Cambridge AS & A Level Psychology 9990/22 is the May/June 2026 Paper 2 (Research Methods), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, is worth 60 marks and tests the AS Level research methods content. All nine questions are compulsory. Most are set in short invented scenarios, and two draw on core studies (Pozzulo et al. and Bandura et al.). The biggest question is Question 9, worth 14 marks, which asks you to describe a longitudinal study of children’s activity choices and evaluate your measure. This guide goes through the paper question by question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all four 9990 papers from this series, see A Level Psychology 9990 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

9990/22 at a glance

The rubric is: answer all questions. You write on the question paper.

Question	Section	Scenario and topic	Marks
1	A	Peter and Cicely: ways to measure attention, sampling techniques	5
2	A	Pozzulo et al. (line-ups): operationalising an IV and a DV	4
3	A	Naming a bar chart and a histogram, drawing a table from the histogram	6
4	A	Subjectivity, and how it could occur in Bandura et al. (aggression)	2
5	A	Confidentiality and privacy with human participants	6
6	A	Dhivya’s observation of how animals find food: behavioural categories, animal ethics	7
7	A	Gill’s case study of a very helpful man: triangulation, strengths and weaknesses	10
8	A	Mitul’s study of mindfulness and sleep quality at home	6
9	B	Sydney’s longitudinal study of children’s activity choices: the plan (10), a strength and weakness of the measure (4)	14
		Total	60

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: measuring attention and sampling (5 marks)

• 1(a) Two ways to measure attention (2 marks): each had to be measurable. Credited ways included scoring an unexpected memory test (as in Andrade), timing how long someone stays focused on work despite a noise distraction, rating how well someone tracks a moving object, a Stroop test score, and a score on questions about a lecture or recording.
• 1(b)(i) Define “sampling technique” (1 mark): the way participants are chosen or recruited from the population.
• 1(b)(ii) Peter’s technique (1 mark): volunteer (self-selected also accepted).
• 1(b)(iii) Cicely’s technique (1 mark): opportunity.

Question 2: Pozzulo et al., operationalising variables (4 marks)

Each part gave 1 mark for identifying the variable and 1 for how it was operationalised.

• 2(a) One IV (2 marks): age (children and adults, with their ages); line-up type (target-present and target-absent); or type of target (cartoon and human faces). Describing how the images were made scored nothing.
• 2(b) One DV (2 marks): correct identification (picking the target when it was present) or correct rejection (choosing no one, by pointing to the silhouette, when the target was absent). Picking a foil was not accepted as operationalising correct rejection. Calculating the mean was accepted.

Question 3: graphs and tables (6 marks)

• 3(a) Figure 3.1 (1 mark): bar chart, a chart of favourite colours.
• 3(b) Figure 3.2 (1 mark): histogram, showing the number of words recalled out of 25.
• 3(c) Draw a table from Figure 3.2 (4 marks): the scheme listed five creditable features up to 4 marks: a “number of words recalled” heading, the units (out of 25), a “frequency” label, the categories, and correct data. The correct data were:

Number of words recalled (out of 25)	8–10	11–12	13–14	15–16	17–18
Frequency	25	15	17	14	29

Wrong frequencies capped the answer at 3 marks.

Question 4: subjectivity (2 marks)

• 4(a) Define subjectivity (1 mark): a personal, biased viewpoint, or how two researchers could interpret the same thing differently.
• 4(b) Subjectivity in Bandura et al. (1 mark): the observers could have differed in what they recorded as aggression, or the experimenter and nursery teacher could have rated a child differently. A generic “the researcher might be biased” scored nothing.

Question 5: confidentiality and privacy (6 marks)

Up to 2 marks for definition or detail and up to 2 for examples on each guideline. With no examples, or with only one guideline covered, the maximum was 4; one example was enough to reach 6. Examples could come from core studies, other studies or your own.

• Confidentiality: participants’ information is anonymous and not made public, by removing names or using initials, giving codes, anonymising places such as schools, limiting who can see the data and storing records securely. Examples: Dement and Kleitman’s participants were identified by initials; we know Saavedra and Silverman’s participant was a Hispanic boy and his age, which is not enough to identify him.
• Privacy: participants have the right not to have their physical or psychological space invaded, so researchers should not observe people where they would not expect to be seen, and people may not want to answer questions about their personal lives. Example: a Dement and Kleitman participant may have had an embarrassing dream and not want to describe it.

