AQA A-Level Psychology Paper 1

Paper 1 is the first exam paper for A-level AQA Psychology (and AS-level Psychology) that covers Introductory Topics in Psychology.

This paper tests the foundational topics of the course – essentially the basics of psychology that every student starts with.

1. Social Influence  (24 marks)

• Conformity: Why do people sometimes change their behavior to fit in with a group? You’ll look at:
  • Internalisation (truly changing what you believe),
  • Identification (adopting views temporarily to be like a group or person),
  • Compliance (publicly going along with a group, but maybe not actually agreeing in private).
  • Informational and normative social influence
  • Studies by psychologists like Asch (on how group pressure affects conformity).
• Conformity to Social Roles: How people behave when given certain “roles” (like being a guard or prisoner in Zimbardo’s prison study).
• Obedience: Why do we follow orders from authority figures? You’ll learn about:
  • The agentic state, legitimacy of authority, and Milgram’s experiments (where people delivered electric shocks because a researcher told them to).
  • Situational variables (like proximity of authory figure, location, uniforms) that affect obedience.
  • Dispositional explanation, such as the Authoritarian Personality, which suggests some personalities are more likely to obey.
• Resistance to Social Influence: How and why some people resist social pressure (e.g., social support and locus of control).
• Minority Influence: How a small group or individual (the “minority”) can change the beliefs or actions of the majority over time (factors include consistency, commitment, flexibility).
• Social Change: How ideas or behaviors spread through society (e.g., how protest movements lead to big changes).

2. Memory (24 marks)

• Multi-Store Model of Memory: Breaking memory into three main parts—sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
  • You’ll look at things like how memories are coded (visual, sound-based, etc.), how much you can store, and for how long.
• Types of Long-Term Memory:
  • Episodic (memories of events in your life),
  • Semantic (facts and general knowledge),
  • Procedural (knowing how to do things, like riding a bike).
• Working Memory Model: Focuses on how short-term memory isn’t just one box, but has parts like the central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer.
• Forgetting: Why we forget things, including:
  • Interference (old and new memories getting mixed up),
  • Retrieval failure (not having the right ‘cues’ to bring the memory back).
• Eyewitness Testimony: How accurate (or inaccurate) people’s memories can be when recalling events. You’ll look at how misleading questions, post-event discussion, and anxiety can affect what people remember.
• Improving Eyewitness Testimony: Techniques like the cognitive interview to help people remember events more accurately.

3. Attachment (24 marks)

• Caregiver-Infant Interactions: How babies and carers connect (reciprocity, interactional synchrony).
• Stages of Attachment: How babies develop attachments in different phases (Schaffer’s stages), and what role fathers might play.
• Animal Studies: Famous experiments by Lorenz (geese imprinting) and Harlow (baby monkeys and “comfort” vs. “food” mother).
• Explanations of Attachment:
  • Learning theory (we attach because caregivers feed us),
  • Bowlby’s monotropic theory (we have one main bond, and this bond is crucial for later life).
• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation: A procedure to measure different attachment types: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant.
  • You’ll also learn about cultural variations in attachment (like studies by van Ijzendoorn).
• Maternal Deprivation (Bowlby): What happens if a child is separated from their mother (or mother figure) for a long time in early life?
• Romanian Orphan Studies: Real-life examples showing what happens to children raised in institutions with little care.
• Influence of Early Attachment on Later Relationships: How your first attachment can affect friendships and romantic relationships later on. This links back to Bowlby’s idea of an internal working model (the mental blueprint you develop for relationships).

4. Psychopathology – A-Level Only (24 marks)

If you are taking the AS exam, you won’t be tested on Psychopathology in Paper 1 (it appears in AS Paper 2 instead).

• Definitions of Abnormality: Different ways to decide if someone’s behavior is “abnormal,” such as going against social norms, not being able to function in daily life, or being far from the statistical average.
• Phobias, Depression, and OCD: You’ll learn the main features of each condition (behavioral, emotional, and thinking patterns).
• Behavioral Approach to Phobias: Explains phobias through classical conditioning (learning by association) and operant conditioning (learning through rewards/punishments). You’ll study treatments like:
  • Systematic Desensitisation (using relaxation and a step-by-step plan to face fears),
  • Flooding (facing the fear at full intensity all at once).
• Cognitive Approach to Depression: Looks at how negative thought patterns (like Beck’s negative triad or Ellis’s ABC model) can cause depression. Treatment involves:
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which helps people challenge and change their negative thoughts.
• Biological Approach to OCD: Focuses on genes and brain structures that might cause OCD. Treatment often involves:
  • Drug therapy (e.g., antidepressants like SSRIs).

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How Paper 1 Is Assessed (Exam Format)

Paper 1 is a written exam with a mix of question types, testing both your factual knowledge and your ability to explain or evaluate ideas.

AS Paper 1 is essentially a shorter version of A-level Paper 1 with one less topic.

The question format is alike, but A-level Paper 1 demands a broader knowledge (covering an additional topic) and a bit more depth in answers.

Make sure you know which exam you are preparing for, so you can focus on the right content.

