AQA 7182
| Paper | Length | Marks | Weight | 2027 date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Introductory topics in psychology | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Tue 18 May, am |
| Paper 2: Psychology in context | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Tue 25 May, am |
| Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology | 2h | 96 | 33.3% | Wed 9 June, am |
A-level Psychology · June 2027
A-level Psychology specification
Every board sets three written papers. Here are their marks, weights and 2027 dates, then each AQA topic by paper.
Papers, marks and weights by board
Edexcel 9PS0
| Paper | Length | Marks | Weight | 2027 date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Foundations in psychology | 2h 15m | 90 | 35% | Tue 18 May, am |
| Paper 2: Applications of psychology | 2h 15m | 90 | 35% | Tue 25 May, am |
| Paper 3: Psychological skills | 2h | 80 | 30% | Wed 9 June, am |
Papers 1 and 2 are 2 hours 15 minutes each.
OCR H567
| Paper | Length | Marks | Weight | 2027 date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research methods | 2h | 90 | 30% | Tue 18 May, am |
| Psychological themes through core studies | 2h | 105 | 35% | Tue 25 May, am |
| Applied psychology | 2h | 105 | 35% | Wed 9 June, am |
OCR is replacing H567 with a new specification, H569, taught from September 2027. H567 is examined for the last time in summer 2028.
Eduqas A290
| Paper | Length | Marks | Weight | 2027 date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component 1: Psychology: Past to Present | 2h 15m | 100 | 33⅓% | Tue 18 May, am |
| Component 2: Psychology: Investigating Behaviour | 2h 15m | 100 | 33⅓% | Tue 25 May, am |
| Component 3: Psychology: Implications in the Real World | 2h 15m | 100 | 33⅓% | Wed 9 June, am |
Start with the free lesson
Short lessons, then marked exam questions on the same topic.
Every topic by paper: AQA 7182, the course we teach
Paper 1: Introductory topics in psychology
- Social influenceTypes of conformity and why people conform · Asch's research and the variables affecting conformity · Explaining obedience: agentic state and legitimate authority · Milgram's situational variables and the authoritarian personality · Resistance to social influence · Minority influence
- MemoryThe multi-store model of memory · The working memory model · Explanations for forgetting · Factors affecting eyewitness accuracy · The cognitive interview
- AttachmentAnimal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow · Learning theory and Bowlby's monotropic theory · The Strange Situation and cultural variation · Maternal deprivation and institutionalisation · Early attachment and later relationships
- Clinical psychology and mental healthDefinitions of mental health and disorder · Characteristics of phobias, depression and OCD · Phobias: the two-process model and behavioural therapies · Depression: Beck, Ellis and CBT · OCD: genetic and neural explanations and drug therapy
Paper 2: Psychology in context
- Approaches in psychologyThe behaviourist approach: classical and operant conditioning · Social learning theory · The cognitive approach · The biological approach · The psychodynamic approach · Humanistic psychology · Comparing the approaches
- BiopsychologyThe divisions of the nervous system · Neurons and synaptic transmission · The endocrine system and the fight-or-flight response · Ways of studying the brain · Localisation, lateralisation and split-brain research · Plasticity and functional recovery after trauma
- Research methods: scientific processesAims and hypotheses · Variables and operationalisation · Populations, samples and sampling techniques · Experimental designs · Control: random allocation, counterbalancing and standardisation · Demand characteristics, investigator effects and pilot studies · Ethical issues and the BPS code · Designing observations: behavioural categories and sampling · Designing questionnaires and interviews · Reliability and how to improve it · Types of validity and how to improve them · Features of science · Peer review, the economy and reporting research
- Research methods: types of investigationLaboratory, field, natural and quasi-experiments · Observational techniques · Self-report techniques · Correlations · Content analysis, coding and case studies
- Research methods: data, statistics and inferential testsQuantitative and qualitative, primary and secondary data · Descriptive statistics · Graphs and tables · Distributions and correlation coefficients · Levels of measurement · The sign test · Probability, significance and Type I and II errors · Choosing an inferential test
Paper 3: Issues and options in psychology
- Issues and debatesGender and cultural bias · Free will and determinism · The nature-nurture debate · Holism and reductionism · Idiographic and nomothetic approaches · Ethical implications and socially sensitive research
- Relationships (option)Factors affecting attraction · Social exchange, equity and investment theories · Duck's phase model of relationship breakdown · Virtual relationships in social media · Parasocial relationships
- Schizophrenia (option)Classification and diagnosis of schizophrenia · Biological explanations of schizophrenia · Psychological explanations of schizophrenia · Drug therapy for schizophrenia · CBT and family therapy for schizophrenia · The interactionist approach to schizophrenia
- Aggression (option)Neural, hormonal and genetic factors in aggression · Ethological and evolutionary explanations of aggression · Social psychological explanations of aggression · Institutional aggression in prisons · Media influences on aggression
Questions
- What is on the AQA A-level Psychology specification?
- Paper 1 covers social influence, memory, attachment, and clinical psychology and mental health. Paper 2 covers approaches, biopsychology and research methods. Paper 3 covers issues and debates plus one option from each of three groups.
- How many marks is each A-level Psychology paper?
- AQA: 96 marks per paper. Edexcel: 90, 90 and 80. OCR: 90, 105 and 105. Eduqas: 100 per component.
- When are the A-level Psychology exams in 2027?
- On AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas: Tuesday 18 May, Tuesday 25 May and Wednesday 9 June 2027, all in the morning.
- Is OCR A-level Psychology changing?
- Yes. OCR's new specification, H569, is taught from September 2027. The current H567 has its final exams in summer 2028.
Plan the exams
- A-level exam timetable 2027Your own papers in date order, with any clashes.
- How hard is each A-level?Top grade rates by subject, 2026.
- Every Psychology question by topic