Edexcel A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide (9PS0)
Edexcel · A-Level
Edexcel A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 9PS0 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 2,738 questions across 8 topics and 194 subtopics, including all three applied options so the guide fits whichever one you sit.
- Edexcel
- A-Level
- Specification 9PS0
- 2,738 questions
Guide overview All 8 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
Edexcel A-Level Psychology is three written papers. Paper 1, Foundations in psychology, covers social, cognitive, biological and learning psychology, all compulsory. Paper 2, Applications of psychology, covers clinical psychology plus one of criminological, child and health psychology. Paper 3, Psychological skills, sets no new content and draws on the methods, studies and debates carried inside every topic.
Psychology marks turn on naming the study, the sample and the finding precisely. A study recalled as a general idea scores almost nothing, which is why it is worth measuring rather than assuming.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Foundations in psychology |
Social, cognitive, biological and learning psychology, all compulsory Each topic carries its own content, research methods, classic and contemporary studies and key question Multiple choice, short answer and extended writing, including questions on the studies |
2 hours | 90 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 2 Applications of psychology |
Clinical psychology, compulsory, plus one option from criminological, child and health psychology Covers the content, methods and studies of both topics sat Multiple choice, short answer and extended writing across the two applications |
2 hours | 90 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 3 Psychological skills |
Sets no new content: it draws on the methods, studies and debates carried inside every topic Section A on research methods, Section B a review of studies, Section C on issues and debates Rewards the ability to evaluate evidence and argue across the whole specification |
2 hours | 80 marks | 30% |
What is in the guide
All 8 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Agency theory and social impact theory
How does 'immediacy' function as a factor in social impact theory?
Show the answer
Immediacy refers to the physical or psychological closeness of the influence source to the target — the closer the source, the greater the social impact and likelihood of obedience. -
The working memory model
What are the two sub-components of the phonological loop?
Show the answer
The phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal process. -
The central nervous system and neurotransmitters
What type of signal does the axon carry, and in which direction?
Show the answer
The axon carries electrical impulses (action potentials) away from the cell body towards the terminal buttons. -
The main features of classical conditioning
What is a conditioned response (CR)?
Show the answer
A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become a conditioned stimulus. -
Diagnosing mental disorders and the four Ds
How is dysfunction assessed when diagnosing a mental disorder?
Show the answer
By examining whether cognitive, emotional or behavioural patterns interfere with everyday functioning. -
Biological explanations of crime
How does impaired amygdala function relate to learning from punishment?
Show the answer
Reduced amygdala functioning leads to failure to learn from punishment because individuals do not experience the normal fear response that would deter future anti-social behaviour. -
Bowlby's theory of attachment
What did Bowlby mean by a critical period for attachment?
Show the answer
That attachment must form within roughly the first two and a half years, and becomes very difficult after about five. -
Addiction, tolerance and dependency
How can physical dependency be distinguished from psychological dependency?
Show the answer
Physical dependency is distinguished by the presence of measurable physiological changes and somatic withdrawal symptoms, rather than purely emotional or cognitive cravings.
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Social Psychology385
- Cognitive Psychology353
- Biological Psychology292
- Learning Theories327
- Clinical Psychology442
- Criminological Psychology306
- Child Psychology293
- Health Psychology340
- Who proposed the working memory model and in what year?
- What concept did the working memory model replace or provide an alternative to?
- What are the three main functions of the central executive in working memory?
- What are the two sub-components of the phonological loop?
- Why might someone struggle to remember a phone number while also trying to mentally rehearse a shopping list?
- What are the four components of the working memory model?
- What is the function of the episodic buffer?
- What evidence from dual-task studies supports the working memory model?
- Which component of working memory has overall control but no storage capacity of its own?
- Baddeley and Hitch in 1974.
- The concept of a unitary short-term store.
- Directing attention, coordinating the slave systems, and allocating processing resources.
- The phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal process.
- Both tasks require the phonological loop, creating competition for the same limited-capacity component of working memory.
- The central executive, the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad and, added later, the episodic buffer.
- Added by Baddeley in 2000, it binds information from the other components and long-term memory into a single episode.
- Two tasks using the same component interfere with each other, while two using different components can be performed together with little loss.
- The central executive.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I only do one of the applied options. Is the rest wasted?
No. Paper 2 is clinical psychology, which is compulsory, plus one of criminological, child and health psychology chosen by your school.
All three are in the guide as separate topics. Work yours and skip the other two.
What is Paper 3 actually on?
It sets no new content. It examines psychological skills: methods, the analysis and interpretation of data, the named studies, and the issues and debates. All of that is carried inside the eight topics, which is where the guide asks it.
How much maths is there?
A significant amount, and it is examined on all three papers. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, levels of measurement, the choice of statistical test, significance and critical values, and the calculations themselves.
Are the classic studies in it?
Yes, each with the detail the mark scheme wants: the aim, the method, the sample, the procedure, the findings, the conclusions and the criticisms.
Edexcel A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.