This lesson was created using the latest AQA A-Level Specification (published June 2019) although content and activities may be useful for other specifications. Key content covered in this Lesson: Key Questions The Cognitive Approach Key Assumptions Theoretical Models Computer Models Video: Are brains like computers? The Role of Schema Example of a schema for a chair The Emergence of Cognitive Neuroscience Exam practice with Mark Scheme: Short answer questions Evaluation worksheet Evaluation points Exam practice with Mark Scheme: Evaluation question Plenary: Consolidation Question To request lessons, provide feedback or if you have had any issues opening any resources of my resources, please feel free to contact jb_resources@outlook.com. Reviews and feedback are always welcome.

This lesson was created using the latest AQA A-Level Specification (published June 2019) although content and activities may be useful for other specifications. Key content covered in this Lesson: Key questions Level of Moral Reasoning The Heinz Dilemma Kohlberg’s Model of Moral Development Video: Kohlberg’s Model of Moral Development Activity: Explain each stage of Kohlberg’s Model Kohlberg’s Model and Criminality Cognitive Distortions Hostile Attribution Bias Minimalisation Exam practice with Mark Scheme: Short Answer Question Evaluation worksheet Evaluation points Exam practice with Mark Scheme: Evaluation Question Plenary: Consolidation question To request lessons, provide feedback or if you have had any issues opening any resources of my resources, please feel free to contact jb_resources@outlook.com. Reviews and feedback are always welcome.

This is a collection of exam questions for the new AQA Psychology specification (2016) focused on the topic of cognitive psych/ memory. I also have made workbooks for attachment, social psych and psychopathology - if you liked this then don’t miss them - linked below!! The questions are usefully grouped so that once you have revised the topic you can test yourself on a range of questions that have appeared in the past, giving you ample opportunities to get familiar with the types of questions the exam board have asked in the past and no doubt will again. Even students who can recite their notes off by heart may struggle to achieve the top grades because they have poor exam technique, but this workbook is the ideal resource to improve exam technique simply by practicing! I have meticulously gone through past papers for the old specification and carefully selected the most relevant questions to the new spec, allowing students to prepare for exam questions that are likely to reappear. I found this very useful on the way to getting an A*. I also have these workbooks for attachment, social psychology and psychopathology- https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/attachment-exam-question-booklet-a-level-psychology-aqa-new-spec-11684162 https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/social-psychology-exam-question-booklet-a-level-psychology-aqa-new-spec-11684168 https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/psychopathology-revision-exam-question-booklet-a-level-psychology-aqa-new-spec-11684165

Updated for AQA 2025 Spec – Teaching from SEPTEMBER 2025 onwards This resource is designed for teaching The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression under the AQA A-Level Psychology (2025 Specification). It has been fully updated to reflect the revised requirements within the Clinical Psychology and Mental Health topic, which expect students to describe, apply, and evaluate Beck’s cognitive theory and Ellis’s ABC model as explanations of depression, including key concepts such as negative schemas, faulty information processing, the negative triad, irrational beliefs, and activating events. If you’re looking for the 2019 specification version of this topic, please visit my shop. This fully editable lesson guides students through Beck’s and Ellis’s cognitive explanations, supporting the development of secure AO1 knowledge through clear explanations, structured notes, and visual diagrams. Students then apply the theories to real-world examples and case material, before developing AO3 evaluation skills through guided discussion, structured activities, and critical comparison tasks. What’s Included: Fully Editable Lesson Slides – Introduce Beck’s and Ellis’s cognitive explanations of depression through clear explanations, diagrams, structured note sections, and worked examples. Includes retrieval starters, success criteria, Think–Pair–Share questions, scenario prompts, guided reading, discussion activities, application checkpoints, and a structured plenary. AO2 Application Worksheet – Students apply cognitive theory to a real-life scenario involving Yasmin’s redundancy, identifying activating events, irrational beliefs, consequences, and cognitive vulnerabilities. Designed to build confidence with exam-style application questions. Evaluation Worksheet – Printable activity enabling students to examine key strengths and limitations of the cognitive explanations, including research support, CBT effectiveness, explanatory breadth, cognitive primacy, and developmental influences. Features classification prompts, explanation boxes, and stretch questions to support higher-level reasoning. Exam Practice Question Sheet – Includes a 4-mark AO1 question assessing students’ ability to describe one cognitive explanation of depression, with clear response space suited for classwork, homework, or formative assessment. How This Resource Reflects the 2025 Specification Changes: Fully aligned with AQA 2025 content under Clinical Psychology and Mental Health Covers updated sub-topic: The Cognitive Approach to Explaining Depression Supports AO1, AO2, and AO3 objectives through explanation, application, and evaluation Incorporates scenario-based reasoning and clinical examples, as emphasised in the revised specification Suitable for classroom teaching, independent learning, cover lessons, homework, or revision All materials are fully editable, allowing teachers to adapt the lesson to student ability, pacing, and teaching style.

