AQA A-Level Psychology Predictions 2024

This year, in addition to our ever-popular biology, chemistry, and maths predicted papers, we now have psychology papers for you as well! 

So, like our papers in previous years, Laura, my Head of Psychology, has examined the trends and patterns that have emerged in the past. 

She’s done a really thorough analysis of the topics and questions that have appeared in previous exam seasons and has used this to write psychology-predicted papers for this year.

In addition to this, she has done video walkthroughs of all 3 papers so you can see what a top mark band answer looks like in Psychology. These will also talk you through the skills you’ll need to interpret the questions and know how to structure your answers. And over half term, she will be running 3 live small group revision sessions with will focus on skills for paper 3.

For Paper 3 – Issues and Options in Psychology – there are questions and walkthroughs for ALL of the optional topics. We’ve not limited it to just a selection of the most popular, as some revision resources do. WHICHEVER 3 topics you have prepared for and been taught, there will be questions and support for you!  The video walkthrough is over 3 hours long, so you can get an idea of how much detail has gone into making this for you!

You’ll see questions in the same style as those in the exams and be able to unpick what they are actually asking, what needs to be included in your responses and how these should be structured. Then, you’ll be ready to do exactly the same in the actual exam!

You can get all the 3 papers that we’ve written for this year and all the video walkthroughs in our bootcamp, or you can use these topics as a starting point for your revision.

Please remember to revise everything, as these are just predictions. We don’t have any additional information or know anything in advance of the exams - we have not seen the real papers!

Table of Contents

• AQA A Level Psychology Paper 1: Introductory Topic …

• Social Influence:

• Memory:

• Attachment:

• Psychopathology:

• AQA A Level Psychology Paper 2: Psychology in Cont …

• Approaches in psychology:

• Biopsychology:

• Research Methods:

• AQA A Level Psychology Paper 3: Issues and Options …

• Relationships:

• Gender:

• Cognition and development:

• Schizophrenia:

• Eating Behaviour:

• Stress:

• Aggression:

• Forensic Psychology:

• Addiction:

AQA A Level Psychology Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology

Social Influence:

Understanding Types of Conformity: Familiarise yourself with the three main types of conformity—internalisation, identification, and compliance—and be prepared to provide examples of each. Understand the underlying processes involved in each type of conformity and how they manifest in different social contexts. Practice applying these concepts to real-life scenarios to deepen your understanding and aid in effective exam preparation.

Conformity to Social Roles and Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment: Focus on understanding Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment as a controlled observation rather than an experiment (despite the name!). There was no independent variable, and Zimbardo himself became a participant. Know the aim, procedure, findings, and conclusions of the study, and be able to specifically link these to conformity to social roles. Additionally, be prepared to critically evaluate the research by discussing its strengths, limitations, supporting evidence, contradictory evidence, and alternative explanations.

Explaining Social Change through Social Influence Processes: Use your knowledge of conformity, obedience, and minority influence processes to explain social changes that have occurred. Prepare real-life examples where you have applied psychological research to understand this social change. When discussing these examples, be sure to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological explanations in explaining social change, considering their strengths, limitations, and applicability to different contexts. Developing this critical perspective on social influence processes and their role in societal change will strengthen your responses and demonstrate a deeper understanding of the topic.

Memory:

Types of Long-Term Memory: Familiarise yourself with the three main types of long-term memory—episodic, semantic, and procedural memory. Be prepared to discuss whether there are distinct memory stores for each type and provide supporting evidence as well as contradictory evidence. Consider how research findings support or challenge the idea of separate memory stores for each type of long-term memory.

Explanations of Forgetting: Understand the two main explanations of forgetting - interference and retrieval failure. Interference encompasses proactive and retroactive interference, while retrieval failure includes the absence of cues through context-dependent forgetting and state-dependent forgetting. Be ready to evaluate both explanations by considering supporting evidence, contradictory evidence, and their ability to explain forgetting in real-life situations. Analyse how well each explanation accounts for everyday instances of forgetting and consider their strengths and limitations in different contexts.

