AQA A-level Psychology (7182): Paper 3 – Stress – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

This practice set covers the Stress option of AQA A-level Psychology (7182), from the AQA AS and A-level Psychology (7181, 7182) specification, Version 1.4 (1 September 2025), for teaching from September 2025. Stress is section 4.3.7, topic 14 in Option 2, and is assessed in Section C of Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology, which the specification describes as “multiple choice, short answer and extended writing, 24 marks”. All people, places and data below are fictional.

Learn the content first with the Stress study guide and Stress revision notes. For other topics, see the AQA A-level Psychology hub and AQA A-level Psychology checklist.

Questions

1. Which one of the following is released by the adrenal medulla as part of the sympathomedullary pathway? [1]

A. Cortisol B. ACTH C. Adrenaline D. CRH

2. Outline the role of cortisol in the stress response. [3]

3. Read the scenario.

Lena is 34. This year she married, moved to the fictional city of Corrandale and started a new job. Most days her train is late, her neighbours play loud music at night and her work laptop freezes during meetings.

(a) Identify one life change and one daily hassle from the scenario. [2] (b) Using research into sources of stress, explain why a psychologist might expect Lena’s daily hassles to affect her well-being more than her life changes. [4]

4. Explain one limitation of the Social Readjustment Ratings Scale as a measure of stress. [3]

5. A researcher at a fictional sixth-form college measured the skin conductance response (SCR, in microsiemens) of eight students on an ordinary school day and again on the morning of a mock exam.

Student	Ordinary day	Mock exam morning
1	4.2	6.1
2	3.8	5.4
3	5.0	7.0
4	4.6	6.3
5	3.9	5.2
6	4.4	6.6
7	5.1	7.2
8	4.0	5.8

(a) Calculate the mean SCR for each condition. Give your answers to two decimal places. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage increase in mean SCR from the ordinary day to the mock exam morning. Give your answer to one decimal place. Show your working. [2] (c) Explain one reason why a repeated measures design was suitable for this study. [2] (d) Explain one limitation of using SCR alone to conclude that the students were more stressed before the mock. [2]

6. Three fictional employees are described below.

Ade rarely shows anger, agrees to every request and puts colleagues’ needs first. Bea works fast, hates waiting, competes with everyone and snaps when interrupted. Cal is unhurried, patient and rarely irritated.

(a) Identify the personality type (A, B or C) shown by each employee. [3] (b) Briefly evaluate research into the link between Type A personality and coronary heart disease. [4]

7. Outline what is meant by hardiness and explain how it might reduce the effects of stress. [4]

8. Read the scenario.

At Brightline, a fictional call centre, managers have raised daily call targets by a third. Staff can no longer choose when to take breaks; the computer system now schedules them.

Using research into workplace stress, explain how these changes could affect the staff. [6]

9. Identify the type of social support shown in each statement. [3]

(i) “My brother lent me his car so I could get to the hospital.” (ii) “My manager told me I am the best person to lead the project.” (iii) “My friend sat with me and listened while I cried.”

10. Briefly evaluate biofeedback as a method of managing stress. [4]

11. Discuss gender differences in coping with stress. [8]

12. Read the scenario.

Sami, a fictional trainee pilot, feels intense panic before every flight assessment. His heart pounds and he is convinced he will fail, although his instructors say he is capable. His next assessment is in two days, and he has six more over the coming year.

Discuss drug therapy and stress inoculation therapy as ways of managing stress. Refer to Sami in your answer. [16]

Answers

1. C, adrenaline [1] [1] Examiner insight: Cortisol is the most common wrong choice; link the medulla to the SAM and the cortex to the HPA before you choose.

2. The adrenal cortex releases cortisol as the final step of the HPA system, after CRH and ACTH [1]. Cortisol raises blood glucose so energy stays available for a prolonged stressor, and reduces pain sensitivity [1]. It also suppresses the immune system, and high levels feed back to reduce CRH and ACTH release [1]. [3] Examiner insight: “Outline” needs function, not just where cortisol comes from; one mark rarely comes from naming the gland alone.

3. (a) Life change: marriage, moving to Corrandale or starting a new job [1]. Daily hassle: late trains, noisy neighbours or a freezing laptop [1]. [2] (b) Kanner et al. found that hassles predicted psychological symptoms better than major life events [1]. Lena’s hassles happen most days, so their effect builds up, whereas her life changes were one-off events [1]. The amplification hypothesis suggests her life changes create new hassles, such as a new commute after the move [1], so it is the frequent daily irritations that wear her down [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each application mark needs a detail from Lena’s situation; a correct account of Kanner with no mention of Lena caps the answer.

4. The SRRS gives each event a fixed LCU value [1], assuming everyone finds an event equally stressful [1]. In reality, a divorce may be a relief to one person and devastating to another, so the total may not reflect how stressed the person actually feels [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A three-mark limitation needs identify, explain and consequence; stopping at “it is unreliable” earns one mark at most.

5. (a) Ordinary day mean = 35.0 ÷ 8 = 4.38 microsiemens [1]. Mock exam morning mean = 49.6 ÷ 8 = 6.20 microsiemens [1]. [2] (b) (6.20 − 4.375) ÷ 4.375 × 100 [1] = 41.7% increase [1]. [2] (c) SCR baselines differ naturally between people [1], so comparing each student with themselves removes these participant variables from the comparison [1]. [2] (d) SCR measures sympathetic arousal, not stress itself [1]; students could be aroused by excitement or a warm exam hall, so a self-report measure would be needed to confirm they felt stressed [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Use the unrounded mean (4.375) in the percentage calculation, or say clearly that you used the rounded one; working earns the method mark even if the final figure slips.

