The psychological environment: past paper questions
Real questions on the psychological environment
The newest 20 of 28 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.
- 9990/41 · May/June 2026 · Q4a[2]
Outline one way that people defend their space in a queue.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · May/June 2026 · Q4b[2]
Suggest how an intruder might respond to a defensive action by a person in a queue.
See it on the paper → - 9990/43 · May/June 2026 · Q4a[2]
Outline one way that people defend their space in a queue.
See it on the paper → - 9990/43 · May/June 2026 · Q4b[2]
Suggest how an intruder might respond to a defensive action by a person in a queue.
See it on the paper → - 9990/43 · May/June 2026 · Q4c[4]
Explain one strength and one weakness of using a face‑to‑face interview to investigate how people defend their space in a queue. Health Psychology Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
See it on the paper → - 9990/32 · February/March 2026 · Q7b[2]
Explain one problem psychologists may have when investigating personal space in customers.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2025 · Q4a[2]
Explain what is meant by the term ‘retail atmospherics’.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2025 · Q4b[2]
Suggest the effect one retail atmospheric might have on shopper ambience.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2025 · Q4c[4]
Explain two strengths of studying retail atmospherics for the seller (retailer). Health Psychology Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
See it on the paper → - 9990/33 · May/June 2025 · Q6a[2]
Outline what is meant by free-will, including an example from thinking slow (system 2) in consumer decision-making.
See it on the paper → - 9990/33 · May/June 2025 · Q6b[2]
Explain one problem a psychologist may have when they investigate whether consumers use free-will when deciding to purchase products.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2024 · Q4a[2]
Explain what is meant by a ‘customer-focused’ sales technique.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2024 · Q4b[2]
Suggest one effect a customer-focused sales technique could have on the buyer–seller relationship when buying a new car.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · October/November 2024 · Q4c[4]
Explain one strength and one weakness of a ‘competitor-focused’ sales technique. Health Psychology Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · May/June 2024 · Q10b(i)[4]
Describe this psychological knowledge.
See it on the paper → - 9990/41 · May/June 2024 · Q10b(ii)[4]
Explain how you used two features of this psychological knowledge to plan your study.
See it on the paper → - 9990/32 · February/March 2024 · Q6a[2]
Outline ‘convenience’ from Lauterborn’s 4 Cs marketing mix model.
See it on the paper → - 9990/32 · February/March 2024 · Q6b[2]
Lauterborn’s model can be applied to everyday life, such as for advertising products. Explain one strength of using ‘convenience’ for advertising a product on the internet.
See it on the paper → - 9990/31 · October/November 2023 · Q3a[2]
Outline ‘behaviour constraint’ in consumer theories of personal space.
See it on the paper → - 9990/32 · October/November 2023 · Q3a[2]
Outline ‘involvement’ as a marketing theory (Richarme, 2005).
See it on the paper →
What examiners said
Comprehensive responses • Comprehensive responses clearly outlined the problem and explained it in relation to investigating personal space. For example, some noted that it can be challenging to determine the real reason for customer behaviour, as leaving a crowded store could be due to personal space invasion or other factors. Limited responses • Most common responses were individual differences...
— Examiner report, February/March 2026, 9990/32 Q7(b) (Cambridge)
Most responses that were creditworthy achieved 1 mark by outlining that ‘behaviour constraint’ is caused by personal space being invaded. A small number of responses achieved full marks by outlining the effect of personal space invasion on the consumer’s behaviour such as the customer feeling uncomfortable and leaving the shop. Some responses stated that behavioural constraint is where behaviour i...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 9990/31 Q3(a) (Cambridge)
Some of the responses to this question were able to define ‘involvement’ as a marketing theory. Full mark responses were able to outline that involvement is the amount of cognitive effort put into decision-making related to the importance of the product to the consumer and gave an example. 1 mark responses typically either identified cognitive effort or the importance of the product but did not li...
— Examiner report, October/November 2023, 9990/32 Q3(a) (Cambridge)
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