AQA A-level Psychology Year 12 revision

Topic 1: Social influence

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Social influence, and takes it further.

There are 7 parts: we start with social influence, and finish with minority influence and social change.

1. 1.1Social influenceFree 16 questions
2. 1.2Conformity: types, explanations and Asch's research20 questions
3. 1.3Conformity to social roles: Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment25 questions
4. 1.4Obedience: Milgram's research and situational variables21 questions
5. 1.5Explanations for obedience: agentic state, legitimacy of authority and the authoritarian personality20 questions
6. 1.6Resistance to social influence: social support and locus of control20 questions
7. 1.7Minority influence and social change25 questions

Topic 2: Memory

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Memory, and takes it further.

There are 8 parts: we start with memory, and finish with improving eyewitness testimony.

1. 2.1Memory16 questions
2. 2.2The multi-store model: coding, capacity and duration65 questions
3. 2.3Baddeley (1966) Coding in short-term and long-term memory38 questions
4. 2.4Types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic and procedural19 questions
5. 2.5The working memory model68 questions
6. 2.6Explanations for forgetting: interference and retrieval failure24 questions
7. 2.7Eyewitness testimony: misleading information and anxiety26 questions
8. 2.8Improving eyewitness testimony: the cognitive interview21 questions

Topic 3: Attachment

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Development, and takes it further.

There are 7 parts: we start with attachment, and finish with the influence of early attachment on later relationships.

1. 3.1Attachment20 questions
2. 3.2Caregiver–infant interactions, stages of attachment and the role of the father20 questions
3. 3.3Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow20 questions
4. 3.4Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby's monotropic theory26 questions
5. 3.5Types of attachment: Ainsworth's Strange Situation and cultural variations60 questions
6. 3.6Maternal deprivation and the effects of institutionalisation21 questions
7. 3.7The influence of early attachment on later relationships14 questions

Topic 4: Psychopathology

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Psychological problems, and takes it further.

There are 5 parts: we start with psychopathology, and finish with OCD.

1. 4.1PsychopathologyFree 12 questions
2. 4.2Definitions of abnormality19 questions
3. 4.3Phobias: characteristics, the behavioural approach and treatments27 questions
4. 4.4Depression: characteristics, the cognitive approach and CBT27 questions
5. 4.5OCD: characteristics, the biological approach and drug therapy22 questions

Topic 5: Approaches in psychology

There are 11 parts: we start with approaches in psychology, and finish with comparison of approaches.

1. 5.1Approaches in psychology24 questions
2. 5.2Origins of psychology: Wundt, introspection and psychology as a science23 questions
3. 5.3Classical conditioning: Pavlov (1927) and Watson and Rayner (1920) Little AlbertFree 28 questions
4. 5.4Operant conditioning: Skinner, reinforcement, punishment and schedules of reinforcement32 questions
5. 5.5Social learning theory: imitation, modelling and mediational processes72 questions
6. 5.6The cognitive approach: schemas, models and cognitive neuroscience67 questions
7. 5.7Genes and behaviour: genotype, phenotype, twin and family studies29 questions
8. 5.8Evolutionary explanations of behaviour: natural selection30 questions
9. 5.9The psychodynamic approach: Freud22 questions
10. 5.10Humanistic psychology: Maslow and Rogers30 questions
11. 5.11Comparison of approaches23 questions

Topic 6: Biopsychology

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Brain and neuropsychology, and takes it further.

There are 11 parts: we start with biopsychology and research methods, and finish with endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers.

1. 6.1Biopsychology and research methods51 questions
2. 6.2Divisions of the nervous system: central, peripheral, somatic and autonomicFree 25 questions
3. 6.3Neurons and synaptic transmission32 questions
4. 6.4The endocrine system, hormones and the fight-or-flight response38 questions
5. 6.5Localisation of function in the brain36 questions
6. 6.6Hemispheric lateralisation and split-brain research34 questions
7. 6.7Brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma30 questions
8. 6.8Ways of studying the brain: fMRI, EEG, ERPs and post-mortem examinations22 questions
9. 6.9Circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycleFree 28 questions
10. 6.10Infradian and ultradian rhythms: the menstrual cycle, SAD and sleep stages34 questions
11. 6.11Endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers: jet lag and shift work27 questions

Topic 7: Research methods

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Research methods, and takes it further.

There are 15 parts: we start with aims, hypotheses, variables and operationalisation, and finish with the practical on investigation.

1. 7.1Aims, hypotheses, variables and operationalisationFree 27 questions
2. 7.2Experimental methods: laboratory, field, natural and quasi experiments23 questions
3. 7.3Experimental designs: independent groups, repeated measures, matched pairs and counterbalancing29 questions
4. 7.4Control of variables: extraneous and confounding variables, demand characteristics, investigator effects, randomisation and standardisation31 questions
5. 7.5Populations and sampling methods19 questions
6. 7.6Observational methods and behavioural categories34 questions
7. 7.7Self-report methods: questionnaires and interviews39 questions
8. 7.8Correlational analysis and correlation coefficients37 questions
9. 7.9Case studiesFree 24 questions
10. 7.10Content analysis and thematic analysis33 questions
11. 7.11Pilot studies, primary and secondary data, and meta-analysis68 questions
12. 7.12Ethical issues, the BPS Code of Ethics and ethics in animal research32 questions
13. 7.13Reliability and validity: assessing and improving them27 questions
14. 7.14Features of science, peer review and the implications of research for the economy28 questions
15. 7.15Practical investigation: planning, conducting, analysing and reporting a study (including referencing)28 questions

Topic 8: Research methods: data handling and analysis

This topic is about what to do with data once a study has been carried out.

We will cover types and levels of data, averages and spread, graphs and distributions, then probability, significance and errors.

Finally we will choose and use inferential tests, including the sign test, and practise the maths skills that appear in every exam.

1. 8.1Quantitative and qualitative data and levels of measurementFree 76 questions
2. 8.2Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and dispersion59 questions
3. 8.3Presenting data: tables, bar charts, histograms, scattergrams and distributions64 questions
4. 8.4Probability, significance levels and Type I and Type II errors65 questions
5. 8.5Choosing an inferential test and using critical values tables73 questions
6. 8.6The sign test: calculation and interpretation63 questions
7. 8.7Other inferential tests: Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Spearman, Pearson, chi-square and t-tests73 questions
8. 8.8Maths skills for psychology: ratios, percentages, decimals, standard form, significant figures and estimation60 questions

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