Master GCSE Psychology with Adaptive Practice
Explore GCSE Psychology with practice on memory, perception, development, social influence, and research methods.
Content reviewed February 2026 · Aligned to current specifications
About GCSE Psychology
GCSE Psychology introduces you to the scientific study of mind and behaviour. You will learn about topics such as memory, perception, brain development, social influence, psychological problems, criminal behaviour, and research methods.
Psychology is relevant to a huge range of careers including clinical psychology, counselling, teaching, marketing, human resources, law enforcement, and UX design. It teaches you to think scientifically about human behaviour and to evaluate evidence critically.
Students often find the research methods section challenging, particularly understanding experimental design, variables, sampling methods, and ethical guidelines. The need to evaluate studies — not just describe them — also requires a level of critical thinking that takes practice.
Topics Covered
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Adaptive Practice
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Study Tips for Psychology
- ✓ For each key study, learn the aim, method, results, and conclusion using a consistent format. Then practise evaluating each study by identifying strengths and weaknesses of the method, ethical issues, and whether the findings can be generalised.
- ✓ Understand the difference between the approaches (biological, cognitive, social, behavioural, psychodynamic) and be able to explain how each approach would interpret the same behaviour differently.
- ✓ For research methods, practise identifying independent variables, dependent variables, extraneous variables, and hypotheses from scenarios you have not seen before. This skill is tested heavily in the exam.
- ✓ Create mind maps linking key concepts within each topic. For example, link memory models (multi-store, working memory) to studies that support or challenge them, and to practical applications like improving revision strategies.
Exam Tips for GCSE Psychology
- ✓ When asked to evaluate a study, go beyond simply saying it lacks ecological validity. Explain why — for example, a laboratory experiment on memory may lack ecological validity because memorising word lists does not reflect how we use memory in daily life.
- ✓ For application questions, you must refer to the scenario provided. Pull specific details from the stem and explain them using psychological concepts. Answers that ignore the scenario will be capped.
- ✓ Show awareness of ethical guidelines when discussing research. Mention informed consent, right to withdraw, deception, and protection from harm where relevant — examiners expect you to consider the ethics of any study you discuss.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Useful Resources
Psychology at other levels: A-Level Psychology · International A-Level Psychology
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