Topic-By-Topic Analysis: AQA A Level Psychology (2018)

Here are the national results for each topic in the 2018 AQA A Level Psychology exams compared with 2017.

• Students performed worse in Papers 1 and 2 in 2018, in comparison to 2017, and better in Paper 3.
• There was a significant decline (5% or more) in performance in the Social Influence and Attachment topics from Paper 1; Biopsychology topic from Paper 2; and the Option B topics in Paper 3 (Schizophrenia, Eating Behaviour and Stress).
• There were significant improvements seen in Memory from Paper 1; Gender, Cognition and Development and all the Option C Topics from Paper 3 (Aggression, Forensic and Addiction). It is worth noting that some of the figures (e.g. a 19% increase in Forensic Psychology and 13.21% increase in Gender) are inflated due to poor performance, resulting from misinterpretation and poor selection of material by students, in the June 2017 exams.
• While these figures show some significant declines, it is important to analyse each question (see Problematic Questions in 2018: AQA A Level Psychology) to understand exactly why student performance varied so much in 2018.