AQA PSYCHOLOGY A LEVEL 2026 PAPER 2
MARKING SCHEME
Describe the divisions of the nervous system box. [6 marks] - ANSWER-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.
A controlled observation was designed to compare the social behaviour 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 hard 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 standardized script was used when the children and their
parents arrived. - ANSWER-Use the stem to answer the Questions!
Identify ONE limitation of controlled observations [1 mark] - ANSWER-Possible
content:
,• they lack ecological validity/cannot be applied to everyday life/less natural
behaviour
• effects of demand characteristics are more likely (Hawthorne effect).
Describe how the observers could use time sampling to record the social behaviour
of each child during the five-minute period. [4 marks] - ANSWER-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
behavioral 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 behaviour
• behaviour 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.
Explain one strength and one limitation of using time sampling for this
observation. [4 marks] - ANSWER-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 behaviour that are likely
to occur in a social setting, eg conversations or playing together.
Possible limitation (-):
• time sampling may not be representative of social behaviour as some social
behaviour 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.
(Sutton Academy Doc) Martha was telling her friend Sanya about her recent
frightening experience. 'I was walking home by myself in the dark. Suddenly, I
heard footsteps behind me and I realized that someone was getting closer to me. I
saw a bus at the bus stop and decided to run. I don't think I have ever moved with
such speed. I leapt on the bus - shaking, sweating and my heart was beating so fast
I nearly collapsed.'
,Outline the role of the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system in
behaviour. Refer to Martha's frightening experience in your answer. [4 marks] -
ANSWER-AO1
Up to 2 marks for outlining the role of the CNS and the ANS in behaviour. 1 mark
for each.
For CNS, possible points...
might include brain and role in life functions / psychological processes / higher
mental functions and spinal cord and its role in transmitting information to and
from the brain. Controls reflex behaviour.
For ANS, possible points...
might cover that it controls life-maintaining processes such as heart rate; transmits
information to and from internal organs; sympathetic division of ANS prepares
body for action; parasympathetic division conserves / stores energy.
AO2 Up to 2 marks for application of the role of the CNS and the ANS to Martha.
1 mark for each.
Likely answers for CNS: Brain / cerebral cortex in higher mental functions /
conscious awareness (I realized that...); decision making (...I decided to run.);
auditory cortex / temporal lobe in processing auditory information (... I heard
footsteps behind me...); visual cortex / occipital lobe in processing visual
information (I saw a bus...). Less likely but accept: Cerebellum in regulating
movement and sense of balance - 'walking' and '...leapt on the bus'.
Likely answers for ANS will relate to the sympathetic division of ANS and to fight
/ flight response: increased heart rate in emergency action (...my heart was beating
so fast...); increased action of adrenal glands and energizing effect (...moved with
such speed / shaking); blood vessels to limbs dilate (... sweating).
Briefly evaluate the use of EEGs as a way of identifying cortical specialization in
the brain. [3 marks] - ANSWER-Up to three marks for a brief evaluation of the use
of EEGs. Credit up to 3 separate evaluative points or one point fully elaborated or
a combination of these. Likely points: safe way of measuring brain activity; there
is no surgery or invasive process; helps to identify activity in various regions of
brain; its use as a diagnostic tool eg epilepsy; lacks precision in measuring
individual action potential of neurons / electrodes not sensitive enough, etc.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) both involve
recording the electrical activity of the brain. Outline one difference between the
EEG and ERPs. [2 marks] - ANSWER-2 marks for clear outline of the key
, difference: EEG is a recording of general brain activity usually linked to states
such as sleep and arousal, whilst ERPs are elicited by specific stimuli presented to
the participant.
1 mark for a muddled / vague answer that shows some understanding of general
state vs specific response.
(June 2022) Explain why the researcher used a controlled observation and a
standardized script in this study. [4 marks] - ANSWER-Possible content:
• a standardized 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 standardized script, the researcher's welcome may vary causing
unintentional bias, e.g. 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) The researcher used two trained observers to record the social
behaviour of each child box during the observation.
Give TWO behavioral 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] - ANSWER-Possible behavioral
categories:
• child smiles at another child
• child shares toys
• child talks to another child
• child snatches a toy from another child.
Possible points:
• behavioral categories are appropriate because they focus on social behaviour/are
objective/visible/mutually exclusive/not ambiguous/not overlapping
We use schema when we process information from the world around us. Explain
one reason why using schema might be useful when processing information from
the world around us, and explain one reason why using schema might not be useful
when processing information from the world around us. [4 marks] - ANSWER-
Useful Possible content:
MARKING SCHEME
Describe the divisions of the nervous system box. [6 marks] - ANSWER-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.
