Cambridge AS & A Level Psychology 9990/42 is the May/June 2026 Paper 4 (Specialist Options: Application and Research Methods), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, is worth 60 marks and is an A Level paper. You answer five questions: both Section A questions from each of your two options (18 marks per option), then one 24-mark planning question from Section B. The biggest single part is the 10-mark plan, which is marked on a five-level grid. This guide goes through every question in all four options 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.

9990/42 at a glance

The rubric is: answer questions from two options. In Section A, answer four questions (both questions from each of your two options); in Section B, answer one question. You write in an answer booklet.

Question	Section and option	Topic	Marks
1	A: Clinical	Lovell et al. (2006): telephone-administered behaviour therapy for OCD	10
2	A: Clinical	Types of delusion; investigating delusions; weaknesses of open questions	8
3	A: Consumer	North et al. (2003): musical style and restaurant spending	10
4	A: Consumer	Post-purchase cognitive dissonance; closed questions	8
5	A: Health	Shoshani and Steinmetz (2014): positive psychology in schools	10
6	A: Health	Acute pain; biochemical treatments	8
7	A: Organisational	Landry et al. (2019): self-determination theory and rewards, the sample	10
8	A: Organisational	Types of workplace bullying; face-to-face interviews	8
9	B: Clinical	Plan a longitudinal experiment on ERP for OCD	24
10	B: Consumer	Plan a face-to-face interview on gender differences in store choice	24
11	B: Health	Plan a telephone interview on how men and women describe pain	24
12	B: Organisational	Plan an experiment on performance monitoring and social loafing	24
		Total answered (two options × 18, plus one plan)	60

Question-by-question walkthrough

How Section A is marked

Most Section A parts are point-marked. For “suggest” and “explain” parts, a point that is stated earns 1 mark, and a point that is applied to the study or topic with detail, elaboration or an example earns 2. The “identify four features” questions are definitive lists at 1 mark each.

Clinical Psychology (Questions 1 and 2)

• 1(a) The telephone therapy procedure in Lovell et al. (4 marks): up to 4 points from a definitive list: one-hour face-to-face sessions at the start and end; psychometric measures such as the Y-BOCS and BDI and a satisfaction questionnaire; gradual, repeated exposure to anxiety-producing situations, as for the face-to-face group; eight weekly telephone calls of up to 30 minutes; weekly homework sheets sent by post, reviewed by the therapist, who set weekly targets, with a relative or friend as co-therapist; therapist manuals, fortnightly supervision and training days every four months; and follow-ups at 1, 3 and 6 months. Describing the face-to-face group’s procedure scored nothing.
• 1(b) Why a therapist might not find telephone therapy satisfactory (2 marks): the therapist cannot see non-verbal cues to judge progress, a phone call feels less personal (more like a call centre), or technical problems such as lag or cut-offs disrupt the session. Answers about the patient not being satisfied scored nothing.
• 1(c) Two strengths of telephone therapy for OCD (4 marks): less travel and cost while being as effective as face-to-face; more access for patients who cannot attend clinic; sessions out of hours or from home; a potentially more diverse sample; and less therapist time (30 minutes rather than an hour).
• 2(a) One type of delusion (2 marks): 1 for naming, 2 for a detailed outline. Persecutory (being watched, followed or harmed by others), grandiose (having special powers, talent or status), reference (events or television programmes carry personal messages) or erotomanic (someone of higher status is in love with them).
• 2(b) Another way to investigate delusions (2 marks): an observation over time, a case study, a questionnaire with closed questions, an interview, or a psychometric scale such as PSYRATS or the Peters Delusions Inventory. Any open question scored nothing, and so did the Brief Symptom Inventory.
• 2(c) Two weaknesses of open questions (4 marks): a person with delusions may be unable to describe their psychological state; they may lie because they are embarrassed and want to hide the delusion; and the researcher may interpret answers in a biased way, affecting the measure and treatment. “Social desirability” or “can lie” on its own scored nothing; you needed the reason or effect.

