Edexcel A Level Psychology
Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology Exam Questions
Free Edexcel A Level Psychology exam questions for Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers the multi-store and working memory models, episodic and semantic memory, reconstructive memory, experiments, case studies and Baddeley (1966b).
Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology exam questions
1 question pack of real past exam questions, each with its mark scheme. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can without notes, then mark every answer with the mark scheme. The more questions you do, the more quickly you will spot how examiners ask about each idea.
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About Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology is Topic 2 of Edexcel A Level Psychology and is assessed on Paper 1, Foundations in Psychology. It focuses on memory: the multi-store model, the working memory model, episodic and semantic memory, and reconstructive memory, plus one further explanation of memory or forgetting. Methods content centres on experiments, experimental designs and case studies of brain-damaged patients such as HM, with descriptive and inferential statistics. The classic study is Baddeley (1966b) on acoustic and semantic encoding, and you study one contemporary study. You also carry out a practical experiment on memory. Examiners often ask you to compare models and evaluate the case study method.
What you need to know
- Multi-store model Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory, with rehearsal transferring information. STM has limited capacity and duration and LTM is relatively permanent.
- Working memory model Baddeley and Hitch (1974) proposed a central executive controlling the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad, later adding the episodic buffer. Dual-task studies support separate components.
- Episodic and semantic memory Tulving (1972) distinguished episodic memory for personal experiences from semantic memory for general knowledge and facts. Case studies of brain-damaged patients suggest they can be affected separately.
- Reconstructive memory Bartlett (1932) argued memory is not a perfect recording but is reconstructed using schemas. In the War of the Ghosts study, participants shortened the story and changed unfamiliar details to fit their own culture.
- Classic study: Baddeley (1966b) Participants recalled lists of acoustically or semantically similar or dissimilar words. Acoustic similarity impaired immediate recall (STM), while semantic similarity impaired recall after a delay (LTM), suggesting STM encodes acoustically and LTM semantically.
- Methods and practical Laboratory and field experiments, independent groups, repeated measures and matched pairs designs, operationalisation, counterbalancing, case studies of brain-damaged patients (such as HM), descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests.
Common mistakes in Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology
- Saying Bartlett used a laboratory experiment with tight controls; his War of the Ghosts research used serial and repeated reproduction with little control.
- Mixing up Baddeley (1966b) findings; acoustic confusion affected STM, semantic confusion affected LTM.
- Describing the episodic buffer as part of the original 1974 working memory model; it was added in 2000.
- Using HM as evidence against the MSM; his intact STM and impaired LTM formation actually support separate stores.
- Choosing a Wilcoxon test for an independent groups design; Wilcoxon is for repeated measures or matched pairs, Mann-Whitney for independent groups.
Try three Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology exam-style questions
1. Describe what Bartlett meant by reconstructive memory. (3 marks)
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Memories are not exact copies but are actively rebuilt each time they are recalled; we use schemas, existing knowledge based on past experience and culture, to fill gaps; this leads to distortions such as shortening, rationalisation and changing unfamiliar details to familiar ones.
2. Explain one strength and one weakness of using case studies of brain-damaged patients to study memory. (4 marks)
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Strength: they provide rich, detailed data over a long period; and allow researchers to study the effects of damage that could not ethically be created, such as HM's inability to form new LTMs; Weakness: brain damage is unique to the individual and the person's memory before damage is often unknown; so findings are hard to generalise to people without brain damage.
3. Explain why Baddeley's (1966b) study supports the multi-store model. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
It showed participants had difficulty recalling acoustically similar words in immediate recall; but difficulty with semantically similar words after a delay; this suggests STM and LTM use different encoding, supporting the idea that they are separate stores.
Topic 2: Cognitive Psychology FAQs
What does Edexcel A Level Psychology Topic 2 Cognitive Psychology cover?
It covers the multi-store model, the working memory model, episodic and semantic memory, reconstructive memory, experimental methods, case studies of brain-damaged patients, statistics, the classic study by Baddeley (1966b) and one contemporary study.
Which paper is Cognitive Psychology examined in?
Cognitive Psychology is examined on Paper 1, Foundations in Psychology.
Which statistical tests appear in Cognitive Psychology?
You need to know when to use the Mann-Whitney U test for independent groups and the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for repeated measures, both for ordinal data or data treated as ordinal.
