Cambridge A Level Psychology Tutors Online

Cambridge A Level Psychology is syllabus 9990. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2027. Exams are available in the June and November series, and also in the March series in India.

As Level candidates take two compulsory papers, Papers 1 and 2. A Level candidates take four compulsory papers, Papers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Candidates following an A Level route are eligible for grades A* to E.

All four papers have the same size and weight. Each lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, carries 60 marks, and is worth 25% of the A Level. There is no heavier paper to plan around.

Paper 1 is Approaches, Issues and Debates. Section A is short answer questions based on core studies, worth 38 marks. Section B is extended response and essay questions based on core studies, worth 22 marks.

Paper 2 is Research Methods. Section A is short answer and scenario-based questions, worth 46 marks. Section B is a planning question divided into several parts, worth 14 marks.

Paper 3 is Specialist Options: Approaches, Issues and Debates. Candidates answer questions from two specialist options, and each specialist option is out of 30 marks.

Paper 4 is Specialist Options: Application and Research Methods. Section A asks questions from two specialist options, each out of 18 marks. Section B is a planning question divided into several parts, worth 24 marks.

Two things follow from those descriptions, and they are the most important facts on this page.

First, A Level candidates must choose two specialist options from four. The syllabus names them as clinical psychology, consumer psychology, health psychology and organisational psychology.

Second, the two chosen options are examined on Paper 3 and again on Paper 4. They are worth 60 marks on Paper 3, and 18 marks each on Paper 4, which comes to 96 marks across the qualification. The choice is made once and paid for twice.

That makes the choice of option a genuine strategic decision rather than an afterthought. A student who picks two options that their school teaches thinly is committing nearly a hundred marks of their A Level to weak ground.

The syllabus describes each option. Clinical psychology covers the diagnostic criteria, symptoms, explanations and treatments for a variety of mental and behavioural disorders and conditions.

Consumer psychology looks at consumers and sellers as well as the design of consumer environments, and the syllabus describes it as reflecting consumer society.

Health psychology focuses on the psychological factors that influence health, considers ways to measure and treat conditions such as pain and stress, and looks at ways to influence behaviours around health and health choices.

Organisational psychology considers workplaces and organisations and how individuals and groups within an organisation function, influence each other, and have an impact on the organisation.

The syllabus says these A Level options are diverse but that each specialist option is balanced and equivalent in terms of content and demand. So a student should choose on interest rather than on a belief that one option is easier.

It also states that a number of key studies are specified for each specialist option, along with some additional studies which may be useful as examples of research in each area. So each option has its own required study list, distinct from the twelve core studies.

The twelve core studies belong to the AS content and are still assumed at A Level. They run across four approaches, with three studies each, and are examined on Paper 1.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1 is knowledge and understanding. AO2 is application. AO3 is analysis and evaluation, which includes using a range or variety of evidence to demonstrate the complexity of psychological issues and debates, and reaching conclusions about arguments based on a reasoned consideration of the available evidence.

At AS Level the weightings are AO1 at 35 per cent, AO2 at 35 per cent and AO3 at 30 per cent.

At A Level they become AO1 at 30 per cent, AO2 at 35 per cent and AO3 at 35 per cent.

Per paper the differences are much sharper than the overall figures suggest. Paper 1 is AO1 at 53 per cent, AO2 at 17 per cent and AO3 at 30 per cent, so it is largely a knowledge paper.

Paper 2 is AO1 at 22 per cent, AO2 at 50 per cent and AO3 at 28 per cent, so it is dominated by application because it is a methods paper.

Paper 3 is AO1 at 26 per cent, AO2 at 26 per cent and AO3 at 48 per cent.

Paper 4 is AO1 at 26 per cent, AO2 at 44 per cent and AO3 at 30 per cent.

Paper 3 is the finding worth passing on. It is nearly half analysis and evaluation, and it carries no more knowledge weight than either of the other A Level papers. A student who knows the option content thoroughly but writes description rather than evaluation will do badly on it.

Paper 4 is the opposite balance, with application at 44 per cent. That is because its planning question and its application questions ask a student to do something with the material rather than to explain it.

The planning question is worth comparing across the two methods papers. On Paper 2 it is worth 14 marks. On Paper 4 the same kind of question is worth 24 marks. So the second year keeps the skill and almost doubles its value.

One terminology note is easy to miss and worth knowing early. The syllabus states that for the purposes of the subject content and assessment material it uses the terms used in ICD-11 where applicable, and that it will accept alternative terms if used appropriately.

So a student who has learned diagnostic terms from a different system is not penalised if the terms are used properly. What matters is precision and consistency, not which manual the terms came from.

There are three routes. Route 1 is AS Level only, taking Papers 1 and 2 in the same exam series. Route 2 is the A Level staged over two years, with Year 1 as the AS Level and Year 2 taking Papers 3 and 4 only. Route 3 is the A Level with all four components in one exam series.

On Route 2, Year 2 is Papers 3 and 4 only, so the AS papers are not retaken. Candidates carry forward their AS Level marks, subject to the rules and time limits described in the Cambridge Handbook.

The qualification is graded A* to E for an A Level candidate. The lower case a to e scale belongs to the AS Level route only.

This page is written for Year 13 students completing the A Level.