Eduqas A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Eduqas · A-Level
Eduqas A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
A question-and-answer revision guide for Eduqas A-Level Psychology, built to be worked in three passes rather than read.
- Eduqas
- A-Level
- 18 topics
The 3-step active recall method
Re-reading notes is a futile process when your aim is to remember the information and successfully apply it in exam settings. Active recall is the method you use to ensure the information sticks for a long period of time.
But even active recall can be futile unless you have a structured way of implementing it. This is where the 3-step active recall method comes in, a structured method that is signature to the Levo Learning guides.
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Step 1
Answer up to 10 questions cold, closed book, even if you are unsure on the topic.
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Step 2
Answer the same questions again, but open book. Write the correct answer down even if it seems pointless.
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Step 3
Repeat as step 1 and answer the questions closed book again.
Worked across the Eduqas A-Level Psychology specification, one subtopic at a time.
The subject, and what is assessed
Eduqas A-Level Psychology is assessed by three components, each lasting 2 hours 15 minutes, carrying 100 marks and worth a third of the qualification. Component 1 covers the five psychological approaches from past to present.
Component 2 covers investigating behaviour, including research planning and data handling. Component 3 covers implications in the real world through applied behaviours.
Research methods are examined in Component 2 and again through the personal investigations.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component 1 | Psychology: Past to Present | 2 hours 15 minutes | 100 marks | 33.3% |
| Component 2 | Psychology: Investigating Behaviour | 2 hours 15 minutes | 100 marks | 33.3% |
| Component 3 | Psychology: Implications in the Real World | 2 hours 15 minutes | 100 marks | 33.3% |
Memorisation, then application
Marks are given for applying content to the question that has been set, which cannot happen while the content is still being looked up. Step 1 shows what is actually held.
Step 2 puts the correct wording in front of you while the gap is still fresh. Step 3 repeats the cold test, and the difference between the first and third attempt is the part that has moved.
Every question in the guide is paired with its answer in the same document, so step 2 is done from the guide itself rather than from a separate set of notes.
What is inside the guide
Questions are grouped by topic and then by subtopic, following the Eduqas specification. Open a topic to see its subtopics.
Biological Approach7 subtopics
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Evolutionary influences and Localisation of brain function11
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Neurotransmitters and Weaknesses of the approach15
- Therapy derived from the approach: Drug therapy16
- Therapy derived from the approach: Psychosurgery10
- Classic research: the methodology and procedures12
- Classic research: the findings, conclusions and evaluation14
- Contemporary debate20
Psychodynamic Approach9 subtopics
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Influence of childhood experiences and Unconscious mind12
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Tripartite personality and Weaknesses of the approach14
- Therapy derived from the approach: Dream analysis15
- Therapy derived from the approach: Psychodrama13
- Classic research: Methodology and Procedures9
- Classic research: Findings and Conclusions9
- Classic research: Ethical issues and social implications8
- Contemporary debate: the mother as primary care-giver, the arguments10
- Contemporary debate: the mother as primary care-giver, the evidence and conclusion11
Behaviourist Approach9 subtopics
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Blank slate and Behaviour learnt through conditioning11
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Humans and animals learn in similar ways15
- Therapy derived from the approach: Aversion therapy13
- Therapy derived from the approach: Systematic desensitisation13
- Classic research: Methodology and Procedures10
- Classic research: Findings and Conclusions8
- Classic research: Ethical issues and social implications8
- Contemporary debate: using conditioning to control children, the arguments12
- Contemporary debate: using conditioning to control children, the evidence and conclusion13
Cognitive Approach9 subtopics
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Computer analogy, Internal mental processes and Schemas15
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Strengths of the approach and Weaknesses of the approach11
- Therapy derived from the approach: Cognitive behavioural therapy17
- Therapy derived from the approach: Rational emotive behaviour therapy11
- Classic research: Methodology and Procedures8
- Classic research: Findings and Conclusions10
- Classic research: Ethical issues and social implications8
- Contemporary debate: the reliability of eye-witness testimony, the arguments12
- Contemporary debate: the reliability of eye-witness testimony, the evidence and conclusion14
Positive Approach9 subtopics
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Acknowledgement of free will and Focus on 'the good life'12
- Assumptions and evaluation of the approach: Strengths of the approach and Weaknesses of the approach14
- Therapy derived from the approach: Mindfulness17
- Therapy derived from the approach: Quality of life therapy9
- Classic research: Methodology and Procedures8
- Classic research: Findings and Conclusions10
- Classic research: Ethical issues and social implications8
- Contemporary debate: the relevance of positive psychology today, the arguments12
- Contemporary debate: the relevance of positive psychology today, the evidence and conclusion14
Comparing the Five Approaches2 subtopics
- Comparison of the five approaches: Similarities between the approaches15
- Comparison of the five approaches: Nature-nurture debate, Reductionism and holism11
