AQA GCSE Psychology sample questions and answers (8182)
Guide overview All 8 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
40 sample questions and answers
Taken from every topic of AQA GCSE Psychology, specification 8182. The full guide has 619.
Paper 1
Memory
64 questions in the guide, across 4 subtopics. More from this topic
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Processes and types of memory
Why does thinking about the meaning of new information help it to be remembered?
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Semantic encoding links new information to knowledge already stored. The links give more routes back to the information when it needs to be retrieved. -
Processes and types of memory
How do episodic and semantic memories differ in the way they are recalled?
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Episodic memories are recalled along with details of when and where they happened. Semantic memories are recalled as facts, usually without knowing when they were learned. -
The multi-store model of memory
What is the capacity of short-term memory?
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Short-term memory holds about seven items, give or take two. Chunking items into larger units can increase how much is held. -
The multi-store model of memory
What happens to information in short-term memory that is not rehearsed?
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Unrehearsed information is lost from short-term memory. The model says it decays over time or is pushed out by new items, which is called displacement. -
Primacy, recency and Murdock's serial position curve
How does the multi-store model explain the recency effect?
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The last items in a list are still held in short-term memory when recall begins. Recall of these items can happen straight away, before they are lost.
Paper 1
Perception
79 questions in the guide, across 5 subtopics. More from this topic
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Sensation, perception and depth cues
What is the depth cue of height in plane?
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Height in plane means objects placed higher in the visual field, nearer the horizon, are seen as further away. -
Sensation, perception and depth cues
Why is retinal disparity less useful for judging the distance of far-away objects?
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Distant objects produce almost identical images in the two eyes. The disparity becomes too small for the brain to use. -
Gibson's direct theory of perception
Looking out of a moving train, why do nearby fence posts seem to rush past while distant hills barely move?
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The fence posts rush past because of motion parallax. Close objects cross the visual field quickly, while far objects cross it slowly. -
Gibson's direct theory of perception
Give one strength of Gibson's direct theory.
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Gibson's theory explains why perception is usually fast and accurate in the real world. Quick, direct perception would have helped our ancestors to survive. -
Visual illusions
Describe the Ponzo illusion.
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The Ponzo illusion shows two identical horizontal lines placed between two lines that converge, like railway tracks. The upper line looks longer than the lower one.
Paper 1
Development
64 questions in the guide, across 4 subtopics. More from this topic
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Early brain development, nature and nurture
What does the developing cortex allow a child to do?
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The cortex is responsible for cognition, including thinking, language, memory and reasoning. The cortex develops most slowly, continuing to mature into adolescence and beyond. -
Early brain development, nature and nurture
What role does nature play in early brain development?
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Genes control the basic plan and sequence of brain development. The brain stem, thalamus, cerebellum and cortex develop in the same order in every baby. -
Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development
A child learns that the animal she called a dog is actually a cow, and forms a new category for cows. Which process is this?
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The child is using accommodation, because her dog schema has been changed and a new cow schema created. -
Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development
What can children in the concrete operational stage do that younger children cannot?
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Concrete operational children can conserve and are much less egocentric. Children at this stage reason logically, but only about real, concrete objects. -
Piaget in education, naughty teddy and policeman doll studies
Outline the method of the naughty teddy study.
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Eighty Scottish children aged four to six were shown two equal rows of counters. The experimenter rearranged a row deliberately in one condition. A 'naughty teddy' glove puppet messed up the row in the other.
Paper 1
Research Methods
138 questions in the guide, across 8 subtopics. More from this topic
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Hypotheses and variables
A researcher predicts that eating breakfast improves pupils' test scores. Write a null hypothesis for this study.
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Eating breakfast will have no effect on pupils' test scores. Any difference in scores will be due to chance. -
Sampling methods
Why might a random sample still be unrepresentative?
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Chance alone can produce a sample that over-represents one group, such as mostly boys. The risk is greatest when the sample is small. -
Experimental designs and types of experiment
What is a matched pairs design?
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A matched pairs design uses different participants who are paired on relevant features, such as age or IQ. One member of each pair goes into each condition. -
Interviews, questionnaires, case studies and observations
Give one strength and one weakness of questionnaires.
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A questionnaire can collect data from many people quickly and cheaply. Participants may give socially desirable answers rather than truthful ones. -
Research procedures, reliability and validity
Why is random allocation used in an independent groups design?
