Examiner's Verdict on January 2024 Psychology Papers

The January 2024 series for Unit 1 and Unit 2 presented a balanced but challenging evaluation of candidates' understanding of foundational psychology. With a total of 180 marks across both units, the papers featured a structured split where every single core chapter held an identical weighting of 30 marks. This strict equality in marks rewards students who have maintained a consistent, broad-spectrum revision strategy rather than focusing exclusively on high-yield topics.

Where the Marks Are Earned

High-scoring candidates differentiated themselves in the extended-writing sections, specifically the 20-mark essay on leading questions in Memory and the 20-mark essay on split-brain research in Biopsychology. These questions required a sophisticated blend of detailed description (AO1), precise application to the provided stems (AO2), and robust critical evaluation (AO3). Medium-tariff questions (6 to 12 marks) like the 12-marker on the mirror neuron system in social cognition and the 6-marker on Baillargeon's violation of expectation research tested deep theoretical clarity and scenario analysis.

Examiner Pitfalls & Key Lessons

  • Incomplete Application: In the LTM scenario (Eliana and Nadia), many candidates failed to clearly map the behaviors—such as swimming without thinking—to the specific memory type (procedural memory). Naming the types alone yielded zero marks.
  • Hemispheric Confusion: In split-brain questions, a recurring mistake was failing to trace the pathway from the visual field to the opposite hemisphere. Candidates must remember that visual stimuli flashed in the left visual field are processed exclusively in the right hemisphere.
  • Graphing Inaccuracies: In the Research Methods section, several students lost easy marks on the bar graph of vehicle speed estimates by not starting the Y-axis at zero, letting bars touch (since it represents discrete nominal categories), or failing to fully operationalise variables in the title.

Revision Strategy & Future Outlook

When preparing for the upcoming series, candidates should focus on high-ROI areas such as Psychopathology and Memory, which offer highly systematic theories that are straightforward to evaluate. Future assessments are highly likely to shift focus toward behavioral therapies for phobias (such as systematic desensitisation and flooding) and cognitive explanations of depression, as well as alternative treatments that did not appear in this cycle.