Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2025

First exams 2027

Features of Science, Reporting Investigations & the Scientific Report (AQA A Level Psychology): Exam Questions

Exam code: 7182

19 mins6 questions
1
1 mark

Give one reason why it is important for scientific reports to include a referencing section.

2
1 mark

A study into the relationship between recreational screen time and academic achievement was conducted. Students were asked to self-report the number of hours spent watching TV, playing on their mobile phones or video games (daily recreational screen time) and their end-of-year test performances (academic performance).

The results of the study are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 The relationship between daily recreational screen time and academic performance

Scatter plot showing the negative correlation between academic performance (%) and daily recreational screen time (hours), with performance decreasing as screen time increases.

In which section(s) of a scientific report would you expect to find reference to the results/findings of the investigation?

  • The abstract and the results sections only

  • The abstract, the discussion and the results sections only

  • The results and the discussion sections only

  • The results section only

3
3 marks

Describe features of the abstract section in a scientific report.

4
2 marks

In 1993, a book about gender was published in New Haven. The book was written by Sandra L Bem from Cornell University. The title was ‘The lenses of gender: transforming the debate on sexual inequality’. The book was published by Yale University Press.

A researcher needs to modify the above information to include Bem’s book in the references section of a scientific report.

Write the full reference for this book as it should appear in the reference section of the researcher’s report.

1
4 marks

The teacher noticed that some students reported feeling more motivated when revising in groups. She decided to conduct an experiment to compare group revision and solo revision.

Twenty A Level psychology students from the school took part in the study. They were randomly allocated to one of two conditions:

  • Condition A: revise alone for 15 minutes

  • Condition B: revise in groups of 3 or 4 for 15 minutes

All students revised the same set of psychology terms. After the revision period, all students completed a 20-mark test on the material. The teacher recorded each student’s score.

Write a brief consent form that would have been suitable to obtain informed consent from the participants in this study.

1
8 marks

Discuss the features of science. Refer to one or more examples of psychological research in your answer.