Attachment:

Schaffer's Stages of Attachment: Familiarise yourself with Schaffer's four stages of attachment—asocial, indiscriminate, specific, and multiple attachments—and the behaviours associated with each stage. Provide clear examples to distinguish between the stages and be prepared to evaluate the stage model by discussing its strengths and limitations. Consider supporting evidence from Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study, which initially proposed these stages.

The Strange Situation as a Measure of Attachment Type: Understand Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure and how it's used to measure attachment quality. Know the stages of the procedure and the behaviours observed, including proximity-seeking, exploration, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and reunion responses. Be able to evaluate the measure by examining supporting and contradictory evidence and considering its use as a measure of attachment, considering cultural variations.

Effects of Institutionalisation: Explore the impact of institutionalisation on attachment, drawing evidence from studies such as the Romanian orphan studies. Understand the effects of institutionalisation, including disinhibited attachment, delayed physical and intellectual development, and antisocial behaviour. Be prepared to discuss the implications of institutionalisation on attachment formation and development, considering both short-term and long-term consequences.

Psychopathology:

Failure to Function Adequately Definition of Abnormality: Familiarise yourself with the failure to function adequately definition of abnormality and understand its use in determining whether someone's behaviour and condition necessitate formal diagnosis and treatment. Be ready with examples illustrating situations where this definition might apply. Prepare to evaluate this definition by discussing its use and appropriateness, as well as the associated limitations. Have examples ready to illustrate why this definition may not always be the best approach to defining abnormality.

Characteristics of Phobias: Divide the characteristics of phobias into three categories—behavioural, emotional, and cognitive. Ensure clarity about which characteristics belong to each category, as you may encounter specific questions focusing on one type.

Behavioural Explanations of Phobias: Remember that the behavioural approach is used to explain phobias in this part of the exam, involving classical conditioning to describe how phobias are acquired and operant conditioning to explain how they are maintained. Be prepared to evaluate this explanation, considering its applicability to real-life situations and discussing supporting and contradictory evidence.

AQA A Level Psychology Paper 2: Psychology in Context

Please remember to revise thoroughly, as these are just predictions. We don’t have any inside information or prior knowledge of the exams—we have not seen the actual exam papers!

Approaches in psychology:

Wundt and Introspection: Have a comprehensive understanding of how Wundt used the method of introspection to pioneer the scientific study of psychology. Be able to discuss the strengths and limitations of Wundt's work, recognising that while it laid the groundwork for psychology as a science, some of his methods were subjective and wouldn't meet modern scientific standards.

Difference between Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience: Make sure you can differentiate between cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive psychology focuses on understanding mental processes like perception and memory through behavioural observation and experimentation. Cognitive neuroscience, however, explores these processes by investigating their underlying neural mechanisms using techniques like brain imaging.

Psychological Approaches: Pay particular attention to biological, psychodynamic, and humanistic approaches, understanding their core principles and assessing their effectiveness in explaining human behaviour. You should also make sure you have considered the similarities and differences between these approaches, as you may be asked to compare them.

Biopsychology:

Nervous and Endocrine Systems: Familiarise yourself with the structure and functions of the nervous and endocrine systems. Understand how they interact during the fight or flight response.

Synaptic Transmission: Learn about the process of synaptic transmission, including the roles of neurotransmitters, excitation, and inhibition.

Localisation of Brain Function: Understand how different brain areas are responsible for various tasks, including motor, somatosensory, visual, and auditory functions. Be prepared to discuss Broca's and Wernicke's areas and their roles in language, and be ready to evaluate the theory of localization vs. holistic brain organisation.

Post-Mortem Examinations: Be aware of post-mortem examinations as a method of studying brain damage. Understand how they are used to investigate brain structure and function and evaluate their strengths and limitations.

Circadian Rhythms: Focus on research investigating circadian rhythms, including isolation studies like Siffre's cave studies. Understand the roles of internal pacemakers and external zeitgebers, and be prepared to discuss and evaluate this topic in extended discussion questions.