Consumer Psychology (Questions 3 and 4)

• 3(a) Four features of the music that stayed the same in North et al. (4 marks): a definitive list: the same duration (two 76-minute CDs); a constant background volume; a continuous random programme; the restaurant’s usual CD system; the same classical and pop CDs (named pieces could earn 2); music played on six days over three weeks; and always from 7pm.
• 3(b) A DV to measure the effect of music on ambience (2 marks): how often customers return, positive comments on leaving or on social media, or the size of tips, with detail on why it reflects ambience. The amount spent on food and drink scored nothing, because that measures the bill, not ambience.
• 3(c) Two weaknesses of a field experiment for this topic (4 marks): variables in a real restaurant are harder to control than in a lab; controlling many variables to isolate the music lowers ecological validity; diners do not know they are in a study, so there is no informed consent; and one location (a small affluent English town) may not generalise. “Field experiments have uncontrolled variables” scored nothing, because North et al. used many controls.
• 4(a) Post-purchase cognitive dissonance, with an example (2 marks): anxiety, regret or discomfort after a purchase when the choice conflicts with your beliefs (1), plus an example such as doubting an expensive pair of shoes on the way home (1).
• 4(b) How the seller can reduce it (2 marks): positive information about the product, follow-up marketing that reinforces the choice, a free or discounted extra, a warranty, exchange or refund policy, clear delivery communication, or examples of satisfied customers. “Social proof” alone scored nothing.
• 4(c) A strength and a weakness of closed questions (4 marks): strength, quantitative data allows people’s dissonance to be measured and compared directly; weakness, fixed answers may miss individual circumstances or stop people explaining feelings unique to them. Social desirability scored nothing, because the question is about the question type, not how people answer.

Health Psychology (Questions 5 and 6)

• 5(a) Repeated and independent measures in Shoshani and Steinmetz (4 marks): 2 for each. Repeated: measures before the programme (September 2010), at the end of the school year (June 2011) and at follow-ups, or any questionnaire given more than once; both groups were measured on four occasions. Independent: the intervention group (537 pupils, taught by trained teachers) was compared with a wait-list control group (501 pupils) who carried on as normal.
• 5(b) Why a longitudinal design mattered (2 marks): the programme ran for a school year, so its effect could only be tested afterwards; or time had to pass to see whether it truly worked.
• 5(c) Why generalisations can and cannot be made (4 marks): can, because schools exist everywhere and positive psychology programmes could run in any country; cannot, because it was carried out in one country, Israel, and something specific to those children or that culture may not apply elsewhere. The same argument could not be used for both sides, and a large sample on its own does not make a study generalisable.
• 6(a) Acute pain with an example (2 marks): pain that subsides within a relatively short time (under six months) as the damage heals, such as a broken bone, a cut finger or toothache.
• 6(b) A biochemical treatment for acute pain (2 marks): a peripherally acting analgesic such as an NSAID, aspirin or paracetamol taken as a pill; a local anaesthetic rubbed or injected into the site (before stitches or a tooth extraction); or a general anaesthetic.
• 6(c) Two weaknesses of biochemical treatments (4 marks): short-acting painkillers need retaking or the cause must be removed; NSAIDs have side effects such as stomach irritation; and over-the-counter drugs are easy to get but may not be strong enough to ease the pain.

Organisational Psychology (Questions 7 and 8)

• 7(a) Four features of Landry et al.’s sample (4 marks): a definitive list: students at a Canadian university; all taking an introductory organisational behaviour course; 123 participants (65 and 58 in the two groups); 40% male and 60% female; a mean age of 23; and all French-speaking. How they were recruited, “all Canadian” and an age range scored nothing.
• 7(b) A location that would improve application to everyday life (2 marks): the study was run in a lab, so a factory, office or shop, with the reason that this is a normal working environment where autonomy-supporting or controlling rewards are actually given.
• 7(c) Two weaknesses of the sample (4 marks): too small (only 123), an imbalance of men and women (40% male), only university students, only one university in Canada, a narrow age profile (mean age 23), and so unrepresentative of the workforce.
• 8(a) Two types of workplace bullying (2 marks): from Einarsen’s five types: work-related bullying, social isolation, personal attacks, verbal threats and physical violence or threats of it. “Verbal” and “physical” together earned only 1 mark, and causes or phases of bullying scored nothing.
• 8(b) Another way to investigate bullying (2 marks): a telephone interview (people may talk more freely), an observation such as CCTV, or a questionnaire.
• 8(c) A strength and a weakness of face-to-face interviews (4 marks): strength, a friendly interviewer helps the victim relax and tell everything, or non-verbal cues help judge honesty; weakness, the victim may feel interrogated and disclose less or not name the bully for fear of worse bullying, or being identified to management makes the complaint official, which could backfire.