Essentially, A-level Paper 1 is a bigger exam because it’s meant to be taken after two years of study, while AS Paper 1 is after one year of study.

When You Take Them:

AS and A-level are separate qualifications under the AQA’s system.

AS (Advanced Subsidiary) is typically taken at the end of the first year of college (Year 12) if a school offers it. A-level exams are taken at the end of the second year (Year 13).

Some students take AS as a standalone qualification or as a way to prepare for A-levels, but AS results no longer count toward the final A-level (they are decoupled).

If you are doing the full A-level course, you might not take the AS at all and just take the A-level exams.

If you do take AS Paper 1, you won’t be tested on Psychopathology in Paper 1 (it appears in AS Paper 2 instead).

Question Types: Whether AS or A-level, expect a variety of questions:

1. Multiple-choice questions (MCQs):

These test your quick recall of facts or understanding of basic concepts.

For example, a question might ask “Which part of the memory stores auditory information?” with a few options to choose from.

These are typically 1 mark each.

2. Short-answer questions:

These may be worth 2, 4, or 6 marks (varies) and might ask you to define a term, give an example, or briefly explain a concept or study.

For instance, “Explain what is meant by ‘secure attachment’” could be a short-answer question where you write a couple of sentences.

3. Extended writing (essay) questions:

These are the high-mark questions (often around 8 to 16 marks). They require a longer answer in paragraphs.

You might be asked to outline and evaluate a theory or research study.

“Outline and evaluate the multi-store model of memory” is an example where you’d write a few paragraphs – first describing the model, then giving some strengths and weaknesses of the model.

These questions assess not just your knowledge (what you know) but also your ability to think critically about the topic (for example, can you point out limitations of a study or compare it to another explanation?).

Answers are written in an essay style, but remember, they don’t need to be overly long – just well-structured and covering the points needed for the marks.

The extended essay questions in A-level may be worth more marks (often 16 marks) and expect you to provide a more detailed answer with multiple evaluation points.

In AS, extended questions might be a bit shorter (possibly around 12 marks) and slightly more straightforward.

Research Methods and Practical Skills

While the main subject content for Research Methods is listed under Paper 2 for AS Psychology and Paper 2 for A-level Psychology, questions requiring research methods skills can appear in Paper 1.

For the exam, you may get questions on research methods in the context of these Paper 1 topics (e.g., a question about how to design a memory experiment).

Throughout these topics, you’ll be asked to show that you can:

• Design Research: Decide how you’d test something in psychology (like choosing participants, materials, ethical considerations).
• Conduct Research: Carry out or imagine carrying out a small study, making sure it’s done safely and ethically.
• Analyse and Interpret Data: Look at results (like graphs or charts) and decide what they mean. This often includes some math (calculating averages or percentages).
• Use ICT: You might use computers or online tools to collect or share data.

The specific number of marks allocated to Research Methods questions in Paper 1 appears to vary between different exam sittings, based on the mark schemes provided:

For AS Psychology Paper 1, the mark schemes show Research Methods accounting for:

• 10 marks in June 2016.
• 18 marks in June 2018 .
• 14 marks in the Specimen 1 paper.

For A-level Psychology Paper 1, the mark schemes show Research Methods accounting for:

• 18 marks in the Specimen 1 paper.
• 16 marks in the Specimen 2 paper.

Across the overall assessment (all papers), at least 25–30% of the total marks will assess skills, knowledge, and understanding related to research methods.

How much of A-level psychology is maths?

Mathematical skills assessed in Paper 1 can include arithmetic calculations (like ratios, percentages, mean, median, mode), interpreting numerical data, drawing and interpreting graphs, and understanding statistical concepts like significance.

These skills are often applied within the context of Research Methods questions.

Assessment Objectives

There are three assessment objectives assessed in each examination: 

1. Demonstrate knowledge
2. Application of knowledge
3. Analyse, interpret, and evaluate

There may be one, two, or all (only in the extended writing 16-mark question).

AO1: Demonstrate Knowledge

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques, and procedures.
2. Show knowledge and understanding of psychological theories, terminology, concepts, studies, and methods.

AO2: Application of Knowledge

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques, and procedures.
2. Show knowledge and understanding of psychological theories, terminology, concepts, studies, and methods.

In application questions, examiners look for “effective application to the scenario”, meaning that you need to describe the theory and explain the scenario using the theory, making the links between the two very clear.

If there is more than one individual in the scenario, you must mention all the characters to get to the top band.

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AO3: Analyse, interpret and evaluate

Analyse, interpret, and evaluate scientific information, ideas, and evidence, including in relation to issues, to:

• make judgements and reach conclusions
• develop and refine practical design and procedures.

For example:

• Whether or not theories are supported or refuted by valid research evidence.
• General criticisms and/or strengths of theories and studies:
• Whether or not theories are supported or refuted by valid research evidence.
• Contextualising how the topic in question relates to broader debates and approaches in Psychology
• Animal Research raises the issue of whether it’s morally and/or scientifically right to use animals. The main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. Animal research also raises the issue of extrapolation. Can we generalise from studies on animals to humans, as their anatomy and physiology are different from humans?

Past Papers & Mark Schemes