Core Studies in Social and Developmental Psychology4 subtopics
- Social psychology core study: Milgram (1963), Method and procedure, Results15
- Social psychology core study: Milgram (1963), Conclusions and Evaluation of the study11
- Developmental psychology core study: Kohlberg (1968), Method and procedure, Results15
- Developmental psychology core study: Kohlberg (1968), Conclusions and Evaluation of the study11
Planning Psychological Research10 subtopics
- Deciding on a research question: Aim of the research and Independent variables12
- Deciding on a research question: Co-variables, Operationalisation of variables and Extraneous variables12
- Methodologies: Experiments, Participant observations and Non-participant observations11
- Methodologies: Content analysis, Structured interviews / questionnaires and Correlational studies8
- Methodologies: Case studies, Cross-sectional studies and Self-reports10
- Location of research18
- Participants and sampling: Target populations, Sampling frames and Opportunity sampling8
- Participants and sampling: Systematic sampling, Stratified sampling and Quota sampling9
- Participants and sampling: Self-selected sampling9
- Experimental design19
Data Handling, Statistics and Mathematical Skills9 subtopics
- Levels of measurement20
- Graphical representation: Frequency tables and Graphical representation (including line graphs15
- Graphical representation: Distribution curves (including normal, positive and negative skewed11
- Descriptive statistics: Measures of central tendency9
- Descriptive statistics: Measures of dispersion and Calculating from a set of results17
- Inferential statistics: Chi Square test14
- Inferential statistics: Mann Whitney U test and Critical values from tables12
- Mathematical requirements (Appendix A): Standard form and unit conversion13
- Mathematical requirements (Appendix A): Calculations for statistical tests18
Evaluating and Validating Research7 subtopics
- Reliability20
- Validity: Internal validity, External validity and Specific validity issues (including researcher bias13
- Validity: Ways of dealing with issues of validity13
- Ethics: Confidentiality and Risk to the participants’ values12
- Ethics: Valid consent and Managing the risk posed by ethical issues (including the use of ethics13
- The role of the scientific community: Peer review and its purposes, Criticisms of peer review10
- The role of the scientific community: Sections of a psychological report14
Personal Investigations and Novel Research Scenarios4 subtopics
- Personal investigations: applying, Hypotheses and variables, Methodology and experimental design9
- Personal investigations: applying research methods to first-hand investigations, Sampling9
- Personal investigations: applying research methods to first-hand investigations, Inferential statistics8
- Application of research methods to a novel scenario20
Addictive Behaviours10 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is, How it is recognised and diagnosed11
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How common it is, Effects on the individual and on society10
- Biological explanations: Addiction genes and Disease of the brain14
- Biological explanations: Dopamine12
- Individual differences explanations: Cognitive biases and Field dependence14
- Individual differences explanations: Lang's addictive personality traits12
- Social psychological explanations: Co-morbidity with mental and Peer pressure11
- Social psychological explanations: Role of the media13
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Agonist and antagonist substitution8
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Aversion therapy18
Autistic Spectrum Behaviours11 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is, How it is recognised and diagnosed9
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How common it is, Effects on the individual and on society13
- Biological explanations: Amygdala dysfunction and Chloride ions at birth14
- Biological explanations: Genetic predisposition12
- Individual differences explanations: Gender differences and Theory of mind14
- Individual differences explanations: Weak central coherence theory12
- Extreme male brain and empathising-systemising theories16
- The refrigerator mother theory, and evaluation10
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Picture Exchange Communication System8
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Relationship Development Intervention9
- Methods of modifying the behaviour9
Bullying Behaviours11 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is, How it is recognised and diagnosed9
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How common it is, Effects on the individual and on society13
- Biological explanations: Bullying genes and Evolved gender differences13
- Biological explanations: Hormones13
- Individual differences explanations: Cognitive biases and Narcissistic personality11
- Individual differences explanations: Threatened egotism, narcissism and theory of mind15
- Social psychological explanations: Cultural differences and In-group / out-group13
- Social psychological explanations: Moral disengagement13
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Creating A Peaceful School Learning Environment8
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme9
- Methods of modifying the behaviour9
Criminal Behaviours10 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is10
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How it is recognised and diagnosed11
- Biological explanations: Disinhibition hypothesis and Inherited criminality personality theory13
- Biological explanations: Role of the amygdala13
- Individual differences explanations: Eysenck's criminal personality11
- Individual differences explanations: Intelligence factors and Psychopathic personality15
- Social psychological explanations: Differential association10
- Social psychological explanations: Gender socialisation and Normalisation theory16
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Anger management9
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Restorative justice17
Schizophrenia11 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is, How it is recognised and diagnosed13
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How common it is, Effects on the individual and on society13
