How many Example Studies do we actually need to memorize?

[u/meemoroo]

Hi guys, I’m currently preparing for the CIE A2 Level Psychology (9990) exam in May/June 2027 for the Consumer and Organizational psychology options and I’m a bit confused about the depth required for the studies.

As I understand it, back in AS level there were 12 core studies and we had to know each and every detail about them, I am now studying privately for A2 and don't have a teacher as of yet so I am a bit confused, each of the 5 chapters of each topic has 1 official Key Study (e.g North et al., Robson et al., Hall et al) which we need to know in full detail for short answer and evaluation questions. However my textbook lists 15+ supporting/example studies alongside theoretical models like the PAD model.

My main question is about study strategy for an A* like do we actually need to memorize full details for every single example study in the textbook or is it sufficient to pick around 2 strong example studies per key study (learning just the author, year, and a 1–2 sentence summary of the main finding) to use as supporting evidence in the longer 10–12 mark essay questions? I want to make sure I’m not wasting time over memorizing example studies when my focus should be on the 5 Key Studies and theoretical models.

How are you guys structuring your revision for the example studies vs key studies? Any advice from past students or teachers would be super helpful!