Research Methods:

Embrace Research Methods Across All The Papers: Recognise that Research Methods content can appear in all three exam papers, not just Paper 2. While Paper 2 is where you'll find the main section on Research Methods, it's crucial to understand that research methods knowledge can, and is!, be examined across the entire course. Be prepared to encounter research scenarios in various contexts. Familiarise yourself with examples of research and identify key elements such as aims, hypotheses, variables, control measures, samples used, and data collected. Exposure to different research scenarios will better prepare you for the new piece of research you'll face in this section. Use resources such as our predicted papers and walkthroughs to strengthen your understanding and application of research methods!

AQA A Level Psychology Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology

Please remember to revise comprehensively, as these materials are based on predictions. We do not have access to the actual exam papers or any inside information about the exams.

Issues and debates are critical components of Paper 3, and you should be well-prepared to address them in your answers. Pay particular attention to ethics, hard determinism, the interactionist approach, and idiographic and nomothetic approaches to research.

Have a solid understanding of each issue or debate and be ready to discuss their significance in psychological research and practice. Use examples of theories and studies from various areas of the course to illustrate your points effectively.

Remember that you can draw upon examples from ANY topic you've covered in your studies to support your arguments. Integrating diverse examples will demonstrate a broad understanding of psychological issues and debates and enhance the depth of your discussion.

Relationships:

Evolutionary Explanations for Partner Preference: This topic focuses on  Darwin's theory of sexual selection and concepts like anisogamy and inter/intra-sexual selection. Be prepared to discuss and evaluate the theory, considering both its strengths and limitations. Think about supporting and contradictory evidence and whether the theory remains relevant in modern society.

Gating in Virtual Relationships: Be ready to provide examples of how the lack of gating influences the progression of these virtual relationships. Have evaluative material ready to discuss this topic in-depth, especially if you encounter a 16-mark extended question.

Gender:

Psychodynamic Explanations of Gender Development: Ensure you have a strong understanding of Freud's stages of development, particularly the phallic stage and its association with gender development. Reference concepts like the Oedipus and Electra complexes and the role of identification and internalisation. Use case studies like Little Hans to illustrate these concepts, making clear links to gender development. Evaluate Freud's work by considering supporting and contradictory evidence, as well as its applicability to females and its scientific rigour.

Biological Explanations of Atypical Gender Development: Be able to outline theories such as Brain Sex Theory and the role of genetics. Evaluate these explanations by discussing their strengths, limitations, and potential alternative explanations of atypical gender development.

Cognition and development:

Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development: Understand how social interaction and cultural influences shape cognitive development. Explain concepts like the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Evaluate the theory by discussing supporting and contradictory evidence and consider its application in real-life learning environments. It’s been very influential in education!

Role of Mirror Neurons in Social Cognition: Be prepared to explain how mirror neurons contribute to social cognition, such as perspective-taking and understanding intentions. Evaluate and discuss the role of mirror neurons in conditions like autism and consider both supporting and contradictory evidence.

Schizophrenia:

Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Make sure you can differentiate between these two types of symptoms and provide examples for each. Positive symptoms involve experiences or behaviours added to a person's normal repertoire, such as hallucinations and delusions, while negative symptoms entail the absence or reduction of typical behaviours or experiences, like social withdrawal and reduced emotional expression.

Token Economies for Schizophrenia: Explain how they are used in the treatment and management of the condition, employing concepts such as operant conditioning and reinforcement. Discuss and evaluate their effectiveness, ethical concerns, and alternative approaches to treatment and management.

Diathesis-stress Model: Familiarise yourself with the diathesis-stress model. Understand how this model integrates biological vulnerabilities (diathesis) and environmental stressors to explain the emergence of the disorder. You need to be able to use the interactionist approach to demonstrate how biological predispositions interact with environmental factors to influence the development of schizophrenia. When discussing and evaluating the diathesis-stress model, consider supporting and contradictory evidence. Explore how the model is applied in real-life treatment settings and assess its adequacy as an explanation for schizophrenia.