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Random allocation spreads participant variables evenly across the conditions. Any difference in the results is then more likely to be caused by the independent variable.
Paper 2
Social Influence
64 questions in the guide, across 4 subtopics. More from this topic
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Conformity and Asch's study
On the critical trials, how often did Asch's participants give the wrong majority answer?
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Participants gave the wrong majority answer on about 37% of the critical trials. -
Conformity and Asch's study
How can personality affect conformity?
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People with low self-esteem or a strong need for approval tend to conform more. People with high self-esteem or an internal locus of control are more likely to resist. -
Obedience, agency theory and the authoritarian personality
What did Milgram conclude from his original study?
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Milgram concluded that ordinary people will obey a legitimate authority even when it means harming someone. The situation, rather than a cruel personality, explained most of the obedience. -
Obedience, agency theory and the authoritarian personality
How does a harsh upbringing produce an authoritarian personality, according to Adorno?
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Parents who use strict discipline and love that depends on good behaviour create hostility in the child. The child cannot express this hostility towards the parents, so displaces it onto weaker scapegoats. -
Bystander intervention and Piliavin's subway study
Why are people more likely to help a victim who is similar to them?
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People feel more empathy for someone they see as similar to themselves. Levine found football fans more often helped an injured stranger wearing their own team's shirt.
Paper 2
Language, Thought and Communication
64 questions in the guide, across 4 subtopics. More from this topic
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Language, thought and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claim?
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The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that thinking depends on language. The language a person speaks shapes how they see and think about the world. -
Language, thought and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
What evidence from the Dani of New Guinea challenges the strong version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
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The Dani have only two colour words. Rosch found they still remembered focal colours better than other shades, just as English speakers did. Thinking about colour did not depend on having the words. -
Animal communication and von Frisch's bee study
What was the aim of von Frisch's bee study?
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Von Frisch aimed to find out how honeybees tell other bees where to find food. -
Animal communication and von Frisch's bee study
Give one strength of von Frisch's bee study.
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Von Frisch's careful observations have been repeated many times. Radar tracking later confirmed that bees fly in the direction the dance indicates. -
Non-verbal communication
How does eye contact express emotion?
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Prolonged eye contact can show affection or, as a hard stare, hostility. Avoiding eye contact can signal embarrassment, sadness or guilt.
Paper 2
Brain and Neuropsychology
64 questions in the guide, across 4 subtopics. More from this topic
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The nervous system, fight or flight and the James-Lange theory
What are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system?
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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. -
The nervous system, fight or flight and the James-Lange theory
Why can the fight or flight response be unhelpful in modern life?
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The response evolved to deal with physical threats such as predators. Modern stressors such as traffic or deadlines rarely need fighting or running, and repeated arousal can harm health. -
Neurons, synaptic transmission and Hebb's theory
What is a synapse?
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A synapse is the junction between two neurons. The tiny gap between the neurons is called the synaptic cleft. -
Neurons, synaptic transmission and Hebb's theory
What would happen if the reuptake of a neurotransmitter were blocked?
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The neurotransmitter would stay in the synaptic cleft for longer. The postsynaptic neuron would keep being stimulated, so the neurotransmitter's effect would be stronger. -
Brain structure, localisation and Penfield's study
What is localisation of function?
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Localisation of function is the idea that particular areas of the brain carry out particular functions.
Paper 2
Psychological Problems
82 questions in the guide, across 6 subtopics. More from this topic
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An introduction to mental health
How can culture affect whether a person seeks help for a mental health problem?
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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. -
An introduction to mental health
Why is it difficult to know whether mental health problems are truly becoming more common?
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A rise in recorded cases may reflect better recognition and less stigma rather than more illness. The ways problems are defined and diagnosed have also changed over time. -
Effects of mental health problems
What are the social effects of significant mental health problems?
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Society needs to provide more social care, such as support workers and residential care. Mental health problems also have wider effects on crime and on the economy. -
Effects of mental health problems
How can a parent's mental health problem affect their family?
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Children may take on caring responsibilities or feel worried and confused. Other family members may also experience strain and stress. -
Clinical depression
How does unipolar depression differ from bipolar depression?
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Unipolar depression involves only low mood. Bipolar depression swings between depression and mania.
AQA GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
The other 579 questions, with the answers printed after each section.