AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 1
INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY
7182/1 ACTUAL EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS AND
COMPLETE ANSWERS
◉ SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION (SD). Answer: clients are taught
to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear in a stepwise
manner.
patient and therapist form anxiety hierarchy - list of fearful stimuli
from least to most frightening. relaxation is then practised at each
stage of hierarchy. takes place over several sessions.
◉ FLOODING THERAPY. Answer: the exposure of the client to the
actual anxiety stimulus until they can relax fully.
w/o option of avoidance, patient learns quickly that phobic stimulus
is harmless. this is known as extinction.
patients must give informed consent & know fully what to expect.
,◉ STRENGTH OF SD: EFFECTIVE. Answer: Gilroy et al (2003): group
of patients who had SD for spider phobia were less fearful than
control group after three sessions after 3 and 33 months.
shows positive effects are long-lasting.
◉ STRENGTH OF SD: SUITABLE FOR DIVERSE RANGE OF PATIENTS.
Answer: flooding etc. are not suitable for some patients due to
problems such as learning difficulties making it difficult for them to
understand what is happening.
for these patients, and most others, SD is an appropriate treatment
as every step is discussed.
◉ STRENGTH OF SD: ACCEPTABLE TO PATIENTS. Answer: patients
prefer it. it doesn't cause same degree of trauma as flooding.
reflected in low refusal rates, and low drop-out rates.
◉ LIMITATION OF FLOODING: LESS EFFECTIVE FOR SOME
PHOBIAS. Answer: social phobias cannot be treated this way due to
their cognitive nature and so cognitive therapies may be more
suitable to tackle irrational thinking.
◉ LIMITATION OF FLOODING: TRAUMATIC. Answer: not unethical -
patients give consent.
,however patients are unwilling to see it through - ultimately makes
treatment ineffective which wastes time and money.
◉ BECK'S COGNITIVE THEORY OF DEPRESSION. Answer: theory
assumes that individuals with a tendency to be depressed think
about the world differently than non-depressed persons and that
these individuals are more negative and believe that bad things will
happen to them due to their own personal shortcomings.
tend to have low self esteem and pessimistic perceptions, seem
hopeless.
due to faulty info processing - attend to negative aspects and ignore
positive ones.
◉ NEGATIVE SELF SCHEMAS. Answer: negative information we hold
about ourselves based on negative past experiences that can lead to
cognitive biases such as interpreting all info about ourselves in a
negative manner
◉ NEGATIVE TRIAD (BECK). Answer: negative view of self, future,
and world
, ◉ ELLIS' ABC MODEL. Answer: an explanation that sees depression
occurring through an (A)ctivating event such as failing a test, which
triggers an irrational (B)elief such as believing that we must always
succeed. this leads to a (C)onsequence - in this case depression.
◉ STRENGTH OF BECK: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE. Answer: Grazioli
& Terry (2001) assessed pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability
to depression before and after birth.
women judged to be high-risk were more likely to suffer from PND.
these congnitions can be seen before condition develops, suggesting
Beck may be right about faulty cognition leading to depression.
◉ STRENGTH OF BECK: PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THERAPY.
Answer: Beck's explanation forms basis for CBT which identifies and
challenges elements of negative triad.
strength of the explanation as it translates well into a therapy.
◉ LIMITATION OF BECK: DOES NOT EXPLAIN ALL ASPECTS OF
DEPRESSION. Answer: some depressed patients are deeply angry
and Beck cannot explain this. some experience hallucinations,
bizzare beliefs or the delusion that they are a zombie.
INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY
7182/1 ACTUAL EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS AND
COMPLETE ANSWERS
◉ SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION (SD). Answer: clients are taught
to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear in a stepwise
manner.
patient and therapist form anxiety hierarchy - list of fearful stimuli
from least to most frightening. relaxation is then practised at each
stage of hierarchy. takes place over several sessions.
◉ FLOODING THERAPY. Answer: the exposure of the client to the
actual anxiety stimulus until they can relax fully.
w/o option of avoidance, patient learns quickly that phobic stimulus
is harmless. this is known as extinction.
patients must give informed consent & know fully what to expect.
,◉ STRENGTH OF SD: EFFECTIVE. Answer: Gilroy et al (2003): group
of patients who had SD for spider phobia were less fearful than
control group after three sessions after 3 and 33 months.
shows positive effects are long-lasting.
◉ STRENGTH OF SD: SUITABLE FOR DIVERSE RANGE OF PATIENTS.
Answer: flooding etc. are not suitable for some patients due to
problems such as learning difficulties making it difficult for them to
understand what is happening.
for these patients, and most others, SD is an appropriate treatment
as every step is discussed.
◉ STRENGTH OF SD: ACCEPTABLE TO PATIENTS. Answer: patients
prefer it. it doesn't cause same degree of trauma as flooding.
reflected in low refusal rates, and low drop-out rates.
◉ LIMITATION OF FLOODING: LESS EFFECTIVE FOR SOME
PHOBIAS. Answer: social phobias cannot be treated this way due to
their cognitive nature and so cognitive therapies may be more
suitable to tackle irrational thinking.
◉ LIMITATION OF FLOODING: TRAUMATIC. Answer: not unethical -
patients give consent.
,however patients are unwilling to see it through - ultimately makes
treatment ineffective which wastes time and money.
◉ BECK'S COGNITIVE THEORY OF DEPRESSION. Answer: theory
assumes that individuals with a tendency to be depressed think
about the world differently than non-depressed persons and that
these individuals are more negative and believe that bad things will
happen to them due to their own personal shortcomings.
tend to have low self esteem and pessimistic perceptions, seem
hopeless.
due to faulty info processing - attend to negative aspects and ignore
positive ones.
◉ NEGATIVE SELF SCHEMAS. Answer: negative information we hold
about ourselves based on negative past experiences that can lead to
cognitive biases such as interpreting all info about ourselves in a
negative manner
◉ NEGATIVE TRIAD (BECK). Answer: negative view of self, future,
and world
, ◉ ELLIS' ABC MODEL. Answer: an explanation that sees depression
occurring through an (A)ctivating event such as failing a test, which
triggers an irrational (B)elief such as believing that we must always
succeed. this leads to a (C)onsequence - in this case depression.
◉ STRENGTH OF BECK: SUPPORTING EVIDENCE. Answer: Grazioli
& Terry (2001) assessed pregnant women for cognitive vulnerability
to depression before and after birth.
women judged to be high-risk were more likely to suffer from PND.
these congnitions can be seen before condition develops, suggesting
Beck may be right about faulty cognition leading to depression.
◉ STRENGTH OF BECK: PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THERAPY.
Answer: Beck's explanation forms basis for CBT which identifies and
challenges elements of negative triad.
strength of the explanation as it translates well into a therapy.
◉ LIMITATION OF BECK: DOES NOT EXPLAIN ALL ASPECTS OF
DEPRESSION. Answer: some depressed patients are deeply angry
and Beck cannot explain this. some experience hallucinations,
bizzare beliefs or the delusion that they are a zombie.