Eating Behaviour:

Understanding Neophobia and Taste Aversion: Differentiate between neophobia and taste aversion. Neophobia is the fear or reluctance to try new foods, often due to unfamiliarity or potential threats. Taste aversion is a learned association between the taste of a food and an unpleasant experience, leading to future avoidance. Both concepts contribute to evolutionary explanations for food preferences.

 Exploring Genetic Explanations for Obesity: Understand genetic explanations for obesity, considering family patterns and twin studies. Recognise that obesity may be polygenic, involving multiple genes. Evaluate this explanation by examining supporting and contradictory evidence, and consider how the diathesis-stress model could complement genetic explanations by exploring gene-environment interactions.

 Examining Neural Mechanisms in Eating Behaviour: Be ready to explain the role of neural mechanisms, such as the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus, as well as neurotransmitters like neuropeptide Y and hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, in the control of eating behaviour. When evaluating this topic, consider research support, the comprehensiveness of the explanation, and the consideration of social and cultural factors. Acknowledge that much research in this area is conducted on animals and discuss the limitations associated with this approach.

Stress:

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): You may know the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)—alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion. Be ready to evaluate the model, considering research support and whether it provides a complete explanation.

 Personality Type and Stress: Make sure you know the difference between Type A and Type B personality types and the characteristics associated with them. Individuals with a Type A personality tend to be competitive, ambitious, impatient, and highly organised. Type A individuals may also experience higher levels of stress. In contrast, individuals with a Type B personality are more relaxed, laid-back, and less focused on time urgency. They tend to be more tolerant of others' shortcomings and exhibit lower levels of stress. To evaluate this area of the specification, consider its value in real life, how it could be used to manage stress and whether there are other personality types that have not been considered.

 Stress Inoculation Therapy: Stress Inoculation Therapy is just one of the ways that stress can be managed. You should be clear about the three stages involved – Conceptualisation, Skills Acquisition and then Application. Again, evaluation and discussion of this topic should consider supporting and contradictory evidence and whether it’s an appropriate stress management technique.

Aggression:

Ethological Explanations of Aggression: You should refer to the study of aggression in animals, observing their natural behaviours and habitats. Include concepts such as innate releasing mechanisms and fixed action potentials. When evaluating, consider both supportive and contradictory evidence and assess whether research may be outdated.

Explanations of Institutional Aggression: This topic particularly focuses on aggression within institutional settings, particularly in prisons, examining both dispositional and situational factors. Discuss the breadth of evidence, weighing supportive and contradictory findings. Evaluate whether all relevant factors have been adequately considered in these explanations.

Forensic Psychology:

Understanding Eysenck's Theory of Criminal Personality: Familiarise yourself with Eysenck's theory, which proposes that extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism traits contribute to a criminal personality type. You should explain how biological factors and socialisation influence the development of this personality type. When discussing and evaluating this theory, consider research support, the thoroughness of the explanation, and other factors that may contribute to criminal behaviour beyond Eysenck's model.

Exploring Behaviour Modification: You need to understand behaviour modification techniques, such as token economies, commonly used in prison settings. Explain concepts like operant conditioning and reinforcement, and provide examples of how token economies function within prisons. When evaluating behaviour modification techniques, consider their effectiveness in supporting rehabilitation, as well as ethical issues associated with their implementation.

Addiction:

Cognitive Theory of Gambling Addiction: Familiarise yourself with the cognitive theory of gambling addiction, which involves expectations, cognitive biases, and self-efficacy. Explain how these factors contribute to the development and maintenance of gambling addiction. When discussing and evaluating this theory, consider supporting and contradictory evidence. Assess whether the explanation adequately accounts for the occurrence of gambling addiction.

Prochaska's Six Stage Model of Behaviour Change: Understand Prochaska's six-stage model of behaviour change, which includes precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination stages. Make clear links to addictive behaviour throughout each stage of the model. When discussing and evaluating this model, consider supporting and contradictory evidence. Assess its applicability to addictive behaviours and its effectiveness in promoting behaviour change.