How the Section B plans are marked

Each planning question has the same structure: (a) the plan (10 marks), (b)(i) describe the psychological knowledge behind it (4), (b)(ii) explain how you used two features of it (4), and (c) three 2-mark justifications.

The 10-mark plan is marked for AO2 application on five levels:

• Level 5 (9–10): the method the question asks for; a good range of method-specific and general features in accurate detail; a coherent plan that could be replicated; good use of ethical guidelines.
• Level 4 (7–8): the right method; a range of method-specific features in detail and general features with some detail; good understanding; ethics used appropriately.
• Level 3 (5–6): the right method; a range of features that may lack detail; some coherence; ethics referred to.
• Level 2 (3–4): the right method, but features are listed and the plan would be hard to replicate; ethics listed or absent.
• Level 1 (1–2): may not use the required method or answer the question; few features.

A plan scores zero if it describes the study on the syllabus or is unethical. General features the scheme credits in every plan include the sample and sampling technique, ethics, a procedure, the location, the type of data and analysis, an aim or hypothesis, and steps for validity and reliability.

Part (b)(i) is levelled: 3–4 marks for appropriate knowledge described in good detail, 1–2 for basic points. Part (b)(ii) gives 2 marks per feature when you explain how it was used or adapted in your plan, and 1 when you only identify it. Part (c) gives 2 marks when a reason is applied to your plan and 1 when it is not; the choices must match what you wrote in (a).

Question 9: ERP for OCD (Clinical, 24 marks)

• 9(a) The plan (10 marks): an experiment with a longitudinal design, including the frequency or interval of testing and the type of data. Method-specific features: the type of experiment, IV, DV, controls, experimental design, and the longitudinal features (tests or tasks, scoring, frequency, recontacting participants).
• 9(b)(i) Knowledge (4 marks): ERP means facing feared stimuli repeatedly until the fear subsides, while not carrying out the compulsion. The scheme’s example study was Lehmkuhl et al. (2008), in which a 12-year-old boy with contamination fears touched items such as lift buttons and door handles, using coping statements, until his anxiety fell. Other treatments such as Lovell et al.’s CBT could be used as a comparison.
• 9(c): (i) a reason for your testing intervals (for example before, after and at a follow-up), (ii) a weakness of them (testing straight after may be too soon for the treatment to work; six months or a year later the effect may have worn off), and (iii) a reason for your type of data (quantitative data, such as Y-BOCS scores, can be analysed statistically; qualitative data gives reasons).

Question 10: gender and store choice (Consumer, 24 marks)

• 10(a) The plan (10 marks): a face-to-face interview, including the location and the question format. Method-specific features: interview technique, format (structured, semi-structured or unstructured), question format, example questions, how answers are scored or interpreted, and the number of questions.
• 10(b)(i) Knowledge (4 marks): reasons for store choice and how they differ by gender. The scheme’s example was Sinha et al. (2002): reasons such as convenience, merchandise, ambience and service; men more likely to cite convenience (40% against 30%) and ambience and to decide quickly; women more likely to cite merchandise (40% against 30%) and past patronage, and to spend longer searching.
• 10(c): (i) a reason for your location (inside or outside a store, or a lab, with its advantage for your plan), (ii) a weakness of it (crowding or extraneous variables in a store; weather or hurried shoppers outside), and (iii) a reason for your question format (open questions give rich detail; closed questions give the same format for everyone, are easy to analyse and are quick to ask).

Question 11: how men and women describe pain (Health, 24 marks)

• 11(a) The plan (10 marks): a telephone interview, including the question format and how the data will be analysed. Method-specific features are the same interview features as Question 10.
• 11(b)(i) Knowledge (4 marks): subjective measures of pain, such as a clinical interview where the person describes their pain; acute and chronic pain; and McGill Pain Questionnaire questions on sensory, affective and evaluative aspects of pain. The scheme noted that psychometric and observational measures are not possible by telephone.
• 11(c): (i) a reason for your question format, (ii) a strength of telephone interviewing (short and focused, a wider sample with no travel, interviewees relaxed in their own surroundings), and (iii) a reason for your analysis (descriptive statistics for quantitative data; independent raters categorising words for qualitative data).

