WJEC A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
WJEC · A-Level
WJEC A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
A question-and-answer revision guide for WJEC A-Level Psychology, built to be worked in three passes rather than read.
- WJEC
- A-Level
- 12 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 WJEC A-Level Psychology specification, one subtopic at a time.
The subject, and what is assessed
WJEC A-Level Psychology is assessed by four units. Unit 1 covers psychology past to present and Unit 2 covers contemporary debates with research methods, each lasting 1 hour 30 minutes and worth 20% of the A-Level.
Unit 3 covers implications in the real world, lasting 2 hours 30 minutes and worth 40%. Unit 4 covers applied research methods, lasting 1 hour 30 minutes and worth 20%.
The five approaches introduced in Unit 1 are applied again in Unit 3, so they are examined across both years.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Psychology: Past to Present | 1 hour 30 minutes | 20% |
| Unit 2 | Psychology: Using Psychological Concepts | 1 hour 30 minutes | 20% |
| Unit 3 | Psychology: Implications in the Real World | 2 hours 30 minutes | 40% |
| Unit 4 | Psychology: Applied Research Methods | 1 hour 30 minutes | 20% |
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 WJEC specification. Open a topic to see its subtopics.
Psychology Past to Present: The Five Approaches34 subtopics
- The Biological Approach: assumptions of the approach and applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships17
- The Biological Approach: love chemicals, strengths and weaknesses8
- Biological Therapy: Drug Therapy or Psychosurgery, how the approach is used in therapy14
- Biological Therapy: Drug Therapy or Psychosurgery, effectiveness of the therapy12
- Classic Evidence (Biological): Raine, Buchsbaum and LaCasse (1997), methodology and findings14
- Classic Evidence (Biological): Raine, Buchsbaum and LaCasse (1997), conclusions12
- The Psychodynamic Approach: assumptions of the approach8
- The Psychodynamic Approach: personality, defence mechanisms and the formation of relationships10
- The Psychodynamic Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach8
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Dream Analysis or Group Analysis Psychotherapy, how the approach is used14
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Dream Analysis or Group Analysis Psychotherapy, effectiveness of the therapy13
- Classic Evidence (Psychodynamic): Bowlby (1944), methodology, procedures and findings12
- Classic Evidence (Psychodynamic): Bowlby (1944), conclusions, ethical issues and social implications14
- The Behaviourist Approach: assumptions of the approach13
- The Behaviourist Approach: applying the assumptions to relationships, strengths and weaknesses13
- Behaviourist Therapy: Aversion Therapy or Systematic Desensitisation, how the approach is used13
- Behaviourist Therapy: Aversion Therapy or Systematic Desensitisation, effectiveness of the therapy14
- Classic Evidence (Behaviourist): Watson and Rayner (1920), methodology, procedures and findings15
- Classic Evidence (Behaviourist): Watson and Rayner (1920), conclusions11
- The Cognitive Approach: assumptions of the approach and applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships15
- The Cognitive Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach10
- Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy15
- Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (2)12
- Classic Evidence (Cognitive): Loftus and Palmer (1974), methodology, procedures and findings14
- Classic Evidence (Cognitive): Loftus and Palmer (1974), conclusions12
- The Positive Approach: assumptions of the approach8
- The Positive Approach: applying the assumptions to the formation of relationships9
- The Positive Approach: strengths and weaknesses of the approach9
- Positive Therapy: Mindfulness or Quality of Life Therapy, how the approach is used in therapy14
- Positive Therapy: Mindfulness or Quality of Life Therapy, assumptions in practice, effectiveness and ethics15
- Classic Evidence (Positive): Myers and Diener (1995), methodology, procedures and findings14
- Classic Evidence (Positive): Myers and Diener (1995), conclusions12
- Comparison of the Five Approaches: biological approach and psychodynamic approach11
- Comparison of the Five Approaches: behaviourist approach, cognitive approach and positive approach15
Contemporary Debates11 subtopics
- How to Explore a Contemporary Debate21
- Debate: The Ethics of Neuroscience, what is at the core of the debate12
- Debate: The Ethics of Neuroscience, arguments on each side of it13
- Debate: The Mother as Primary Care-Giver of an Infant, what is at the core of the debate14
- Debate: The Mother as Primary Care-Giver of an Infant, arguments on each side of it12
- Debate: Using Conditioning Techniques to Control the Behaviour of Children13
- Debate: Using Conditioning Techniques to Control the Behaviour of Children, arguments on each side13
- Debate: Reliability of Eye-Witness Testimony (Including Children), what is at the core of the debate12
- Debate: Reliability of Eye-Witness Testimony (Including Children), arguments on each side of it14
