AQA A-Level Psychology answers, written to the spec
17 topics · specification 7182 · explanations and examiner marking in AQA’s own language
Studying AQA A-Level Psychology? Pick your board once and every answer, mark and flashcard elid gives you follows that specification. Free to start, no card needed. Open elid →
This is the full AQA A-Level Psychology specification, code 7182, as elid holds it — 17 topics, each with the terminology AQA marks against. Every explanation and every mark elid gives you is written against this list, not a generic A-level one, because the same question answered in CAIE, Edexcel or OCR language loses marks it should have earned.
The AQA A-Level Psychology specification, topic by topic
Social Influence
Assessed in Paper 1
Examining conformity, obedience, and independent behaviour within social groups.
Specification terms elid matches
Conformity
Internalisation
Identification
Compliance
Informational Social Influence (ISI)
Normative Social Influence (NSI)
Obedience
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
Authoritarian Personality
Dispositional explanation
Resistance to social influence
Social support
Locus of control
Named studies and theories
Asch (1951, 1955)
Zimbardo (1973)
Milgram (1963)
Adorno et al. (1950)
Moscovici (1969)
Memory
Assessed in Paper 1
Exploring the models of memory, forgetting, and the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Specification terms elid matches
Multi-store model
Sensory register
Short-term memory (STM)
Long-term memory (LTM)
Working memory model
Central executive
Phonological loop
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
Episodic buffer
Episodic memory
Semantic memory
Procedural memory
Interference
Proactive interference
Named studies and theories
Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968)
Baddeley & Hitch (1974)
Loftus and Palmer (1974)
Gabbert et al. (2003)
Johnson & Scott (1976)
Yuille & Cutshall (1986)
Fisher & Geiselman (1992)
Attachment
Assessed in Paper 1
Investigating the formation, types, and long-term effects of infant-caregiver attachment.
Specification terms elid matches
Caregiver-infant interactions
Reciprocity
Interactional synchrony
Stages of attachment
Multiple attachments
Animal studies of attachment
Learning theory of attachment
Monotropic theory
Critical Period
Internal working model
Strange Situation
Secure attachment
Insecure-avoidant attachment
Insecure-resistant attachment
Named studies and theories
Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Lorenz (1935)
Harlow (1958)
Bowlby (1958, 1969, 1944)
Ainsworth (1970)
van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988)
Rutter (2011)
Psychopathology
Assessed in Paper 1
Focusing on the definitions, explanations, and treatments for depression, OCD, and phobias.
Specification terms elid matches
Definitions of abnormality
Statistical infrequency
Deviation from social norms
Failure to function adequately
Deviation from ideal mental health
Phobias
Depression
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Behavioural approach to phobias
Two-process model
Systematic desensitisation
Flooding
Cognitive approach to depression
Negative triad
Named studies and theories
Jahoda (1958)
Mowrer (1960)
Beck (1967)
Ellis (1962)
Approaches in Psychology
Assessed in Paper 2
Overview of the major theoretical approaches to understanding human behaviour.
Specification terms elid matches
Origins of psychology
Introspection
Emergence of psychology as a science
Learning approaches
Behaviourist approach
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Social learning theory
Imitation
Identification
Modelling
Vicarious reinforcement
Mediational processes
Cognitive approach
Named studies and theories
Wundt (1879)
Pavlov (1927)
Skinner (1953)
Bandura (1961)
Freud (1900s)
Maslow (1943)
Rogers (1951)
Biopsychology
Assessed in Paper 2
Studying the nervous system, endocrine system, brain lateralisation, and biological rhythms.
Specification terms elid matches
Central nervous system (CNS)
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
Sensory neurons
Relay neurons
Motor neurons
Synaptic transmission
Neurotransmitters
Excitation and inhibition
Endocrine system
Glands and hormones
Fight or flight response
Localisation of function
Named studies and theories
Sperry (1968)
Maguire et al. (2000)
Siffre (1962, 1975, 1999)
Research Methods
Assessed in Paper 2
Developing skills in experimental design, data analysis, and the scientific process in psychology.
Specification terms elid matches
Experimental method
Aims
Hypotheses
Directional Hypothesis
Non-directional Hypothesis
Independent variable (IV)
Dependent variable (DV)
Extraneous variables
Confounding variables
Demand characteristics
Investigator effects
Randomisation
Standardisation
Experimental design
Named studies and theories
Kuhn (1962)
Popper (1934)
Rosenthal and Fode (1963)
Orne (1962)
Issues and Debates in Psychology
Assessed in Paper 3
Analysing fundamental debates such as nature vs nurture, free will vs determinism, and reductionism vs holism.
Specification terms elid matches
Gender bias
Androcentrism
Alpha bias
Beta bias
Culture bias
Ethnocentrism
Cultural relativism
Universality
Free will
Determinism
Hard determinism
Soft determinism
Biological determinism
Environmental determinism
Named studies and theories
Maccoby and Jacklin (1974)
Hare-Mustin and Marecek (1988)
Libet (1983)
Plomin (1994)
Sieber and Stanley (1988)
Schizophrenia
Assessed in Paper 3
Exploring the classification, diagnosis, biological/psychological explanations, and treatments for schizophrenia.
Specification terms elid matches
Classification of schizophrenia
Positive symptoms
Hallucinations
Delusions
Negative symptoms
Avolition
Speech poverty
Reliability and validity in diagnosis
Co-morbidity
Symptom overlap
Biological explanations
Genetics
Dopamine Hypothesis
Neural correlates
Named studies and theories
Gottesman (1991)
Bateson et al. (1956)
Frith (1992)
Meehl (1962)
Tienari et al. (2004)
Relationships
Assessed in Paper 3
Investigating the formation, maintenance, and breakdown of romantic relationships.
