Psychology is a popular pre-health subject and an important part of any medical studies curriculum. It’s also one of the more common majors chosen as an undergrad.
Studying psychology from pre-made Anki decks is one of the best ways to introduce yourself to core topics and achieve real mastery over the material.
The digital flashcards in each of the following decks can help you do exactly that!
Best Psychology Anki Decks
The decks we’ll be looking at are:
- AP Psychology (best for AP Psych prep)
- Psychology AQA A Level (best for British A-levels)
- Peter Gray’s Psychology (6th Ed.) Anki Deck (best deep dive)
- MCAT Psychology & Sociology Cards – WikiPremed (most comprehensive)
- Ortho 528 (best MCAT psych review)
- RebopBebop’s MCAT Guide (best MCAT Psych Khan Academy resource)
- MileDown (best for visual learners)
Each of these decks is formatted and structured differently, suiting those with varied learning styles. They also differ in size, meaning some will be faster to run through than others.
We recommend taking a look at each and checking out the card examples first before downloading.
We’ve also included some helpful psychology learning resources at the end of this article too!
AP Psychology Anki Deck (Barron’s AP Psych)
| Deck Name | AP Psychology |
| Cards | 558 |
| Card Format | Basic |
| Year of Upload | 2019 |
| Required Plugins | N/A |
| Download size | 1.7 MB |
| Download link | AP Psychology |
This deck is ideal for students preparing for AP psychology.
The deck is based on Barron’s AP Psychology Flashcards, a popular learning resource for students preparing for the AP psychology exam. It features the most important events, terms, and personalities that are likely to come up in the actual exam.
The creator of this deck used the resource and scored a 5. Although it’s not a completely exhaustive resource, it was used as the sole study material for the creator and hundreds of others who’ve since downloaded it.
It contains 558 cards in a basic back-to-front flashcard format. Unfortunately, there is no tagging or categorization so you’ll have to search for specific cards via the Anki browser.
It covers the following categories:
- History and Approaches
- Methods
- Biological Bases of Behavior
- Sensation and Perception
- States of Consciousness
- Learing
- Cognition
Most cards contain purely theoretical material. If you’re more of a visual learner, some of the other decks on this list may be a better choice.
Here is a sample card on hindsight bias…
Psychology AQA A Level
| Deck Name | Psychology AQA A Level (Psychopathology and Biopsych) |
| Cards | 328 |
| Card Format | Basic |
| Year of Upload | 2021 |
| Required Plugins | N/A |
| Download size | 644 KB |
| Download link | Psychology AQA A Level |
This deck is designed specifically for British sixth-form/high school students preparing for their A-levels in Psychology. The deck includes all the major concepts you’ll need to pass the exam but probably isn’t 100% comprehensive to guarantee the very best grade/score.
Unlike the other decks in this list, the cards here have more text to recall (they don’t use the cloze fill-in-the-gap format). Such formatted can be a pro or a con, depending on your learning style and how likely you are to contextualize the information in the shorter cloze-style cards.
What is great about this deck is its size. At 328 cards it’s not going to take you a ton of time to get through but is still wide enough to cover the syllabus.
It’s also categorized neatly into relevant subdecks, meaning you can work from cards focused on specific areas of the syllabus.
Here’s a sample card on brain anatomy/physiology…
Although there’s nothing in the way of Extras (or images), it’s still a worthwhile download if you’re preparing for British Psychology A-levels.
Peter Gray’s Psychology (6th ed.) Anki Deck
| Deck Name | Peter Gray’s Psychology (6th ed.) |
| Cards | 560 |
| Card Format | Basic |
| Year of Upload | 2019 |
| Required Plugins | N/A |
| Download size | 99 KB |
| Download link | Peter Gray’s Psychology (6th ed.) |
This deck is built from one of the gold standard Psychology learning resources; Gray’s Psychology.
The deck itself breaks the text up into 560 flashcards which cover the highest yield points, making it the perfect accompaniment to a close reading of the text itself.
Although it lacks a tagging system (or effective categorization) the flashcard order does run in sequence with the book itself.
Here’s a sample card on the topic of binocular disparity…
MCAT Psychology & Sociology Cards – WikiPremed
| Deck Name | MCAT Psychology & Sociology Cards – WikiPremed |
| Cards | 1222 |
| Card Format | Basic/Cloze |
| Year of Upload | 2017 |
| Required Plugins | N/A |
| Download size | 232 KB |
| Download link | MCAT Psychology & Sociology Cards – WikiPremed |
The first of one of several MCAT Psychology Anki decks on this list, this one is one of the oldest and largest, coming in at 1222 total flashcards.
For more detail on the best “all-subject” Anki MCAT decks, see this article: Best MCAT Anki Decks.
Described as being “descriptive but concise” this deck covers a ton of topics and links out to corresponding Wikipedia pages to provide you with additional references on the material you’re attempting to learn/memorize.
As the cards are a mix of basic and cloze formatting, they’re also quick to run through and keep a single concept to each card.
