PSYA4 paper: General Tips
The 2 hour PSYA4 paper requires you to answer THREE questions in the paper, so the first thing you need
to be sure of is which topics you have covered! Never, ever, try to answer a question unless you have been
taught the topic—the essay may seem to be about things in your experience, but the answer must focus on
psychological research and knowledge, not anecdotal material.
Take time to think about what the question is actually asking you to do, then plan how to do what it wants.
A couple of minutes spent jotting down ideas can save a lot of wasted time and missed marks.
Section A: Psychopathology
This question is out of 25 marks. Make certain you know if you have covered one anxiety disorder,
schizophrenia, or depression as your example of a psychopathology, and then choose the correct question.
The time allowed for this question is approximately 35 minutes, as finding and reading your chosen
question will take a minute or two. This means that you need to write quite a lot! If you have no idea of
how much 35 minutes of writing is, then during your revision you could practise writing something,
anything, for 10 minutes, and then work out how much three and a half times this amount would be.
Marks are given in three areas as follows:
AO1: There are 9/25 marks allocated for showing appropriate psychological knowledge and understanding
of the question, possibly using a wide range of relevant examples. Try to aim for a balance between breadth
and depth; this is ideal but not obligatory.
AO2: There are 12/25 marks for applying knowledge and demonstrating an understanding of psychology,
including analysis and evaluation (such as strengths and weaknesses), so long as this is used as
commentary, and not plain description. More possibilities include applying or comparing scientific
psychological knowledge in the form of alternative explanations, or models, or contexts; also consider
assessing the validity, reliability, and credibility of such scientific information.
AO3: There are 4/25 marks for using issues, debates, approaches, and elaboration to answer the question
and demonstrate synopticity. The arguments need to be coherent and clear, showing good understanding
and sound analysis. Methodological issues can be used in evaluation.
One good way to gain credit in AO2 and AO3 is to include relevant references to issues, debates, and
approaches, such as ethics, gender bias, nature or nurture, and the different psychological approaches and
perspectives—just make sure you show how your choices are relevant to the question you are answering.
Finally, do be sure to use appropriate words, such as correct psychological terms, as this is an A-level
Psychology exam!
Section B: Psychology in Action
Here, again, it is vital to know which one of the three sections you have been taught. One 25-mark question
will be set on each, and you need to identify your one question. The question should take about 35 minutes
to answer, and again you will need to give a lot of information. It is possible that the question will be
parted, so check to make sure you know how many parts there are, and allocate the appropriate number of
minutes' writing to each.
Marks are given in three areas as follows (very similar to Section A marking):
AO1: There are 9/25 marks allocated for showing appropriate psychological knowledge and understanding
of the question, possibly using a wide range of relevant examples. Try to aim for a balance between breadth
and depth; this is ideal but not obligatory.
AO2: There are 12/25 marks for applying knowledge and understanding of psychology, including analysis,
and evaluation (such as strengths and weaknesses), so long as this is used as commentary, and not plain
description. For example, applying or comparing this scientific psychological knowledge as alternative
explanations, or models or, contexts; also consider assessing the validity, reliability, and credibility of such
scientific information.
AO3: There are 4/25 marks for using issues, debates, approaches, and elaboration to answer the question
and demonstrate synopticity. The arguments need to be coherent and clear, showing good understanding
and sound analysis. Also, if relevant, apply your knowledge to unfamiliar material or contexts.
Methodological issues can be used in evaluation.
One good way to gain credit in AO2 and AO3 is to include relevant references to issues, debates, and
approaches (such as ethics, gender bias, and nature or nurture), and the different psychological approaches
and perspectives—just make sure you show how your choices are relevant to the question you are
answering.
Finally, do be sure to use appropriate words, such as correct psychological terms, as this is an A-level
Psychology exam!
Section C: Psychological Research and Scientific Method
This compulsory, parted, research methods question carries 35 marks. Read the stimulus material and the
description very carefully; perhaps even highlight key words and phrases. Look at the allocation of marks
so that you can spend more time on parts with more marks, and less on parts with fewer marks.
Make sure you understand what each part of the question is asking you.
AO1: There are only 3 marks here, for short, factual answers.
AO2: There are just 4 marks here, for accurate descriptions.
AO3: There are 28 marks in this section for appropriate analysis, explanations, extraction of information
from the stimulus material, interpretation, and/or applications to unfamiliar contexts.
Overall it is really important that your answers are clearly and coherently written.