6. (a) Ade: Type C [1]. Bea: Type A [1]. Cal: Type B [1]. [3] (b) Friedman and Rosenman’s Western Collaborative Group Study found Type A men were roughly twice as likely to develop CHD as Type B men [1]. However, a later follow-up of the men who developed CHD found Type A men were less likely to die from it than Type B men [1]. Researchers now suggest hostility is the harmful component, rather than the whole Type A profile [1]. The original sample was all male, so findings may not generalise to women [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Evaluation marks come from judging the evidence, so say what each point does to the claim, not just what the study found.

7. Hardiness is a set of traits proposed by Kobasa: commitment, challenge and control [1]. Commitment means involvement in work and relationships, so the person keeps going under pressure [1]. Challenge means seeing change as an opportunity, so stressors are appraised as less threatening [1]. Control means believing you can influence events, which encourages active, problem-focused coping [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Naming the three Cs earns little on its own; the marks are for linking each one to how it changes the stress response.

8. Raising call targets increases workload [1], and the computer-scheduled breaks remove staff control over their work [1]. The Whitehall II study of civil servants (Marmot et al.) linked low job control, not job demands, to coronary heart disease [1], so the loss of break choice may matter more than the targets themselves [1]. Johansson et al. found sawmill workers with high workload and little control had raised stress hormones and more illness and absence [1], so Brightline might expect more sickness absence [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Keep workload and control separate and tie each to a Brightline change; merging them into “the job is stressful” loses the application marks.

9. (i) Instrumental support [1]. (ii) Esteem support [1]. (iii) Emotional support [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Esteem and emotional support are easily confused; esteem is about the person’s belief in their own ability, not comfort.

10. A strength is that biofeedback has no drug side effects or risk of dependence [1]. Lemaire et al. found doctors using a biofeedback-based tool for 28 days showed a greater fall in stress scores than controls [1]. However, it needs equipment and trained staff, so it is less accessible than drug therapy [1]. The benefit may come from relaxation training alone, not the feedback, so the active ingredient is unclear [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Balance strengths and limitations; four marks for “evaluate” will not all come from one side.

11. The real exam marks extended answers with levels of response, not point by point; the points below show indicative content.

A traditional view is that men use more problem-focused coping and women more emotion-focused coping [1]. Taylor et al. (2000) proposed tend-and-befriend: women respond to stress by protecting offspring and seeking social contact [1], possibly linked to oxytocin [1]. This offers an evolutionary reason for the difference [1]. However, Tamres et al. (2002) found women were more likely than men to use most coping strategies, not only emotion-focused ones, and that some differences depended on the type of stressor [1]. Differences may reflect the stressors men and women typically face or social roles, not biology [1]. Much of the research relies on self-report, which may be shaped by gender stereotypes [1]. Overall, the evidence suggests gender differences in coping are more complex and more situation-dependent than the traditional view claims [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Top-band answers reach a judgement; listing studies without saying what they show about the size or cause of the difference keeps you in the middle bands.

12. The real exam marks extended answers with levels of response, not point by point; the points below show indicative content.

Knowledge. Beta-blockers block adrenaline and noradrenaline at beta-adrenergic receptors, lowering heart rate and blood pressure [1]. Benzodiazepines enhance GABA, reducing anxiety [1]. SIT (Meichenbaum, 1985) has three phases: conceptualisation, where the client learns how their appraisal creates stress [1]; skills acquisition and rehearsal, such as relaxation and positive self-talk [1]; and application and follow-through in increasingly demanding situations [1].

Application. Sami’s pounding heart is a SAM symptom, so a beta-blocker could reduce it [1]. Drugs act within hours, which suits an assessment only two days away [1]. His belief that he will fail is a faulty appraisal, which SIT’s conceptualisation phase would target [1]. Because he has six more assessments this year, SIT’s preparation for future stressors suits him [1].

Evaluation. Drugs need little effort or time, so they are easy to use [1]. However, they treat symptoms, not causes, so Sami’s fear may return each time [1]. Benzodiazepines can cause dependence, and sedation could be unsafe for a trainee pilot [1]. Saunders et al.’s (1996) meta-analysis of 37 studies found SIT reduced anxiety and improved performance under stress [1]. However, SIT takes weeks and needs motivation, so it will not help in two days [1]. A combined approach, short-term symptom relief while starting SIT, may be most appropriate [1]. Judging effectiveness and appropriateness separately shows that the best choice depends on Sami’s timescale [1]. [16] Examiner insight: The specification asks you to evaluate therapies for appropriateness and effectiveness; using Sami’s timescale and job to judge each therapy is what lifts an answer above description.

Where marks are usually lost

• Confusing the adrenal medulla (adrenaline) with the adrenal cortex (cortisol) in multiple-choice and outline questions.
• Giving a general definition when the question asks you to apply research to the scenario.
• Treating SCR or cortisol as a direct measure of stress rather than of arousal.
• Rounding too early in calculations and then losing the final mark.
• Naming the three Cs or the three SIT phases without explaining them.
• Writing “Type A causes heart disease” without the contradictory follow-up evidence.
• Evaluating therapies only on effectiveness, ignoring appropriateness for the person described.
• Ending extended answers without a reasoned judgement.

Next steps

• Recheck weak areas in the Stress study guide.
• Refresh the biological approach in Approaches in Psychology.
• Find gaps across the course with our free diagnostics.
• Want a teacher to mark your essays? Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level Psychology (7181, 7182) specification, Version 1.4 (1 September 2025), for teaching from September 2025. Stress is section 4.3.7 (Option 2, topic 14), assessed in Paper 3: Issues and Options in Psychology, Section C.