AQA Psychology Paper 2 Past Paper
Questions AND ANSWERS WITH
ACCURATE SOLITIONS /LATEST
UPDATED VESION
(June 2022) 1. Describe psychosexual stages as outlined in the psychodynamic
approach. [6 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• there are 5 developmental stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital)
• oral (0-1yr) - focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mother's breast is the focus of
desire
• anal (1-3yrs) - focus of pleasure is the anus and child focuses on withholding and
expelling faeces
• phallic (3-5yrs) - focus of pleasure is genitals and children experience the
Oedipus/Electra complex
• latency (6-12yrs) - previous conflicts are resolved/repressed and early years are
largely forgotten
• genital (12yrs/puberty-adulthood) - sexual desires become conscious with the onset of
puberty
Credit other relevant material, eg fixation. Note: not all stages need to be described for
full marks to be awarded.
(June 2022) 2.At a local school, teachers took part in Active Lifestyle Week to
encourage students to become more active. The week involved daily staff netball
matches during breaktimes and a step count challenge. Two of the teachers were
talking at the end of the week. Miss Honey said, "That was such a great week! I felt
proud to win the staff step count challenge and receive the medal in assembly and
demonstrate the joy of sport. My students loved watching us compete, I really think it
will inspire them to be more active themselves!" Mrs Wilson replied, "It's alright for you,
you're young and the students like you. My students were so embarrassed to see me
tripping over in netball. I think I may have put them off sport forever!"
(June 2022) 3. Whether or not students learn to be more active box could depend on
mediational processes. Explain how mediational processes might be involved in the
students becoming more active. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• attention - students will notice their teachers demonstrating a more active lifestyle, eg
competing in staff netball matches during breaktime/Miss Honey receiving the medal for
the step count challenge in assembly/Mrs Wilson falling over, etc
,• retention - students' memories will be strengthened through seeing repetition of the
activities, eg daily netball matches and/or emotional/funny event, eg Mrs Wilson tripping
over in netball
• reproduction - the active behaviours being modelled can be reproduced by the
students, eg step count challenge is a simple activity that does not require inaccessible
equipment/fitness to be able to perform
• motivation - students are more likely to adopt the demonstrated active lifestyle if the
perceived rewards (eg winning the st
(June 2022) 7. Describe the divisions of the nervous system box . [6 marks] -
CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• the nervous system is divided into the central and peripheral nervous systems
• the CNS comprises the brain and spinal cord
• the peripheral nervous system is further divided into the somatic nervous system and
the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• the somatic nervous system consists of sensory and motor neurons to carry sensory
and motor information to and from the CNS and also enables reflex actions
• the ANS acts largely unconsciously/involuntary
• the ANS is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the
parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
• the SNS prepares us for flight or fight
• the PNS balances the sympathetic nervous system providing 'rest and digest'
functions.
(June 2022) RM STEM: A controlled observation was designed to compare the social
behaviours of pre-school children of working parents and pre-school children of stay-at-
home parents. The sample consisted of 100 children aged three, who were observed
separately. Half of the children had working parents and the other half had stay-at-home
parents. The observation took place in a room which looked like a nursery, with a
variety of toys available. In the room, there were four children and one supervising
adult. Their behaviour was not recorded. Each child participant was brought into the
room and settled by their parent. The parent then left to sit outside. Each child
participant's behaviour was observed covertly for five minutes while they played in the
room. The observation was conducted in a controlled environment and a standardised
script was used when the children and their parents arrived. - CORRECT ANSWES --
Use the stem to answer the Questions!
(June 2022) 9. Explain why the researcher used a controlled observation and a
standardised script in this study. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• a standardised script would ensure the same greeting was given to the children and
their parents when they arrived, providing a high level of control
• without using a standardised script, the researcher's welcome may vary causing
unintentional bias, eg may use more child-friendly vocabulary which may make the child
less anxious and thus more sociable, etc
• using a controlled observation helps to reduce extraneous variables which may have
an impact on the social behaviour of the children, affecting the validity of the study.