A controlled observation was designed to compare the social behaviour 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 hard 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 standardized script was used when the children and their
parents arrived. - ANSWER-Use the stem to answer the Questions!
Identify ONE limitation of controlled observations [1 mark] - ANSWER-Possible
content:
,• they lack ecological validity/cannot be applied to everyday life/less natural
behaviour
• effects of demand characteristics are more likely (Hawthorne effect).
Describe how the observers could use time sampling to record the social behaviour
of each child during the five-minute period. [4 marks] - ANSWER-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
behavioral 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 behaviour
• behaviour 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.
Explain one strength and one limitation of using time sampling for this
observation. [4 marks] - ANSWER-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 behaviour that are likely
to occur in a social setting, eg conversations or playing together.
Possible limitation (-):
• time sampling may not be representative of social behaviour as some social
behaviour 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.
(Sutton Academy Doc) Martha was telling her friend Sanya about her recent
frightening experience. 'I was walking home by myself in the dark. Suddenly, I
heard footsteps behind me and I realized that someone was getting closer to me. I
saw a bus at the bus stop and decided to run. I don't think I have ever moved with
such speed. I leapt on the bus - shaking, sweating and my heart was beating so fast
I nearly collapsed.'
,Outline the role of the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system in
behaviour. Refer to Martha's frightening experience in your answer. [4 marks] -
ANSWER-AO1
Up to 2 marks for outlining the role of the CNS and the ANS in behaviour. 1 mark
for each.
For CNS, possible points...
might include brain and role in life functions / psychological processes / higher
mental functions and spinal cord and its role in transmitting information to and
from the brain. Controls reflex behaviour.
For ANS, possible points...
might cover that it controls life-maintaining processes such as heart rate; transmits
information to and from internal organs; sympathetic division of ANS prepares
body for action; parasympathetic division conserves / stores energy.
AO2 Up to 2 marks for application of the role of the CNS and the ANS to Martha.
1 mark for each.
Likely answers for CNS: Brain / cerebral cortex in higher mental functions /
conscious awareness (I realized that...); decision making (...I decided to run.);
auditory cortex / temporal lobe in processing auditory information (... I heard
footsteps behind me...); visual cortex / occipital lobe in processing visual
information (I saw a bus...). Less likely but accept: Cerebellum in regulating
movement and sense of balance - 'walking' and '...leapt on the bus'.
Likely answers for ANS will relate to the sympathetic division of ANS and to fight
/ flight response: increased heart rate in emergency action (...my heart was beating
so fast...); increased action of adrenal glands and energizing effect (...moved with
such speed / shaking); blood vessels to limbs dilate (... sweating).
Briefly evaluate the use of EEGs as a way of identifying cortical specialization in
the brain. [3 marks] - ANSWER-Up to three marks for a brief evaluation of the use
of EEGs. Credit up to 3 separate evaluative points or one point fully elaborated or
a combination of these. Likely points: safe way of measuring brain activity; there
is no surgery or invasive process; helps to identify activity in various regions of
brain; its use as a diagnostic tool eg epilepsy; lacks precision in measuring
individual action potential of neurons / electrodes not sensitive enough, etc.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) both involve
recording the electrical activity of the brain. Outline one difference between the
EEG and ERPs. [2 marks] - ANSWER-2 marks for clear outline of the key
, difference: EEG is a recording of general brain activity usually linked to states
such as sleep and arousal, whilst ERPs are elicited by specific stimuli presented to
the participant.
1 mark for a muddled / vague answer that shows some understanding of general
state vs specific response.
(June 2022) Explain why the researcher used a controlled observation and a
standardized script in this study. [4 marks] - ANSWER-Possible content:
• a standardized 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 standardized script, the researcher's welcome may vary causing
unintentional bias, e.g. 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) The researcher used two trained observers to record the social
behaviour of each child box during the observation.
Give TWO behavioral 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] - ANSWER-Possible behavioral
categories:
• child smiles at another child
• child shares toys
• child talks to another child
• child snatches a toy from another child.
Possible points:
• behavioral categories are appropriate because they focus on social behaviour/are
objective/visible/mutually exclusive/not ambiguous/not overlapping
We use schema when we process information from the world around us. Explain
one reason why using schema might be useful when processing information from
the world around us, and explain one reason why using schema might not be useful
when processing information from the world around us. [4 marks] - ANSWER-
Useful Possible content:
