AQA GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide (8182)
AQA · GCSE
AQA GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 8182 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 619 questions across 8 topics and 39 subtopics, covering both papers with no options left out.
- AQA
- GCSE
- Specification 8182
- 619 questions
Guide overview All 8 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA GCSE Psychology is examined in two papers of 1 hour 45 minutes, each worth half the GCSE. Paper 1, Cognition and Behaviour, covers memory, perception, development and research methods. Paper 2, Social Context and Behaviour, covers social influence, language, thought and communication, brain and neuropsychology, and psychological problems.
There are no options. Every student studies all eight topics, and research methods runs through the whole course as well as having its own section.
| Paper | Covers |
|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Cognition and behaviour |
MEMORY PERCEPTION DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH METHODS |
|
Paper 2 Social context and behaviour |
SOCIAL INFLUENCE LANGUAGE, THOUGHT AND COMMUNICATION BRAIN AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS |
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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Processes and types of memory
Why does thinking about the meaning of new information help it to be remembered?
Show the answer
Semantic encoding links new information to knowledge already stored. The links give more routes back to the information when it needs to be retrieved. -
Sensation, perception and depth cues
What is the depth cue of height in plane?
Show the answer
Height in plane means objects placed higher in the visual field, nearer the horizon, are seen as further away. -
Early brain development, nature and nurture
What does the developing cortex allow a child to do?
Show the answer
The cortex is responsible for cognition, including thinking, language, memory and reasoning. The cortex develops most slowly, continuing to mature into adolescence and beyond. -
Hypotheses and variables
A researcher predicts that eating breakfast improves pupils' test scores. Write a null hypothesis for this study.
Show the answer
Eating breakfast will have no effect on pupils' test scores. Any difference in scores will be due to chance. -
Conformity and Asch's study
On the critical trials, how often did Asch's participants give the wrong majority answer?
Show the answer
Participants gave the wrong majority answer on about 37% of the critical trials. -
Language, thought and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claim?
Show the answer
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that thinking depends on language. The language a person speaks shapes how they see and think about the world. -
The nervous system, fight or flight and the James-Lange theory
What are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system?
Show the answer
The sympathetic branch arouses the body and triggers the fight or flight response. The parasympathetic branch calms the body and returns it to a resting state. -
An introduction to mental health
How can culture affect whether a person seeks help for a mental health problem?
Show the answer
In cultures where mental health problems carry shame, a person may hide symptoms rather than seek help. Some cultures express distress mainly through physical complaints, which can delay diagnosis.
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.
- Memory64
- Perception79
- Development64
- Research Methods138
- Social Influence64
- Language, Thought and Communication64
- Brain and Neuropsychology64
- Psychological Problems82
- What is sensation?
- What is perception?
- Explain the difference between sensation and perception, using the example of seeing a friend across the street.
- What is a depth cue?
- What is the difference between monocular and binocular depth cues?
- What is the depth cue of height in plane?
- Explain relative size as a depth cue.
- What is occlusion?
- Describe linear perspective as a depth cue.
- Sensation is the detection of physical energy, such as light or sound, by the sense organs. The information is then passed to the brain as nerve impulses.
- Perception is the process by which the brain organises and interprets sensory information. Interpretation turns raw sensations into meaningful experiences, such as recognising a face.
- Sensation is the eyes detecting the light reflected from the friend. Perception is the brain interpreting that information and recognising the person as your friend.
- A depth cue is a feature of the visual scene that helps us judge distance. Depth cues allow a flat image on the retina to be seen in three dimensions.
- Monocular depth cues can be used with only one eye. Binocular depth cues need both eyes working together.
- Height in plane means objects placed higher in the visual field, nearer the horizon, are seen as further away.
- Relative size means that of two similar objects, the one that looks smaller is judged to be further away.
- Occlusion happens when one object partly blocks the view of another. The object that is partly hidden is seen as further away.
- Linear perspective means parallel lines appear to converge as they stretch into the distance. The closer together the lines are, the further away that point seems.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 is Memory, Perception, Development and Research Methods. Paper 2 is Social Influence, Language Thought and Communication, Brain and Neuropsychology, and Psychological Problems. The breakdown is here.
Do I have to name the studies?
Yes. The specification names the studies you are examined on, and questions ask who carried them out, what they did, what they found and what is wrong with them.
Is there maths in it?
Yes. Means, medians, modes and ranges, percentages and fractions, ratios, graph selection and interpretation, and reading data from tables. It sits inside the research methods topic and it is examined.
How much research methods is there?
More than most students expect. It is its own section on Paper 1 and it is applied inside every other topic, which is why it is the largest topic in the guide at 138 questions.
AQA GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.