Edexcel GCSE Psychology revision

Topic 1: Development

Development is about how children grow and learn, from the earliest brain development to the bonds they form with carers.

We will study theories of learning, like Piaget's stages and Dweck's mindset theory, and how the brain develops.

Then we look at attachment, including Bowlby's theory and Ainsworth's Strange Situation, and the effects of deprivation and day care.

1. 1.1Development and learningFree 22 questions
2. 1.2Early brain development and the effects of early experience48 questions
3. 1.3Attachment: Bowlby's theory and Ainsworth's Strange Situation90 questions
4. 1.4Deprivation, privation and the effects of day care45 questions

Topic 2: Memory

There are 4 parts: we start with memory, and finish with eyewitness testimony and the cognitive interview.

1. 2.1MemoryFree 29 questions
2. 2.2Forgetting: interference, retrieval failure and decay44 questions
3. 2.3Improving memory: mnemonics and revision techniques36 questions
4. 2.4Eyewitness testimony and the cognitive interview36 questions

Topic 3: Psychological problems

There are 3 parts: we start with psychological problems, and finish with addiction.

1. 3.1Psychological problems21 questions
2. 3.2Depression: symptoms, causes and treatments43 questions
3. 3.3Addiction: explanations, risk factors and treatments40 questions

Topic 4: The brain and neuropsychology

There are 2 parts: we start with brain and neuropsychology, and finish with neuroimaging and neuropsychological case studies.

1. 4.1Brain and neuropsychologyFree 24 questions
2. 4.2Neuroimaging and neuropsychological case studies: CT, MRI, fMRI, PET, EEG, Phineas Gage and HM57 questions

Topic 5: Social influence

There are 2 parts: we start with social influence, and finish with crowd behaviour, deindividuation, prosocial and antisocial behaviour, and the bystander effect.

1. 5.1Social influenceFree 33 questions
2. 5.2Crowd behaviour, deindividuation, prosocial and antisocial behaviour, and the bystander effect34 questions

Topic 6: Criminal psychology

Criminal psychology explores why people commit crimes, and how society responds.

We will study how crime is defined and measured, and biological and psychological explanations of offending.

Then we look at offender profiling, and ways of dealing with offenders and reducing reoffending.

1. 6.1Defining crime and measuring crime: official statistics, victim surveys and self-reportFree 76 questions
2. 6.2Biological explanations of offending: Lombroso, genetics and brain differences46 questions
3. 6.3Psychological explanations of offending: Eysenck's personality theory and social learning46 questions
4. 6.4Offender profiling: top-down and bottom-up approaches and case studies38 questions
5. 6.5Dealing with offending: prison, restorative justice, anger management and recidivism51 questions

Topic 7: The self

The self explores how we see ourselves, and how our sense of self develops and affects our lives.

We will study self concept and self esteem, theories of the self, and how children develop self recognition.

Then we look at gender identity development, and how self esteem links to achievement and mental wellbeing.

1. 7.1Self-concept and self-esteem: definitions, measurement and influencesFree 48 questions
2. 7.2Theories of the self: Rogers, Cooley's looking-glass self and self-efficacy44 questions
3. 7.3Development of the self-concept in children: Lewis and Brooks-Gunn's mirror (rouge) test28 questions
4. 7.4Gender identity and sex-role development: biological, social learning and Kohlberg's explanations44 questions
5. 7.5Applying the self: self-esteem, achievement and mental wellbeing43 questions

Topic 8: Perception

There are 4 parts: we start with perception, and finish with factors affecting perception.

1. 8.1Perception26 questions
2. 8.2Depth cues and perceptual constancies48 questions
3. 8.3Visual illusions and theories of perception (Gregory and Gibson)34 questions
4. 8.4Factors affecting perception: perceptual set, culture, emotion and motivation38 questions

Topic 9: Sleep and dreaming

Sleep and dreaming explores why we sleep, what happens in our brains at night, and why we dream.

We will study the stages of sleep and E E G evidence, circadian rhythms and the body clock.

Then we look at the functions of sleep, sleep deprivation, sleep disorders and their treatments, and theories of dreaming.

1. 9.1The stages of sleep, the sleep cycle and EEG evidenceFree 50 questions
2. 9.2Circadian rhythms, the body clock and zeitgebers (Siffre and Aschoff and Wever)42 questions
3. 9.3Functions of sleep, sleep across the lifespan and the effects of sleep deprivation40 questions
4. 9.4Sleep disorders: insomnia, sleepwalking, narcolepsy and sleep apnoea, and their treatments63 questions
5. 9.5Theories of dreaming: Freud's wish fulfilment and activation-synthesis, and research into dreams51 questions

Topic 10: Language, thought and communication

There are 3 parts: we start with language, thought and communication, and finish with non-verbal communication.

1. 10.1Language, thought and communication23 questions
2. 10.2Animal communication and human language: the bee dance, Pepperberg and language-teaching studies41 questions
3. 10.3Non-verbal communication: eye contact, body language, personal space and signalling38 questions

Topic 11: Research methods

There are 4 parts: we start with research design, and finish with maths skills.

1. 11.1Research designFree 20 questions
2. 11.2Planning, carrying out and writing up a practical investigation (hypotheses, sampling, controls, pilot study)42 questions
3. 11.3Data, analysis and ethics71 questions
4. 11.4Maths skills: graphs, percentages, ratios, fractions, probability and significant figures83 questions

Other exam boards