psychodynamic.
OCR 要求你将每项核心研究归入五个领域：社会、认知、发展、生物和个体差异。此外，你还需理解两大视角：行为主义和心理动力学。
The behaviourist perspective assumes behaviour is learned through conditioning and reinforcement. Studies like Bandura and Chaney align with this view. The psychodynamic perspective, rooted in Freud’s work, emphasises unconscious conflict and childhood experiences as drivers of behaviour.
行为主义视角认为行为通过条件作用和强化习得。Bandura 和 Chaney 等研究与此观点一致。心理动力学视角根植于 Freud 的理论，强调无意识冲突和童年经历是行为的驱动力。
Each area has defining principles and methodological preferences. For example, the cognitive area uses laboratory experiments and measures memory/attention; the biological area often employs brain scans and physiological measures; the social area prefers surveys and field experiments.
每个领域有其定义原则和方法偏好。例如，认知领域使用实验室实验并测量记忆/注意；生物领域常使用脑成像和生理测量；社会领域偏好调查和现场实验。
When answering 12-mark debate questions on ‘Areas and Perspectives’, you must explain how a study illustrates the area’s assumptions and how a perspective offers a different interpretation.
在回答关于“领域与视角”的 12 分辩论题时，你必须解释某研究如何说明该领域的假设，以及某个视角如何提供另一种解释。
11. Debates | 辩论
Four structured debates are assessed in Component 2: free will vs determinism, nature vs nurture, reductionism vs holism, and individual vs situational explanations. You need to apply these to any core study.
单元二评估四组结构化辩论：自由意志与决定论、天性与教养、还原论与整体论、个体解释与情境解释。你需要将这些辩论应用于任何核心研究。
Free will vs determinism: Milgram’s study is often seen as deterministic (situational forces determine behaviour), but participants still exercised choice. Nature vs nurture: Baron-Cohen’s findings highlight biological nature (theory of mind brain basis), while Bandura’s Bobo doll study emphasises nurture (observation and imitation).
自由意志与决定论：Milgram 的研究常被视为决定论（情境力量决定行为），但被试仍然行使了选择权。天性与教养：Baron-Cohen 的研究突出了生物天性（心理理论的大脑基础），而 Bandura 的波波玩偶研究强调教养（观察与模仿）。
Reductionism simplifies behaviour to a single factor (e.g., Sperry reduces consciousness to hemispheric function) while holism considers the whole person. Individual explanations locate the cause inside the person, whereas situational explanations emphasise external influences (Milgram vs Bocchiaro).
还原论将行为简化为单一因素（如 Sperry 将意识简化为半球功能），而整体论考虑完整的人。个体解释将原因归于个人内部，情境解释则强调外部影响（Milgram 与 Bocchiaro 的对比）。
| Debate | Study that leans towards one side |
| Free will / determinism | Milgram (situational determinism) |
| Nature / nurture | Bandura (nurture) / Baron-Cohen (nature) |
| Reductionism / holism | Sperry (reductionist) |
| Individual / situational | Freud (individual) / Piliavin (situational) |
12. Core Studies: Comparisons and Evaluations | 核心研究对比与评价
You must be able to compare and contrast studies within a pair (e.g., Loftus & Palmer with Grant) and across themes. Key evaluation points include validity, reliability, sampling, ethics and ecological validity.
你必须能够比较和对比一对核心研究（如 Loftus & Palmer 与 Grant），以及进行跨主题比较。关键评价要点包括效度、信度、取样、伦理和生态效度。
Grant is high in ecological validity because it mimicked a real study context; Loftus & Palmer is lower because watching car crash films is not the same as witnessing a real accident. Piliavin’s field experiment is high in ecological validity but lacks the control of laboratory studies like Sperry.
Grant 的生态效度高，因为它模拟了真实学习情境；Loftus & Palmer 的生态效度较低，因为观看车祸影片不同于目击真实事故。Piliavin 的现场实验生态效度高，但缺乏像 Sperry 那样的实验室控制。
Sampling matters: many OCR studies used opportunity or self-selected samples, which limit generalisability. For example, Milgram’s volunteers were all male, limiting findings. Levine tested 23 cultures, providing strong cross-cultural validity. Baron-Cohen’s study included matched controls, enhancing internal validity.
取样很重要：许多 OCR 研究使用机会样本或自我选择样本，限制了普遍性。例如，Milgram 的志愿者全为男性，限制了结论推广。Levine 测试了 23 种文化，提供了较强的跨文化效度。Baron-Cohen 的研究纳入了匹配对照组，提高了内部效度。
Remember to link evaluation to the specific procedure and findings. Always use terms like ‘population validity’, ‘test-retest reliability’, ‘demand characteristics’ and ‘informed consent’ precisely in exam answers.
记住将评价与研究具体流程和发现联系起来。在考试回答中准确使用“总体效度”、“重测信度”、“需求特征”和“知情同意”等术语。
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