Question 6: observing how animals find food (7 marks)

• 6(a)(i) Operationalise two categories (2 marks): 1 mark each. Digging: using paws or nose to make a hole, or moving earth or stones with the feet. Looking around: turning the head or moving the eyes. Sniffing: bringing the nose close to something, or wrinkling the nose or moving the whiskers.
• 6(a)(ii) Another category (1 mark): it had to be observable and about finding food: listening for prey, working in groups, burying food, stealing food or climbing trees for food.
• 6(b) Two animal ethics guidelines applied to the study (4 marks): 1 mark for each guideline and 1 for linking it to Dhivya’s study. Credited pairs: harm or distress (being watched might make the animals feed less, so they must be given food whether or not they find it); deprivation (the observers might scare away prey, so the animals must not go hungry during the observation); species (choose animals that are not worried by people); numbers (observe only enough animals for valid data); and procedures (observe covertly so the animals are not disturbed). Human guidelines, such as protection from harm, were not accepted.

Question 7: Gill’s case study (10 marks)

• 7(a)(i) Triangulation (2 marks): 1 mark for the meaning, using three or more sources of data about the same thing, and 1 for three sources applied to Gill’s study, such as interviewing the man, his family and the people he has helped, or using observation, interview and questionnaire.
• 7(a)(ii) A strength of triangulation (2 marks): it raises validity, because if different sources agree the effect is probably real; or it supports reliability, because agreement suggests the researcher is being consistent.
• 7(b) A strength of case studies (2 marks): studying one person in depth lets complex issues be explored, giving richer understanding; or a unique case allows something to be studied that would otherwise be impossible. “Only studies one person” is a description, not a strength.
• 7(c) Two weaknesses, applied to Gill (4 marks): 1 mark for the linked weakness and 1 for its consequence. Gill expects the man to be helpful, so she may interpret data in a biased way (low validity); he is exceptionally helpful, so findings will not apply to ordinary helping (low generalisability); another researcher might interpret the results differently (low reliability). Generic weaknesses scored nothing: “Gill’s study may be low in validity due to bias” was 0, adding her expectation made it 1, and adding the consequence made it 2.

Question 8: sleep quality at home (6 marks)

• 8(a) A way to measure sleep quality at home (2 marks): the measure had to work at home and give continuous data, with 1 mark for the way and 1 for detail. Rating sleep quality from 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent) earned both marks; a sleep app that detects disturbances or snoring also worked. EEG or EOG was not credited, because it is not feasible at home.
• 8(b) A practical advantage of home (2 marks): participants are less disturbed and can sleep naturally or go to bed at their normal time, so their sleep quality is more representative of normal sleep.
• 8(c) A practical disadvantage of home (2 marks): participants may not record sleep quality accurately or may give socially desirable answers, so it could appear better or worse than it really was; or extraneous variables such as outside noise are not controlled as in a lab. A term such as “low validity” on its own could only earn the detail mark.

Both 8(b) and 8(c) needed a link to sleep for the second mark.

Question 9: Sydney’s longitudinal study (14 marks)

• 9(a) Describe how to conduct the study (10 marks): the question gave the testing interval (within a week of each child’s birthday, every year) and told you not to describe the sample or ethics. The mark scheme looked for four required features:

  1. Tests or tasks: the measures of activity choice, such as questions, tasks or examples.
  2. Scoring: how answers are scored or analysed, such as ratings, totals, interpreting qualitative data, or comparing averages on the same tests over time.
  3. Recontacting participants: how Sydney keeps in touch each year (post, email, phone or social media) and how records are kept and updated.
  4. Controls: ways of keeping every round of testing the same.

  Levels: Level 5 (9–10) had all four features with detail and mostly appropriate terminology; Level 4 (7–8) all four, some with detail; Level 3 (5–6) some with detail, or all four with no detail; Level 2 (3–4) at least two features; Level 1 (1–2) one feature. There were no marks for the frequency or interval of testing, because the question already gave it, and an experiment with one test and one retest of a single measure did not count as a longitudinal study.