- Debate: Relevance of Positive Psychology in Today's Society, what is at the core of the debate12
- Debate: Relevance of Positive Psychology in Today's Society, arguments on each side of it14
Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods29 subtopics
- Social Psychology Context Study: Milgram (1963), methodology and procedures12
- Social Psychology Context Study: Milgram (1963), findings, ethical issues and social implications14
- Developmental Psychology Context Study: Kohlberg (1968), methodology, procedures and findings15
- Developmental Psychology Context Study: Kohlberg (1968), conclusions11
- Deciding on a Research Question: aim of the research and null hypotheses12
- Deciding on a Research Question: variables, operationalisation and extraneous variables14
- Methodologies: experiments, quasi-experiments and participant observations8
- Methodologies: non-participant observation, content analysis and interviews12
- Methodologies: correlational studies, case studies and self-reports10
- Location of Research: conducting research in a laboratory and in the field11
- Location of Research: conducting research on-line9
- Participants and Sampling: target populations, sampling frames and opportunity sampling8
- Participants and Sampling: systematic sampling, stratified sampling and quota sampling10
- Participants and Sampling: self-selected sampling and observational sampling techniques10
- Experimental Design: independent groups and repeated measures12
- Experimental Design: matched pairs9
- Levels of Measurement: nominal data and ordinal data9
- Levels of Measurement: interval data and ratio data11
- Graphical Representation: bar charts and histograms9
- Graphical Representation: scatter diagrams and choosing a display for the level of measurement13
- Descriptive Statistics: the mean, the median and the mode12
- Descriptive Statistics: the range, the standard deviation and choosing a measure14
- Reliability19
- Validity: internal validity and external validity8
- Validity: specific validity issues and ways of dealing with issues of validity17
- Ethics in Psychological Research: confidentiality, deception, protection from harm and risk to values12
- Ethics in Psychological Research: valid consent, working with vulnerable individuals and ways of dealing with ethical issues14
- Application of Research Methods to a Novel Scenario (AS): identifying the method and the variables9
- Application of Research Methods to a Novel Scenario (AS): judging the reliability, validity and ethics11
Mathematical Requirements for Psychology (Appendix A: AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4)7 subtopics
- Arithmetic and Numerical Computation: standard form and significant figures12
- Arithmetic and Numerical Computation: estimating and checking a result11
- Handling Data: means, medians, modes and ranges, percentages and percentage change12
- Handling Data: reading a table of data and orders of magnitude13
- Algebra20
- Graphs: plotting and labelling a graph, gradients and intercepts10
- Graphs: reading a value off a curve and choosing the right form of graph8
Addictive Behaviours3 subtopics
- Addictive Behaviours: characteristics, biological explanations and the illusion of control13
- Addictive Behaviours: individual differences explanations and social psychological explanations15
- Addictive Behaviours: evaluating those explanations and evaluating those methods12
Autistic Spectrum Behaviours3 subtopics
- Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: characteristics, biological and individual differences explanations16
- Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: social psychological explanations and evaluating those explanations10
- Autistic Spectrum Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods9
Bullying Behaviours3 subtopics
- Bullying Behaviours: characteristics, biological and individual differences explanations16
- Bullying Behaviours: social psychological explanations, evaluation and CAPSLE11
- Bullying Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods9
Criminal Behaviours3 subtopics
- Criminal Behaviours: characteristics, biological explanations and Eysenck's theory12
- Criminal Behaviours: intelligence, psychopathy and social psychological explanations13
- Criminal Behaviours: methods of modifying the behaviour and evaluating those methods9
Schizophrenia2 subtopics
- Schizophrenia: characteristics of the behaviour and individual differences explanations11
- Schizophrenia: social psychological explanations and evaluating those methods18
Stress2 subtopics
- Stress: characteristics of the behaviour and individual differences explanations11
- Stress: social psychological explanations and evaluating those methods20
Controversies in Psychology15 subtopics
- Controversy: Cultural Bias, issue, and why it is controversial9
- Controversy: Cultural Bias, applying psychological knowledge to it9
- Controversy: Cultural Bias, judgements and conclusions8
- Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research, issue, and why it is controversial8
- Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research, applying psychological knowledge to it9
- Controversy: Ethical Costs of Conducting Research, judgements and conclusions9
- Controversy: Non-Human Animals, issue, and why it is controversial8
