[Exam Cram] Ask AQA any questions about your A-level Psychology exams

The RM section is so specific, for instance when it says ‘in this study’, I find it hard to relate to the study. For example, say I give a right answer, but it doesn’t relate to the study and isn’t in the mark scheme, how do I know what AQA are looking for, and the mark schemes change year to year, once a specific type of answer is correct, another year that answer is incorrect.

i dont think that is the case.
for example the definition and how to carry out matched pairs design is same year on year. You just have to say in relation to the study, and there's loads of things u can say, as long as it sounds valid it will probably be correct.

if u are having an experiment doing a spacial task then the design you could say matching on intelligence (IQ) or age or gender or many variables as long as it looks good, and its not already the IV. if you said match on eye color then obviously that's not gonna be very good.

😂😂😂 Are you a student? Can u Peer review my answers for RMs ;(

You need to make sure that you expand on each evaluation point that you are making, ensuring that it is clear to your examiner the implication of the point you are making – so why is it a strength or a weakness? Why is it important in the context of the question? This is really important as many students tend to just say what the strength is and do not link it back to the question and as an examiner you can’t just assume you know what the student is trying to say. With your description, use as much relevant and accurate terminology as possible.

In a comparison question you can compare on a number of different facets. You could look at where the two approaches fall in terms of the debates (nature vs nurture; free will vs determinism; reductionism vs holism) or approaches to treatments (e.g., phobias, depression etc) and use of the scientific methods. If you want to look at a past paper where a question has been asked, go to https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/as-and-a-level/psychology-7181-7182/assessment-resources and look for A-level Paper 2, 2018, Q4. No, you do not need to evaluate the similarities and differences.

I hope that helps. Best of luck for your exam!

yea I'm a student but I would be more than happy to look at your answers for RM because it benefits me too

any advice on how to learn all the complex a2 biopsychology stuff?
will you get marked down for writing SCN rather than suprachiasmatic neuron?

Is there any chance of getting off spec questions in biopsychology like last year?

How is it determined which content is to be examined, and the method is chosen to asses the topic (i.e. 16 markers or a tick box)?

How important is it naming studies while evaluating? And do the dates of the studies matter as much as the names?

For the comparison question what do you evaluate then?

I feel like the exams are all down to our memory, if we don't remember well then we don't do as well on the exam day. Some people are at an advantage as their memory might be better than others. Its like theres one chance, and its all dependant on our memory, if that performs well then great, if not then we've lost that chance. What do you think of this? Also, coming from the topic of memory, what would you suggest to help memorise so much content, so many different evaluation points?

It is much, much, much more important to remember what they did in the study and what they found, making sure you link this back to the question (if needed) than it is to remember the names. Examiners are very likely to know the studies you are referring to and if they do not they will look them up or ask someone more senior to check. We do not take marks away for not remembering the names. The dates don't normally matter unless you are making a point about the time in which the study was conducted (e.g., temporal validity).