, (June 2022) 11. The researcher used two trained observers to record the social
behaviours of each child box during the observation.
Give TWO behavioural categories that the observers could have used in the
observation to assess the pre-school children's social behaviour. Explain why your
chosen categories are appropriate. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible
behavioural categories:
• child smiles at another child
• child shares toys
• child talks to another child
• child snatches a toy from another child.
Possible points:
• behavioural categories are appropriate because they focus on social behaviours/are
objective/visible/mutually exclusive/not ambiguous/not overlapping
(June 2022) 10. Identify ONE limitation of controlled observations [1 marks] -
CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• they lack ecological validity/cannot be applied to everyday life/less natural behaviour
• effects of demand characteristics are more likely (Hawthorne effect).
(June 2022) 12. Describe how the observers could use time sampling to record the
social behaviour of each child during the five-minute period. [4 marks] - CORRECT
ANSWES -- Possible content:
• record the child's behaviour at set time intervals during the five-minute period, eg
every 20 seconds
• at the specified time intervals, tick/mark one or more categories from the behavioural
checklist according to the behaviour exhibited by the observed child, eg if the child is
smiling and chatting to another child the observer should tick 'smiling at another child'
and 'talking to another child' from the list of behaviours
• behaviours observed in between the time sampling frames should be ignored and
should not be recorded, eg even if a child is sharing their toy after time sampling snap
shot, this behaviour should not be recorded.
(June 2022) 13. Explain one strength and one limitation of using time sampling for this
observation. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible strengths (+) :
• time sampling may be easier to manage as there are likely to be many social
behaviours occurring throughout the set observation time
• time sampling is most appropriate for recording ongoing behaviours that are likely to
occur in a social setting, eg conversations or playing together.
Possible limitation (-) :
• time sampling may not be representative of social behaviours as some social
behaviours that 3-year-old children may display may be missed, eg a child may be
playing independently when the observer is noting the behaviour, but then sharing their
toys or talking to another child outside of the set observation time frame.
Questions AND ANSWERS WITH
ACCURATE SOLITIONS /LATEST
UPDATED VESION
(June 2022) 1. Describe psychosexual stages as outlined in the psychodynamic
approach. [6 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• there are 5 developmental stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital)
• oral (0-1yr) - focus of pleasure is the mouth and the mother's breast is the focus of
desire
• anal (1-3yrs) - focus of pleasure is the anus and child focuses on withholding and
expelling faeces
• phallic (3-5yrs) - focus of pleasure is genitals and children experience the
Oedipus/Electra complex
• latency (6-12yrs) - previous conflicts are resolved/repressed and early years are
largely forgotten
• genital (12yrs/puberty-adulthood) - sexual desires become conscious with the onset of
puberty
Credit other relevant material, eg fixation. Note: not all stages need to be described for
full marks to be awarded.
(June 2022) 2.At a local school, teachers took part in Active Lifestyle Week to
encourage students to become more active. The week involved daily staff netball
matches during breaktimes and a step count challenge. Two of the teachers were
talking at the end of the week. Miss Honey said, "That was such a great week! I felt
proud to win the staff step count challenge and receive the medal in assembly and
demonstrate the joy of sport. My students loved watching us compete, I really think it
will inspire them to be more active themselves!" Mrs Wilson replied, "It's alright for you,
you're young and the students like you. My students were so embarrassed to see me
tripping over in netball. I think I may have put them off sport forever!"
