specification overview
AQA A-Level Psychology (7182) is a two-year linear qualification with three 2-hour papers, each worth 33.3%. Papers 1 and 2 cover compulsory content (approaches, memory, social influence, attachment, clinical psychology and mental health, research methods, biopsychology); Paper 3 covers Issues and Debates plus three optional topics.
subject content
1. Social influence
Paper 1- Conformity, obedience
- Minority and majority influence
2. Memory
Paper 1- Multi-store, working memory models
- Explanations for forgetting; eyewitness testimony
3. Attachment
Paper 1- Stages of attachment
- Bowlby's theory, Ainsworth's Strange Situation
4. Clinical psychology and mental health
Paper 1- Definitions in the field of mental health
- Phobias, depression, OCD (with treatments)
5. Approaches in Psychology
Paper 2- Behaviourist, cognitive, biological, humanistic, psychodynamic
- Cognitive neuroscience, now sitting within the biological approach
6. Biopsychology
Paper 2- Divisions of the nervous system, endocrine system
- Localisation of function, plasticity, ways of studying the brain
7. Research methods
Paper 2- Experimental designs, sampling, reliability, validity
- Data analysis: descriptive stats, inferential stats
8. Issues and debates in Psychology
Paper 3- Gender and culture bias; free will vs determinism
- Nature-nurture, holism-reductionism, idiographic-nomothetic
9-11. Optional topics (choose three)
Paper 3- Options: relationships, gender, cognition and development
- Options: schizophrenia, eating behaviour, stress
- Options: aggression, forensic psychology, addiction
assessment structure
| Paper | What's assessed | Length | Marks | Weight | Question types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (Introductory Topics in Psychology) | Social influence, memory, attachment, clinical psychology and mental health | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Multiple-choice, short answer and extended-response essays |
| Paper 2 (Psychology in Context) | Approaches, biopsychology, research methods | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Multiple-choice, short answer, research-methods questions and extended writing |
| Paper 3 (Issues and Options in Psychology) | Compulsory Issues and Debates + three chosen options (one from each of three groups) | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Multiple choice, short answer and extended writing across four 24-mark sections (Section A: debates; Sections B-D: one optional topic each) |
Paper 3 options are chosen one from each of three groups. Groups: (1) relationships/gender/cognition and development; (2) schizophrenia/eating behaviour/stress; (3) aggression/forensic psychology/addiction. Your school picks the options.
assessment objectives
| AO | What it means | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| AO1 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures. | 30-33% |
| AO2 | Apply knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures in a theoretical context, in a practical context, when handling qualitative data, or when handling quantitative data. | 30-33% |
| AO3 | Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence. | 36-38% |
key tips for success
Master the AICE structure for essays
Extended-response answers reward Application, Introduction, Content, Evaluation. Use this scaffold to structure essays under time pressure.
Learn key studies cold
AQA rewards specific named studies with dates, findings and evaluation points. Build a bank of ~2-3 key studies per topic, Asch, Milgram, Baddeley, Bowlby, Ainsworth, etc.
Practise research methods questions
Paper 2 Section C tests research methods heavily. Practise designing studies, calculating stats (mean, median, mode, standard deviation), and evaluating validity and reliability.
Choose options carefully
Paper 3 requires three options (one from each of three groups). Popular combos: relationships + schizophrenia + aggression, or gender + eating behaviour + forensic. Your school picks.
Master the Issues and Debates framework
Paper 3 opens with compulsory Issues and Debates (gender bias, culture bias, free will vs determinism, nature-nurture, holism-reductionism, idiographic-nomothetic, social sensitivity in psychological research). Learn each and apply to option topics.
AO3 is the largest weighting (36-38%) and rewards evaluation
Every extended answer needs balanced evaluation: strengths and weaknesses of theories/studies, contradictory evidence, methodological issues, real-world application.
Where to next
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