AQA PSYCHOLOGY A LEVEL 2021 PAPER 2 – MARK SCHEME
STYLE ASSESSMENT Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Complete
Exam-Style Questions with Detailed Rationales | Pass
Guaranteed – A+ Graded
Section A: Approaches in Psychology – 20 Questions
Q1: Wilhelm Wundt is widely credited with establishing the first psychology laboratory
in 1879. Which of the following best describes his primary method for studying
conscious experience?
A. Systematic desensitisation using gradual exposure to feared stimuli
B. Free association to uncover unconscious conflicts
C. Introspection, where trained observers reported their conscious experiences
[CORRECT]
D. Observational learning through modelling and imitation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is C. Wundt used introspection as his core method, training
observers to report the contents of their conscious experience in a structured way. This
was central to his attempt to make psychology a scientific discipline, and it’s the detail
the AQA specification highlights when discussing psychology’s origins as a science.
Q2: In Pavlov’s classic research on classical conditioning, the bell that initially produced
no salivation but eventually triggered salivation is best described as which of the
following?
A. An unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits a response
B. A conditioned stimulus that comes to elicit a learned response [CORRECT]
C. An unconditioned response that occurs automatically
D. A conditioned response that diminishes through extinction
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. In Pavlov’s setup, the bell started out as a neutral
,stimulus and, through repeated pairing with food (the unconditioned stimulus), became
a conditioned stimulus capable of triggering salivation on its own. This is the basic
mechanism of classical conditioning that every A-Level student needs to grasp.
Q3: A teacher notices that whenever a student completes their homework on time, they
earn five minutes of extra free time at the end of the lesson. As a result, the student’s
homework completion rate increases significantly. Which behavioural principle is
operating here?
A. Positive punishment, because an aversive consequence is being removed
B. Negative reinforcement, because something unpleasant is being taken away
C. Positive reinforcement, because a pleasant stimulus is being added to strengthen
behaviour [CORRECT]
D. Classical conditioning, because a neutral stimulus is being paired with an
unconditioned response
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is C. The teacher is adding something desirable—extra free
time—to increase the likelihood of homework completion, which is the definition of
positive reinforcement. It’s easy to muddle this with negative reinforcement, but
remember: positive reinforcement adds a reward, whereas negative reinforcement
removes something aversive.
Q4: During a psychology lesson, students watch a video of an adult behaving
aggressively toward a Bobo doll. Later, when given the chance to play with the same
doll, several students copy the exact aggressive actions they observed. According to
Bandura’s social learning theory, which cognitive process best explains why the students
were able to reproduce these behaviours so accurately?
A. Motivation, because they were rewarded for their aggression
B. Retention, because they had mentally stored what they saw and could pull it up later
[CORRECT]
C. Attention, because they were looking at the screen rather than their phones
D. Vicarious reinforcement, because the adult in the video was clearly praised
, Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. Bandura’s four mediational processes include attention,
retention, reproduction, and motivation; retention is the mental storage of the observed
behaviour so it can be reproduced later. The students clearly paid attention, but the
question specifically asks how they reproduced the actions accurately, which hinges on
having retained a mental representation of what they saw.
Q5: Within the cognitive approach, the term "schema" refers to which of the following?
A. A genetically inherited instinct that guides behaviour from birth
B. A mental framework that organises and interprets incoming information [CORRECT]
C. A defence mechanism that pushes threatening thoughts into the unconscious
D. A neurological pathway that connects the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. A schema is essentially a cognitive framework or packet
of knowledge that helps us process new information quickly. Bartlett’s work on memory
distortion showed how schemas shape what we remember, and this concept sits right at
the heart of the cognitive approach’s focus on internal mental processes.
Q6: A student who has always believed that all dogs are friendly approaches a stray dog
that is growling and showing its teeth. Because of her existing belief about dogs, she
interprets the dog’s behaviour as "playful" rather than threatening. Which cognitive
concept best accounts for this interpretation?