Specification terms elid matches
Evolutionary explanations for partner preference
Sexual selection
Human reproductive behaviour
Physical attractiveness
Matching Hypothesis
Self-disclosure
Filter theory
Social exchange theory
Equity theory
Investment model
Duck's phase model
Virtual relationships
Computer-mediated communication (CMC)
Absence of gating
Named studies and theories
Buss (1989)
Walster et al. (1966)
Kerckhoff and Davis (1962)
Thibault and Kelley (1959)
Walster et al. (1978)
Rusbult (1980)
Duck (2007)
McCutcheon (2002)
Gender
Assessed in Paper 3
Studying biological and psychological explanations of gender development and androgyny.
Specification terms elid matches
Sex and gender
Sex-role stereotypes
Androgyny
BSRI
Chromosomes
Klinefelters syndrome
Turners syndrome
Testosterone
Oestrogen
Oxytocin
Kohlbergs theory
Gender schema theory
Oedipus complex
Electra complex
Named studies and theories
Bem (1974)
Mead (1935)
Money and Ehrhardt (1972)
Imperato-McGinley (1974)
Martin and Halverson (1983)
Kohlberg (1966)
Freud (1905)
Freeman (1984)
Cognition and development
Assessed in Paper 3
Examining theories of cognitive development including Piaget and Vygotsky.
Specification terms elid matches
Piagets theory
Schemas
Assimilation
Accommodation
Equilibration
Stages of intellectual development
Object permanence
Conservation
Egocentrism
Class inclusion
Vygotskys theory
Zone of proximal development
Scaffolding
Baillargeons explanation
Named studies and theories
Piaget (1952)
Vygotsky (1934)
Baillargeon (1987)
Wimmer and Perner (1983)
Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith (1985)
Hughes (1975)
Samuel and Bryant (1984)
McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974)
Selman (1971)
Eating behaviour
Assessed in Paper 3
Exploring biological and psychological explanations for eating behaviour, anorexia nervosa, and obesity.
Specification terms elid matches
Food preferences
Evolutionary explanation
Neophobia
Taste aversion
Neural mechanisms
Hormonal mechanisms
Hypothalamus
Ghrelin
Leptin
Anorexia nervosa
Family systems theory
Enmeshment
Social learning theory
Cognitive distortions
Named studies and theories
Garcia et al. (1955)
Minuchin et al. (1978)
Holland et al. (1988)
Wardle and Beales (1988)
Herman and Mack (1975)
Schachter (1968)
Becker et al. (2002)
Keys et al. (1950)
Stress
Assessed in Paper 3
Understanding the physiological responses to stress, its sources, and coping strategies.
Specification terms elid matches
General adaptation syndrome
HPA system
SAM pathway
Cortisol
Life changes
Daily hassles
Workplace stress
Personality types
Hardiness
Drug therapy
Stress inoculation therapy
Biofeedback
Gender differences
Social support
Named studies and theories
Selye (1936)
Holmes and Rahe (1967)
Kanner et al. (1981)
Johansson et al. (1978)
Marmot et al. (1997)
Friedman and Rosenman (1959)
Kobasa (1979)
Meichenbaum (1977)
Aggression
Assessed in Paper 3
Investigating neural, hormonal, genetic, ethological, and social psychological explanations of aggression.
Specification terms elid matches
Neural mechanisms
Hormonal mechanisms
Serotonin
Testosterone
Genetic factors
MAOA gene
Ethological explanation
Innate releasing mechanisms
Fixed action Patterns
Evolutionary explanations
Frustration-aggression Hypothesis
Social learning theory
De-individuation
Institutional aggression
Named studies and theories
Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)
Dollard et al. (1939)
Berkowitz (1969)
Brunner et al. (1993)
Raine et al. (1997)
Zimbardo (1969)
Milgram (1963)
Sykes (1958)
Forensic psychology
Assessed in Paper 3
Applying psychological theories to offender profiling and explanations of offending behaviour.
Specification terms elid matches
Offender profiling
Top-down approach
Organised offender
Disorganised offender
Bottom-up approach
Investigative psychology
Geographical profiling
Atavistic form
Genetic explanations
Neural explanations
Eysencks theory
Criminal personality
Level of moral reasoning
Cognitive distortions
Named studies and theories
Douglas et al. (1986)
Canter and Heritage (1990)
Copson (1995)
Lombroso (1876)
Raine et al. (1997)
Brunner et al. (1993)
Farrington (1995)
Yochelson and Samenow (1976)
Hobbs and Holt (1976)
Addiction
Assessed in Paper 3
Exploring biological and psychological explanations for addiction, including risk factors and treatments.
Specification terms elid matches
Physical dependence
Psychological dependence
Tolerance
Withdrawal syndrome
Risk factors
Genetic vulnerability
Stress
Personality
Family influences
Peers
Brain neurochemistry
Dopamine
Learning theory
Operant conditioning
Named studies and theories
Olds and Milner (1954)
Griffiths (1994)
Prochaska and DiClemente (1983)
Blum et al. (1990)
Gottesman and Shields (1982)
Schachter (1977)
Zinberg (1984)
DiClemente and Prochaska (1982)
How the papers are weighted
elid uses these weightings when it decides which topics deserve your revision time first.
Paper
Share of the qualification
Paper 1
33.3%
Paper 2
33.3%
Paper 3
33.3%
Marked the way AQA marks it
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