- Biological explanations: Dopamine hypothesis and Enlarged ventricles16
- Biological explanations: Cannabis, genetics and the diathesis-stress model10
- Individual differences explanations: Thought disorder10
- Individual differences explanations: Schizophrenogenic mother and Sex differences16
- Social psychological explanations: Cultural norms8
- Social psychological explanations: Dysfunctional families8
- Social psychological explanations: Expressed emotion10
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Antipsychotic drugs9
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Cognitive behavioral therapy17
Stress10 subtopics
- Characteristics of the behaviour: What the behaviour is, How it is recognised and diagnosed12
- Characteristics of the behaviour: How common it is, Effects on the individual and on society14
- Biological explanations: Adrenaline and Evolutionary adaptation16
- Biological explanations: Stress genes10
- Individual differences explanations: Type A behaviour and hardiness16
- Individual differences explanations: Self-efficacy10
- Social psychological explanations: Daily hassles and Life events14
- Social psychological explanations: Locus of control and control at work12
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Beta blockers10
- Methods of modifying the behaviour: Stress inoculation training16
Controversies in Psychology10 subtopics
- Cultural bias: Cross cultural studies and Difference or bias15
- Cultural bias: Ethnocentrism, Historical and social context11
- Ethical costs of conducting research: Benefits to society and the economy, Individual participants11
- Ethical costs of conducting research: Potentially negative consequences for society15
- The use of non-human animals: Why animals are used, comparative psychology and ethology10
- The use of non-human animals: Therapy, speciesism and the BPS Guidelines16
- Scientific status of psychology: Features of science, Popper and Kuhn12
- Scientific status of psychology: Methods, benefits and costs of being a science14
- Sexism: Gender difference or gender bias11
- Sexism: Heterosexism, Historical and social context, 'invisibility' of women in psychology15
Sample questions
Taken from the Eduqas A-Level Psychology guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Biological Approach
What does the biological approach claim is the ultimate origin of every thought, feeling and behaviour?
Show the answer
It claims they all arise from physical processes in the body, chiefly the brain, the nervous system, genes and biochemistry. -
Psychodynamic Approach
What does the approach claim about the causes of adult behaviour?
Show the answer
Freud claimed that adult behaviour is driven by unconscious conflicts and by experiences in early childhood rather than by conscious choice. -
Behaviourist Approach
What does the behaviourist approach mean when it describes the mind at birth as a blank slate?
Show the answer
It assumes a baby is born with no innate ideas or pre-formed behaviour, so everything a person becomes is written onto them by experience. -
Cognitive Approach
In the computer analogy, what corresponds to hardware and what to software?
Show the answer
The brain is the hardware and the mental processes running on it are the software. -
Positive Approach
Which three assumptions is the positive approach built on?
Show the answer
The acknowledgement of free will, the authenticity of goodness and excellence, and a focus on 'the good life'. -
Comparing the Five Approaches
On the free will and determinism debate, which of the five approaches is the odd one out, and why?
Show the answer
The positive approach is, because it is the only one to make free will an explicit founding assumption. Of the other four, the biological, psychodynamic and behaviourist approaches are hard determinist, while the cognitive approach is usually classed as soft determinist: thinking is shaped by schemas and processing limits, but people can consciously change how they think. -
Core Studies in Social and Developmental Psychology
What was the aim of Milgram's 1963 obedience study?
Show the answer
He wanted to find out how far an ordinary person would go in obeying an authority figure who ordered them to inflict pain on another person, and to create a laboratory procedure that could measure obedience directly. -
Planning Psychological Research
What is the aim of a piece of research?
Show the answer
It is a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate and why, written before any prediction is made.
Questions about this guide
How do you use active recall for Eduqas A-Level Psychology?
Answer up to 10 questions cold and closed book. Answer the same questions again open book, writing the correct answer down.
Then answer them closed book one more time. The difference between the first and third attempt is what has moved into recall.
How is Eduqas A-Level Psychology assessed?
Eduqas A-Level Psychology is assessed by 3 components: Component 1, psychology: past to present (2 hours 15 minutes, 100 marks, 33.3%); Component 2, psychology: investigating behaviour (2 hours 15 minutes, 100 marks, 33.3%); Component 3, psychology: implications in the real world (2 hours 15 minutes, 100 marks, 33.3%).
What topics does the Eduqas A-Level Psychology active recall guide cover?
It covers Biological Approach, Psychodynamic Approach, Behaviourist Approach, Cognitive Approach, Positive Approach, Comparing the Five Approaches, Core Studies in Social and Developmental Psychology, Planning Psychological Research, Data Handling, Statistics and Mathematical Skills, Evaluating and Validating Research, Personal Investigations and Novel Research Scenarios, Addictive Behaviours, Autistic Spectrum Behaviours and Bullying Behaviours.
The full list is set out on this page.
Is the Eduqas A-Level Psychology guide a PDF?
Yes. It is a digital PDF sent to the email address on your order after purchase.
Check the address is correct at checkout, and check junk or spam if it has not arrived.
Does the guide include the answers?
Yes. Every question has its answer in the same document, grouped by topic, so step 2 of the method is done from the guide.
Eduqas A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic, ready to work in three passes.