A. The availability heuristic, because she can easily recall friendly dogs from her
childhood
B. Schema activation, because her pre-existing framework is shaping how she processes
the new situation [CORRECT]
C. Operant conditioning, because she has been rewarded for approaching dogs in the
past
D. Repression, because she is unconsciously blocking out the threatening aspects of the
dog’s behaviour
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. The student’s existing schema about dogs being friendly
STYLE ASSESSMENT Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Complete
Exam-Style Questions with Detailed Rationales | Pass
Guaranteed – A+ Graded
Section A: Approaches in Psychology – 20 Questions
Q1: Wilhelm Wundt is widely credited with establishing the first psychology laboratory
in 1879. Which of the following best describes his primary method for studying
conscious experience?
A. Systematic desensitisation using gradual exposure to feared stimuli
B. Free association to uncover unconscious conflicts
C. Introspection, where trained observers reported their conscious experiences
[CORRECT]
D. Observational learning through modelling and imitation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is C. Wundt used introspection as his core method, training
observers to report the contents of their conscious experience in a structured way. This
was central to his attempt to make psychology a scientific discipline, and it’s the detail
the AQA specification highlights when discussing psychology’s origins as a science.
Q2: In Pavlov’s classic research on classical conditioning, the bell that initially produced
no salivation but eventually triggered salivation is best described as which of the
following?
A. An unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits a response
B. A conditioned stimulus that comes to elicit a learned response [CORRECT]
C. An unconditioned response that occurs automatically
D. A conditioned response that diminishes through extinction
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. In Pavlov’s setup, the bell started out as a neutral
,stimulus and, through repeated pairing with food (the unconditioned stimulus), became
a conditioned stimulus capable of triggering salivation on its own. This is the basic
mechanism of classical conditioning that every A-Level student needs to grasp.
Q3: A teacher notices that whenever a student completes their homework on time, they
earn five minutes of extra free time at the end of the lesson. As a result, the student’s
homework completion rate increases significantly. Which behavioural principle is
operating here?
A. Positive punishment, because an aversive consequence is being removed
B. Negative reinforcement, because something unpleasant is being taken away
C. Positive reinforcement, because a pleasant stimulus is being added to strengthen
behaviour [CORRECT]
D. Classical conditioning, because a neutral stimulus is being paired with an
unconditioned response
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is C. The teacher is adding something desirable—extra free
time—to increase the likelihood of homework completion, which is the definition of
positive reinforcement. It’s easy to muddle this with negative reinforcement, but
remember: positive reinforcement adds a reward, whereas negative reinforcement
removes something aversive.
Q4: During a psychology lesson, students watch a video of an adult behaving
aggressively toward a Bobo doll. Later, when given the chance to play with the same
doll, several students copy the exact aggressive actions they observed. According to
Bandura’s social learning theory, which cognitive process best explains why the students
were able to reproduce these behaviours so accurately?
A. Motivation, because they were rewarded for their aggression
B. Retention, because they had mentally stored what they saw and could pull it up later
[CORRECT]
C. Attention, because they were looking at the screen rather than their phones
D. Vicarious reinforcement, because the adult in the video was clearly praised
, Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. Bandura’s four mediational processes include attention,
retention, reproduction, and motivation; retention is the mental storage of the observed
behaviour so it can be reproduced later. The students clearly paid attention, but the
question specifically asks how they reproduced the actions accurately, which hinges on
having retained a mental representation of what they saw.
Q5: Within the cognitive approach, the term "schema" refers to which of the following?
A. A genetically inherited instinct that guides behaviour from birth
B. A mental framework that organises and interprets incoming information [CORRECT]
C. A defence mechanism that pushes threatening thoughts into the unconscious
D. A neurological pathway that connects the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. A schema is essentially a cognitive framework or packet
of knowledge that helps us process new information quickly. Bartlett’s work on memory
distortion showed how schemas shape what we remember, and this concept sits right at
the heart of the cognitive approach’s focus on internal mental processes.
Q6: A student who has always believed that all dogs are friendly approaches a stray dog
that is growling and showing its teeth. Because of her existing belief about dogs, she
interprets the dog’s behaviour as "playful" rather than threatening. Which cognitive
concept best accounts for this interpretation?
A. The availability heuristic, because she can easily recall friendly dogs from her
childhood
B. Schema activation, because her pre-existing framework is shaping how she processes
the new situation [CORRECT]
C. Operant conditioning, because she has been rewarded for approaching dogs in the
past
D. Repression, because she is unconsciously blocking out the threatening aspects of the
dog’s behaviour
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B. The student’s existing schema about dogs being friendly