Question 12: performance monitoring and social loafing (Organisational, 24 marks)

• 12(a) The plan (10 marks): an experiment, including the controls and the dependent variable. Method-specific features: type of experiment, IV, DV, controls and experimental design.
• 12(b)(i) Knowledge (4 marks): social facilitation, social inhibition, social loafing and social impact theory, and Claypoole and Szalma (2019), who compared electronic performance monitoring (a webcam and video recorder) with none in an independent measures design, measuring speed and accuracy in detecting 20 critical signals over 24 minutes.
• 12(c): (i) a reason for your controls (so changes in the DV can be put down to the IV, or controlling noise, temperature and lighting), (ii) a weakness of your type of experiment (low ecological validity in a lab; harder control in the field), and (iii) a reason for your DV, which needed to be fully operationalised for 2 marks.

Where the marks are on 9990/42

Part	Assessment	Marks
Section A key study questions (two options × 10)	Point-marked	20
Section A topic and method questions (two options × 8)	Point-marked	16
Section B plan, part (a)	AO2 levels	10
Section B psychological knowledge, parts (b)(i) and (b)(ii)	Levels and points	8
Section B justifications, part (c)	Point-marked	6
Total		60

• Section B is 40% of the paper, and only 10 of its 24 marks are for the plan itself. The rest reward knowing the topic and justifying your choices.
• Applying a point is worth double. Across Section A, most 2-mark points need the study or topic in the answer, not just a stated strength or weakness.
• The four-feature questions are pure recall of a key study, so revise the details of each one: the procedure, sample and controls.

How to self-mark 9990/42 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 answers count.
2. Mark Section A point by point. Give 1 for a stated point and 2 only if it is applied to the study or topic. Strike out the single-term answers the scheme rejects.
3. Check the plan for zero triggers first: the wrong method, an unethical plan or a description of the syllabus study.
4. Tick the features in your plan, split into method-specific and general, and note which are detailed. Then ask whether someone could replicate it, and choose the level.
5. Check (b)(ii) links back to both (b)(i) and (a), and that each (c) justification uses what you actually wrote in (a).
6. Log each lost mark as a missing study detail, an unapplied point or a missing plan feature, and practise that next.

Sit 9990/42 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
Section A, first option (two questions)	18	25 minutes
Section A, second option (two questions)	18	25 minutes
Read the four Section B questions and choose	–	2 minutes
Section B part (a): the plan	10	16 minutes
Section B part (b): knowledge and how you used it	8	11 minutes
Section B part (c): three justifications	6	8 minutes
Check applications, ethics in the plan and (c) links	–	3 minutes
Total	60	90 minutes

Write the two required details from the question at the top of your plan, so you cannot leave them out.

Other May/June 2026 9990 papers

• 9990 Paper 12 (Approaches, Issues and Debates)
• 9990 Paper 22 (Research Methods)
• 9990 Paper 32 (Specialist Options: Approaches, Issues and Debates)

Practise and download

• Download 9990/42 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 came up on 9990 Paper 42 May/June 2026? +

Section A key studies were Lovell et al. (2006) for Clinical, North et al. (2003) for Consumer, Shoshani and Steinmetz (2014) for Health and Landry et al. (2019) for Organisational, with topic questions on delusions, post-purchase cognitive dissonance, acute pain and workplace bullying. Section B set plans on ERP for OCD, store choice, describing pain and social loafing.

How many questions do you answer on 9990/42? +

Five: the two Section A questions from each of your two options (18 marks per option, 36 in total) and one 24-mark planning question from Section B. The paper is worth 60 marks and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes.

How are the 10-mark plans on 9990/42 marked? +

With a five-level AO2 application grid. Level 5 (9 to 10 marks) needs the method the question asks for, a good range of method-specific and general features in accurate detail, enough detail to replicate the study and a good grasp of ethics. A plan that describes the syllabus study or is unethical scores zero.

How are the short Section A answers on 9990/42 marked? +

Most 2-mark points give 1 mark for a point that is stated and 1 more when it is applied to the study or topic with detail or an example. Some single terms score nothing, such as 'can lie' or 'social desirability' for open questions, and 'field experiments have uncontrolled variables' for North et al.

Which plan should I choose in Section B of 9990/42? +

Read all four before choosing, and pick the one from an option you studied. Each plan also asks you to describe and use the psychological knowledge behind it (8 marks) and justify three choices (6 marks), so you need to know the topic as well as the method.

Where can I download 9990/42 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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