- Controversy: Non-Human Animals, applying psychological knowledge to it9
- Controversy: Non-Human Animals, judgements and conclusions9
- Controversy: Scientific Status, issue, and why it is controversial8
- Controversy: Scientific Status, applying psychological knowledge to it9
- Controversy: Scientific Status, judgements and conclusions9
- Controversy: Sexism, issue, and why it is controversial8
- Controversy: Sexism, applying psychological knowledge to it9
- Controversy: Sexism, judgements and conclusions9
Applied Research Methods14 subtopics
- Personal Investigations: Research Methods Skills, planning an investigation20
- Personal Investigations: Research Methods Skills, carrying it out ethically and analysing the data12
- Additional Methodologies (Unit 4): brain scans10
- Additional Methodologies (Unit 4): longitudinal studies and cross-sectional studies14
- Assessing Reliability: inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability12
- Assessing Reliability: split-half reliability8
- Assessing Validity: predictive validity, face validity and content validity11
- Assessing Validity: concurrent validity and construct validity11
- Graphical Representation: Distribution Curves, normal distribution and its properties10
- Graphical Representation: Distribution Curves, what a distribution shows about a data set10
- Inferential Statistics: choosing a statistical test, parametric and non-parametric tests15
- Inferential Statistics: calculating test values and choosing a significance level11
- Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios (A2): identifying the method and the variables10
- Application of Research Methods to Novel Scenarios (A2): judging the reliability, validity and ethics10
Sample questions
Taken from the WJEC A-Level Psychology guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Psychology Past to Present: The Five Approaches
Whose theory of natural selection underpins the evolutionary assumption, and in what year was it published?
Show the answer
Charles Darwin's, in On the Origin of Species in 1859. -
Contemporary Debates
What does it mean to identify the core of a psychological debate?
Show the answer
It means stating the single question the two sides actually disagree about, rather than listing everything that is known about the topic. -
Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods
What was the aim of Milgram's (1963) study?
Show the answer
To investigate how far ordinary people would obey an authority figure who instructed them to give increasingly severe electric shocks to another person. -
Mathematical Requirements for Psychology (Appendix A: AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4)
A researcher screens 48 000 archived records in a secondary-data study. How is that number written in standard form?
Show the answer
The researcher screens 4.8 × 10⁴ records. -
Addictive Behaviours
What is the difference between tolerance and withdrawal?
Show the answer
Tolerance is needing progressively more of the substance or activity to get the same effect; withdrawal is the unpleasant physical and psychological state that appears when use stops or is reduced. -
Controversies in Psychology
What is meant by cultural bias in psychology?
Show the answer
Cultural bias is the tendency to interpret and judge behaviour using the assumptions of one's own culture, so that findings drawn from one group are treated as though they described everyone. -
Applied Research Methods
What determines which methodology is the right one for a given research question?
Show the answer
The methodology follows from what the question asks: an experiment is needed to establish cause and effect, a correlation where two existing variables are simply measured together, and an observation or self-report where behaviour has to be described rather than manipulated. -
Psychology Past to Present: The Five Approaches
On what assumption does drug therapy rest?
Show the answer
That psychological disorders are caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters, which medication can correct at the synapse.
Questions about this guide
How do you use active recall for WJEC 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 WJEC A-Level Psychology assessed?
WJEC A-Level Psychology is assessed by 4 components: Unit 1, psychology: past to present (1 hour 30 minutes, 20%); Unit 2, psychology: using psychological concepts (1 hour 30 minutes, 20%); Unit 3, psychology: implications in the real world (2 hours 30 minutes, 40%); Unit 4, psychology: applied research methods (1 hour 30 minutes, 20%).
What topics does the WJEC A-Level Psychology active recall guide cover?
It covers Psychology Past to Present: The Five Approaches, Contemporary Debates, Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods, Mathematical Requirements for Psychology (Appendix A: AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4), Addictive Behaviours, Autistic Spectrum Behaviours, Bullying Behaviours, Criminal Behaviours, Schizophrenia, Stress, Controversies in Psychology and Applied Research Methods.
Is the WJEC 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.
WJEC A-Level Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic, ready to work in three passes.