• 9(b)(i) A strength of your measure (2 marks) and 9(b)(ii) a weakness (2 marks): 1 mark for the point and 1 for detail, which could be generic or linked. Points could concern operationalisation, situational or participant variables, standardisation, consistency within or between raters, ethics, or other influences on validity and reliability. The two parts did not have to be about the same measure. Sampling earned nothing, as the question said.

Where the marks are on 9990/22

Skill	Questions	Marks
Define and name terms, graphs and sampling techniques	1(b), 3(a), 3(b), 4(a)	6
Methods in core studies	2, 4(b)	5
Present data in a table	3(c)	4
Ethics with humans and animals	5, 6(b)	10
Operationalise and measure	1(a), 6(a), 8(a)	7
Evaluate methods	7, 8(b), 8(c)	14
Plan and evaluate a longitudinal study	9	14
Total		60

• Evaluation and planning are almost half the paper (28 marks). Most of those marks need the point applied to the scenario, not stated in general.
• Ethics carries 10 marks, and it pays to know the animal guidelines as well as the human ones.
• Short definitions and names are only 6 marks, so learning terms alone will not carry this paper.

How to self-mark 9990/22 with the mark scheme

1. Learn the layout. A slash or “or” separates ways of making the same point; semicolons or a (1) separate different points. “Definitive” means only the listed answer counts.
2. Check the second mark for application. In 6(b), 7(c) and 8, the second mark needs a link to the scenario (Dhivya’s animals, Gill’s helpful man, sleep at home). Generic answers stop at 1 or 0.
3. Mark 3(c) against the five features and check every frequency against the histogram.
4. For Question 5, count definitions and examples separately, and cap at 4 if you used no examples or covered only one guideline.
5. For 9(a), tick the four required features down the margin, underline each one that has detail, then pick the level. Strike out anything about the sample, ethics or the testing interval.
6. Log each lost mark as a missing term, a missing link to the scenario or a missing feature in the plan, and practise that next.

Sit 9990/22 as a timed mock

The paper allows 90 minutes for 60 marks, one and a half minutes per mark. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Questions 1 to 4	17	22 minutes
Questions 5 to 8	29	40 minutes
Question 9(a): list the four features, then write	10	16 minutes
Question 9(b)	4	6 minutes
Check scenario links and the 3(c) table	–	6 minutes
Total	60	90 minutes

Before you start 9(a), jot the four required features in the margin so none is missed.

Other May/June 2026 9990 papers

• 9990 Paper 12 (Approaches, Issues and Debates)
• 9990 Paper 32 (Specialist Options: Approaches, Issues and Debates)
• 9990 Paper 42 (Specialist Options: Application and Research Methods)

Practise and download

• Download 9990/22 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 9990 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free A Level Psychology quiz

Need help with a 9990 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an A Level Psychology tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What topics were on 9990 Paper 22 May/June 2026? +

Measuring attention and naming sampling techniques, operationalising variables in Pozzulo et al., a bar chart and a histogram, subjectivity in Bandura et al., confidentiality and privacy, an animal observation checklist, a case study using triangulation, measuring sleep at home, and a 14-mark longitudinal study of children's activity choices.

How many marks is 9990/22 and how long is it? +

It is out of 60 marks and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. All nine questions are compulsory: Section A has eight questions worth 46 marks and Section B has one question worth 14.

What sampling techniques did Peter and Cicely use on 9990/22? +

Peter, who advertised on social media, used volunteer sampling (self-selected was also accepted). Cicely, who recruited people walking past her office door, used opportunity sampling. Both answers were definitive in the mark scheme.

How was the 10-mark longitudinal plan on 9990/22 marked? +

Against four required features: the tests or tasks, how they are scored, how participants are recontacted each year, and controls that keep each round of testing the same. Level 5 (9 to 10 marks) needed all four with detail. There were no marks for the testing interval, which the question gave, and a single test and retest was not accepted as a longitudinal study.

What was the answer to the histogram table on 9990/22? +

A table with a 'number of words recalled (out of 25)' row or column for the five categories 8–10, 11–12, 13–14, 15–16 and 17–18, and a frequency row or column showing 25, 15, 17, 14 and 29. Wrong frequencies capped the answer at 3 of the 4 marks.

Where can I download 9990/22 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge AS & A Level Psychology 9990 past papers page.

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