OCR GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide (J203)
OCR · GCSE
OCR GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification J203 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 577 questions across 7 topics and 33 subtopics, covering both papers with every core study the specification names.
- OCR
- GCSE
- Specification J203
- 577 questions
Guide overview All 7 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
OCR GCSE Psychology is examined in two papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 90 marks, each worth half the GCSE. Component 01 covers criminal psychology, development and psychological problems. Component 02 covers social influence, memory, and sleep and dreaming.
Research methods has its own section on both papers and runs through the other topics too. There are no options: every student studies all seven topics, and each one is anchored to the core studies the specification names.
| Paper | Covers |
|---|---|
|
Component 01 Studies and applications in psychology 1 |
CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS RESEARCH METHODS |
|
Component 02 Studies and applications in psychology 2 |
SOCIAL INFLUENCE MEMORY SLEEP AND DREAMING RESEARCH METHODS |
What is in the guide
All 7 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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Types of crime and how crime is measured
Is anti-social behaviour always a crime?
Show the answer
Anti-social behaviour is not always a criminal offence. Minor anti-social acts may be dealt with by warnings or civil orders rather than prosecution. -
Stages of development, the brain and IQ tests
What is adulthood?
Show the answer
Adulthood is the stage from about 18 onwards, when physical growth is complete. The brain is usually fully mature by the mid-twenties. -
Mental health, prevalence and changing attitudes
How does the prevalence of mental health problems differ between men and women?
Show the answer
Women are more likely than men to report common problems such as anxiety and depression. Men are more likely to die by suicide and less likely to seek help. -
Conformity, crowds and culture
What is collective behaviour?
Show the answer
Collective behaviour is the way people act when they come together as a group, often spontaneously. People in a collective may act quite differently from how they would act alone. -
Information processing and the multi-store model
What is decay as a type of forgetting?
Show the answer
Decay is forgetting because a memory trace fades over time when it is not used. Decay is most often used to explain forgetting from short-term memory. -
Sleep stages, functions and body clocks
What is deep sleep?
Show the answer
Deep sleep, or stage 3, is the stage from which a person is hardest to wake, with slow delta brain waves. Older descriptions divide deep sleep into stages 3 and 4. -
Hypotheses, variables and experimental designs
What is an independent variable, and how is it manipulated?
Show the answer
The independent variable is the factor a researcher changes to see its effect. The researcher manipulates it by creating different conditions, such as music versus silence.
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.
- Criminal Psychology66
- Development83
- Psychological Problems93
- Social Influence70
- Memory69
- Sleep and Dreaming69
- Research Methods127
- What is the pre-natal stage of development?
- Why is the pre-natal stage important for brain development?
- What is the childhood stage of development?
- What is adolescence?
- How does the brain change during adolescence?
- What is adulthood?
- How is the human nervous system divided?
- What is a neuron, and what are its main parts?
- How do neurons communicate across a synapse?
- The pre-natal stage runs from conception to birth, a period of about nine months. The brain and nervous system begin to form within the first few weeks.
- Most of the brain's neurons are produced before birth. Alcohol, drugs or poor nutrition during pregnancy can harm the developing brain.
- Childhood runs from birth to the start of adolescence, at around 12. The brain forms huge numbers of new synapses in the early years, as language, movement and thinking develop.
- Adolescence is the stage between childhood and adulthood, beginning with puberty at around 10 to 13. Hormonal changes bring physical growth and sexual maturity.
- The prefrontal cortex, which controls planning and self-control, is still maturing in adolescence. Emotional areas such as the limbic system mature earlier, which may help explain teenage risk-taking.
- Adulthood is the stage from about 18 onwards, when physical growth is complete. The brain is usually fully mature by the mid-twenties.
- The central nervous system is the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is the network of nerves connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
- A neuron is a nerve cell that carries electrical impulses. A neuron has dendrites that receive signals, a cell body, and an axon that passes impulses on.
- A synapse is the tiny gap between one neuron and the next. An impulse releases neurotransmitters, which cross the gap and bind to receptors on the next neuron.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
Which topics are on which paper?
Component 01 is Criminal Psychology, Development and Psychological Problems. Component 02 is Social Influence, Memory, and Sleep and Dreaming. Research Methods is examined on both. The breakdown is here.
Do I have to name the studies?
Yes. The specification names the core studies and you are examined on them directly: who carried it out, what they did, what they found and what is wrong with it. A study described vaguely scores almost nothing.
How much research methods is there?
More than most students expect. It has its own section on both papers and it is applied inside every other topic. It is 127 questions in the guide, covering experimental design, sampling, variables, ethics, reliability and validity, data types, and the calculations.
Is there maths in it?
Yes. Means, medians, modes and ranges, percentages and fractions, ratios, graph selection and interpretation, and reading data from tables. All of it sits inside the research methods topic.
OCR GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.