The deck itself is categorized neatly, divided up into the following subdecks:
- Introduction
- The Human Nervous System
- Sensation and Perception
- Research Methods
- Learning
- Memory
- Cognition
- Motivation and Emotion
- Identity and Personality
- Abnormal Psychology
- Treatment of Mental Disorders
- Interaction and Social Behavior
- Social Structure and Inequality
Here’s a sample card from the Sensation and Perception subdeck, clicking “learn more” will take you to the relevant Wikipedia page…
Download MCAT Psychology & Sociology Cards – WikiPremed Anki deck here
Ortho528 MCAT Psychology
| Deck Name: | Ortho 528 |
| Cards: | 4351 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2018 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | 115.7 MB |
| Download link: | Ortho 528 |
This deck is one of the most recommended for students preparing for MCAT and has a top-tier Psychology section.
There are 4351 cards divided into three content sections.
The deck’s creator u/AnkiForTheMCAT formatted this deck slightly differently, using tags instead of subdecks to categorize concepts.
The primary resources used to compile the deck includes:
- TBR (The Berkeley Review)
- Khan Academy Psychology
The format of the cards is basic back-to-front, with some cloze style questions and image occlusion. If you prefer cards with lengthy explanations, a different deck would be best as this is minimal on additional details!
This deck is a large download and covers all other sections of the MCAT – not just psychology. Make sure you use the tagging system and Anki browser to cover the material you need.
RebopBebop’s MCAT Guide
| Deck Name: | RebopBebop’s MCAT Guide |
| Cards: | 6200 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2016 |
| Required Plugins: | N/A |
| Download size: | N/A (many folders) |
| Download link: | RebopBebop’s MCAT Guide |
This set is based on the Kaplan MCAT Complete 7 Book Subject Review 2021-2022, including the series coverage of Psychology.
Made in 2016, it’s a slightly older deck but is very well organized and ideal for use in conjunction with Kaplan materials.
The cards are arranged by chapter so it is easy to work alongside the book and refer to the exact parts you need to work on.
You can see its coverage of psychology in the subdeck downloads below…
Here is a sample card from the PsychSoc Chapter 2 section…
And here’s another psych example card from Chapter 5…
MileDown Anki Deck
| Deck Name: | MileDown |
| Cards: | 2,900 |
| Card Format: | Basic |
| Year of Upload: | 2018 |
| Required Plugins: | Hierarchical Tags 2 |
| Download size: | 227.3 MB |
| Download link: | MileDown |
This deck is ideal for visual learners who are preparing for the MCAT. Again, it’s based on the Khan Academy Psych/Soc section.
MileDown’s deck is a favorite for its strong visuals and comprehensive Extras. Its psychology cards make full use of this.
Here’s a sample card on the different lobes of the brain…
Here’s another card on the absolute threshold…
Additional Psychology Anki Resources
Depending on how far into the subject you wish to go, each of these resources goes into varying depth on the subject and can make for great primary learning resources.
Psychology Podcast
The Psychology Podcast
The Psychology Podcast is a fun and informative listen for beginners, the more experienced, and anyone else interested in the underlying concepts behind the subject.
The episodes here vary in length and subject, but feature a lot of interesting speakers and cover a ton of avenues.
One of our favorite episodes is this one with the fascinating, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist author, Dr. Steven Pinker.
Psychology Videos
SciShow Psych
I’m a huge fan of SciShow Psych when it comes to leveling up my knowledge of the subject. Many of the vids are fronted by Hank Greene (of CrashCourse fame), so you know you’re getting some engaging, fun and, most of all, detailed tutorials.
If you’re new to the subject a great place to start is their Psych 101 playlist. That will walk you through the subject from its very beginning principles.
Where To Find More Anki Psychology Decks
We highly recommend going to AnkiWeb.net and r/medicalschoolanki and looking at the emergency med offerings.
You can filter your results to see the most recent and most relevant pre-made Anki decks via search.
Why Use An Anki Psychology Pre-Made Deck?
- Excellent free resource
- Saves time making your own cards while covering the most high yield principles
- Gives you more time to do practice questions!
Top Tips For Using Anki Psychology Medicine Flashcard Decks
There can be lots of information on some cards which can be overwhelming. Our top tip is to keep it SIMPLE and make sure you are actively practicing cards on a regular basis.
Keep reviewing the cards where possible, i.e. once you have finished your set for the day, briefly make a mental note or write down where your study session ended.
If you’re studying from a large multi-subject pre-made Anki deck, make sure you use tags and suspend (ctrl + J) all other cards outside of the usual psych topics.
The same goes for making sure you only cover the topics you’ve already studied in your primary learning resource!
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Hey guys, I’m Sumran. I’m a British 5th-year international medical student at the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria. I transitioned straight from completing my A-Levels into university. Currently, I have interests in Psychiatry and Gastroenterology. Outside of medicine, I enjoy reading crime novels and visiting art exhibitions.