This resource contains 2 hours of teaching time This lesson includes; Retrieval practice Exam practice MWB exercises Writing tasks Student examiner tasks Discussion tasks Essay planning Please check notes for teacher notes and video links

This fully editable lesson on Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development introduces students to key concepts of cognitive growth, focusing on schemas, assimilation, accommodation, and stages of development. Aligned with the AQA GCSE Psychology Specification, this resource explores how children’s thinking evolves through interaction with their environment and developmental stages. The lesson integrates engaging activities, critical thinking tasks, and exam practice to consolidate understanding. Comprehensive Lesson Slides: The slides provide detailed explanations of Piaget’s key theories, including the processes of assimilation and accommodation, and the concept of schemas. Key topics include the differences between child and adult cognition, a brief introduction to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, and the influence of these stages on children’s learning processes. The slides also critically evaluate Piaget’s work, discussing its impact on education and cultural limitations. Interactive Activities: Students are engaged through Do Now tasks and thought-provoking questions, such as exploring how cultural differences might influence cognitive development. Activities include summarising Piaget’s stages, discussing real-life applications like activity-based learning in classrooms, and matching key terms with their definitions to reinforce comprehension. Exam Practice and Assessment: Students are provided with an exam-style question to assess their understanding of Piaget’s theory. Tasks include structured evaluation questions to identify strengths and weaknesses, such as the role of research evidence and criticisms of cultural bias. Worksheets guide students in explaining concepts like assimilation and accommodation and developing critical responses using the AO1 and AO3 criteria.

This is a series of separate files, worksheets and activities to introduce students to the cognitive approach to psychology.

Included is a powerpoint covering the Cognitive approach in line with the AQA syllabus starter slides and specification links topics covered: introduction to cognitive approach, real life examples of cognition in action, schema, inferences, computer model, case studies and experiements, AO3 gap fills, true or false, discussion opportunities, links to videos, match up This powerpoint can be spread across 2 lessons

A comprehensive revision guide covering all aspects of the Cognitive Psychology A Level unit, suitable for the Edexcel A Level Psychology 2015 specification. Contemporary study included: Schmolck. Revision guides are also available for Social, Biological, Learning, Clinical and Criminal units. Former A Level student: “I am so grateful for the hours and hours that you put into making those revision guides, because they were the most helpful thing to use, and you should sell them because they are far better than any textbook I have bought!”

Unit checklists for Edexcel A Level (or AS) Psychology - can be given to students when beginning each unit, to be used as a checklist to cross off when they have studied each topic. Or could be used as a revision tracker. Includes unit checklists for: Social Cognitive Biological Learning Clinical Criminal

This large pack of model answers covers the following topics from Cognitive Psychology, written by an Expert Examiner who has taught Psychology A Level for over 16 years. Many include notes on structure and highlight key terms. The set includes model answers for these questions: Q: Give 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Tulving’s theory of long-term memory (8m) Q: Evaluate the Multi-Store Model as an explanation of memory (8m) Q: Evaluate Baddeley 1966b (8m) model answer Q: Evaluate Field experiments as used in cognitive psychology 8m model answer Q:Evaluate Sebastian and Hernandez-Gil (2012) (8m) model answer Q: Evaluate the Working Memory Model (8m) Q: Evaluate Lab experiments as used in cognitive psychology 8m Q: Describe schema theory (4m) Q: Evaluate Baddeley’s 1966b study in terms of validity and reliability (8m) Q: Assess Sebastian and Hernandez-Gil’s study in terms of validity and generalisability (8m) Q: Evaluate the use of the case study, as used in cognitive psychology (8m) Q Evaluate the theory of reconstructive memory (8m) Q: Jenny is a teacher trying to talk to a parent on the phone. Suddenly, a student comes into her office and starts talking to her. Jenny tells the student to come back, as she can’t listen to two people at once. Explain why Jenny cannot listen to the student and the parent at the same time, using the Working Memory Model (4m)

To request lessons, provide feedback or if you have had any issues opening any resources of my resources, please feel free to contact me on jb_resources@outlook.com (responses are usually very prompt). Key content covered in this Lesson: Key Questions Selman’s work on Perspective-taking Perspective-taking Research (1971; 1976) - Procedure and Findings Selman’s Stages of Development (1976) Level 0 - Socially Egocentric Level 1 - Social Information role-taking Level 2 - Self-reflective role-taking Level 3 - Mutual role-taking Level 4 - Societal and conventional role-taking Summary Table of Selman’s Levels of Perspective-taking Activity: Spenny and Lauren’s Computer time Later Developments to Selman’s Theory Evaluation worksheet Evaluation points Exam practice with Mark Scheme: Planning 8 Mark with Application Questions Plenary: Consolidation Question

Notes on Cognitive Psychology. Made for the AQA 2015 syllabus, but can be transferred to other boards.

Thank you for downloading this free resource. Let us know how we are doing and leave us a review. Suitable for 14-19-year olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, STEM clubs and at home. This resource links to KS4 and KS5 Psychology and Careers. It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks: Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers • This PowerPoint explains the work of Dr Jonathan Grainger, a cognitive psychologist who is using experimental techniques to determine how skilled readers process words and sentences. • This resource also contains an interview with Dr Grainger and advice about careers in this field. If you or your students have a question for him, you can submit it online – go to the article using the Futurum link below and scroll to the bottom of the page. Dr Grainger will reply! • The Ppt. contains ‘talking points’ to prompt students to reflect on Dr Grainger’s work, career path and the tips he offers. This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE). If you like these free resources – or have suggestions for improvements –, please let us know and leave us some feedback. Thank you!

Practice questions on cognitive psychology for the Edexcel AS specification.