Julian remembers his secondary school teacher constantly warning that "a single decimal error ruins a professional reputation." Since starting his job as a financial analyst, Julian has developed a rigid routine where he recalculates every cell in his spreadsheets up to thirty times before submitting. He frequently lies awake catastrophising about making a minor error, being publicly humiliated, and losing his career.
How might a cognitive psychologist explain Julian's behaviour?
248 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Approaches in Psychology, covering Learning approaches, Cognitive approach, Biological approach, Psychodynamic approach (A-level only), Humanistic Psychology (A-level only), and Comparison of approaches (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.