(June 2022) 3. Whether or not students learn to be more active box could depend on
mediational processes. Explain how mediational processes might be involved in the
students becoming more active. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• attention - students will notice their teachers demonstrating a more active lifestyle, eg
competing in staff netball matches during breaktime/Miss Honey receiving the medal for
the step count challenge in assembly/Mrs Wilson falling over, etc
,• retention - students' memories will be strengthened through seeing repetition of the
activities, eg daily netball matches and/or emotional/funny event, eg Mrs Wilson tripping
over in netball
• reproduction - the active behaviours being modelled can be reproduced by the
students, eg step count challenge is a simple activity that does not require inaccessible
equipment/fitness to be able to perform
• motivation - students are more likely to adopt the demonstrated active lifestyle if the
perceived rewards (eg winning the st
(June 2022) 7. Describe the divisions of the nervous system box . [6 marks] -
CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• the nervous system is divided into the central and peripheral nervous systems
• the CNS comprises the brain and spinal cord
• the peripheral nervous system is further divided into the somatic nervous system and
the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
• the somatic nervous system consists of sensory and motor neurons to carry sensory
and motor information to and from the CNS and also enables reflex actions
• the ANS acts largely unconsciously/involuntary
• the ANS is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the
parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
• the SNS prepares us for flight or fight
• the PNS balances the sympathetic nervous system providing 'rest and digest'
functions.
(June 2022) RM STEM: A controlled observation was designed to compare the social
behaviours of pre-school children of working parents and pre-school children of stay-at-
home parents. The sample consisted of 100 children aged three, who were observed
separately. Half of the children had working parents and the other half had stay-at-home
parents. The observation took place in a room which looked like a nursery, with a
variety of toys available. In the room, there were four children and one supervising
adult. Their behaviour was not recorded. Each child participant was brought into the
room and settled by their parent. The parent then left to sit outside. Each child
participant's behaviour was observed covertly for five minutes while they played in the
room. The observation was conducted in a controlled environment and a standardised
script was used when the children and their parents arrived. - CORRECT ANSWES --
Use the stem to answer the Questions!
(June 2022) 9. Explain why the researcher used a controlled observation and a
standardised script in this study. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• a standardised script would ensure the same greeting was given to the children and
their parents when they arrived, providing a high level of control
• without using a standardised script, the researcher's welcome may vary causing
unintentional bias, eg may use more child-friendly vocabulary which may make the child
less anxious and thus more sociable, etc
• using a controlled observation helps to reduce extraneous variables which may have
an impact on the social behaviour of the children, affecting the validity of the study.
, (June 2022) 11. The researcher used two trained observers to record the social
behaviours of each child box during the observation.
Give TWO behavioural categories that the observers could have used in the
observation to assess the pre-school children's social behaviour. Explain why your
chosen categories are appropriate. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible
behavioural categories:
• child smiles at another child
• child shares toys
• child talks to another child
• child snatches a toy from another child.
Possible points:
• behavioural categories are appropriate because they focus on social behaviours/are
objective/visible/mutually exclusive/not ambiguous/not overlapping
(June 2022) 10. Identify ONE limitation of controlled observations [1 marks] -
CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible content:
• they lack ecological validity/cannot be applied to everyday life/less natural behaviour
• effects of demand characteristics are more likely (Hawthorne effect).
(June 2022) 12. Describe how the observers could use time sampling to record the
social behaviour of each child during the five-minute period. [4 marks] - CORRECT
ANSWES -- Possible content:
• record the child's behaviour at set time intervals during the five-minute period, eg
every 20 seconds
• at the specified time intervals, tick/mark one or more categories from the behavioural
checklist according to the behaviour exhibited by the observed child, eg if the child is
smiling and chatting to another child the observer should tick 'smiling at another child'
and 'talking to another child' from the list of behaviours
• behaviours observed in between the time sampling frames should be ignored and
should not be recorded, eg even if a child is sharing their toy after time sampling snap
shot, this behaviour should not be recorded.
(June 2022) 13. Explain one strength and one limitation of using time sampling for this
observation. [4 marks] - CORRECT ANSWES -- Possible strengths (+) :
• time sampling may be easier to manage as there are likely to be many social
behaviours occurring throughout the set observation time
• time sampling is most appropriate for recording ongoing behaviours that are likely to
occur in a social setting, eg conversations or playing together.
Possible limitation (-) :
• time sampling may not be representative of social behaviours as some social
behaviours that 3-year-old children may display may be missed, eg a child may be
playing independently when the observer is noting the behaviour, but then sharing their
toys or talking to another child outside of the set observation time frame.
