QCE Psychology most tested topics
Across the 12 QCAA Psychology external papers from 2020 to 2025, Memory carries 17.8% of the marks against 6.9% for Cross-cultural psychology, so the paper rewards Memory more than any other topic. At dot-point level 3.4.2 carries 5.9% of paper marks, and zero of the 57 dot points that the board assesses externally have not appeared in one of these papers. Every percentage below covers the 99.8% of marks that map to a syllabus dot point.
Computed from 12 QCAA Psychology external papers, 2020 to 2025: 241 questions, 328 question parts and 580 marks.
Unit, topic and dot-point shares below are of the 579 marks that map to a dot point, so each of those tables adds to 100%. 41 of the 328 parts are assessed against more than one dot point, and their 80 marks are divided evenly between the dot points they cover.
What these papers are
| Year | Paper | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Paper 1 | 30 | 49 |
| 2025 | Paper 2 | 7 | 46 |
| 2024 | Paper 1 | 30 | 48 |
| 2024 | Paper 2 | 7 | 44 |
| 2023 | Paper 1 | 32 | 50 |
| 2023 | Paper 2 | 7 | 44 |
| 2022 | Paper 1 | 33 | 55 |
| 2022 | Paper 2 | 6 | 45 |
| 2021 | Paper 1 | 38 | 54 |
| 2021 | Paper 2 | 5 | 40 |
| 2020 | Paper 1 | 41 | 55 |
| 2020 | Paper 2 | 5 | 50 |
Marks by unit
| Unit | Share of marks |
|---|---|
| Unit 3: Individual thinking | 55.1% |
| Unit 4: The influence of others | 44.9% |
Marks by topic
| Topic | Share of marks | Papers it appears in | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory | 17.8% | 12 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Attitudes | 14.9% | 12 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Learning | 14.9% | 11 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Brain function | 13.9% | 10 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Interpersonal processes | 13.1% | 12 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Social psychology | 10.0% | 11 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Sensation and perception | 8.5% | 9 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
| Cross-cultural psychology | 6.9% | 9 of 12 | 6 of 6 |
Marks by dot point
Dot-point numbers and wording are QCAA's own. Where a dot point is written as a list, its items run together here separated by semicolons.
| Dot point | Content | Topic | Share of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.4.2 | For classical conditioning describe the concepts unconditioned stimulus (UCS), unconditioned response (UCR), neutral stimulus (NS), conditioned stimulus (CS) and conditioned response (CR); distinguish between stimulus generalisation and discrimination; describe extinction and spontaneous recovery; describe learned fear responses, with reference to the ‘Little Albert’ experiment | Learning | 5.9% | 9 of 12 |
| 3.3.9 | Interpret data about the context-dependency of memory from a modified experiment following Grant et al. (1998) | Memory | 5.5% | 6 of 12 |
| 3.4.3 | For operant conditioning distinguish between negative and positive reinforcement, and negative and positive punishment; describe stimulus generalisation and discrimination; describe extinction and spontaneous recovery; describe the operation of the ‘Skinner box’ in operant conditioning studies | Learning | 4.4% | 9 of 12 |
| 3.2.2 | Explain psychological aspects of sensation and perception including perceptual set with respect to past experience, context, motivation and emotional state; visual perception principles, e.g. Gestalt principles, depth cues, and visual constancies; loudness, pitch and timbre | Sensation and perception | 4.4% | 8 of 12 |
| 3.3.1 | Compare three models of memory, specifically the multi-store model of memory, including sensory, short-term and long-term memory; the working memory model, including the central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer; the levels of processing (LOP) model of memory, including the role of encoding in long-term memory | Memory | 3.4% | 6 of 12 |
| 4.1.6 | Describe the findings of historical social psychological research, with reference to Asch’s (1955) research on conformity; Milgram’s (1963) research on obedience; Haney, Banks and Zimbardo’s (1973) research on status, roles and power | Social psychology | 3.3% | 9 of 12 |
| 4.2.1 | Interpret the findings of Latané and Darley’s (1969) study of bystander intervention | Interpersonal processes | 3.1% | 6 of 12 |
| 3.2.1 | Describe the processes of seeing and hearing, with reference to reception by accessory structures; transduction by sensory receptors and receptive fields; transmission to the CNS via the optic/acoustic nerves; preliminary processing in the thalamus; organisation and interpretation by the primary visual/auditory cortex | Sensation and perception | 3.0% | 6 of 12 |
| 4.3.10 | Interpret data about the relationship between stereotype priming and behaviour from a modification of experiment 2 in Bargh, Chen & Burrows’ (1996) study | Attitudes | 2.9% | 5 of 12 |
| 3.4.4 | For social learning theory distinguish between modelling and vicarious conditioning; describe vicarious conditioning, as observed in the ‘Bobo doll’ experiments conducted by Bandura and colleagues | Learning | 2.5% | 6 of 12 |
| 4.1.5 | Explain how obedience, conformity and social norms (as described by Cialdini et al. 2006) lead to behaviour change | Social psychology | 2.4% | 5 of 12 |
| 3.1.4 | Explain that Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and Geschwind’s territory have specific roles in language processing | Brain function | 2.2% | 5 of 12 |
| 4.3.5 | Describe attributions, and recognise how they are used to explain behaviour, with reference to situational and dispositional attributions, and the fundamental attribution error | Attitudes | 2.2% | 5 of 12 |
| 3.3.8 | Discuss strategies to improve memory, including spacing, interleaving, chunking, elaborative and maintenance rehearsal, and the method of loci | Memory | 2.1% | 5 of 12 |
| 3.4.1 | Compare classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning theory, and discuss the underlying theories of behaviourism and social and cognitive psychology | Learning | 2.0% | 6 of 12 |
| 4.4.6 | Describe ways to reduce prejudice, with reference to intergroup contact that is sustained, with superordinate goals, mutual interdependence and equality of status | Cross-cultural psychology | 2.0% | 5 of 12 |
| 3.1.7 | Describe neurotransmission, with reference to action potentials and synaptic transmission | Brain function | 1.9% | 4 of 12 |
| 4.2.7 | Describe biological and cultural explanations of attraction, with reference to Buss et al. (1990) | Interpersonal processes | 1.8% | 4 of 12 |
| 3.1.1 | Describe the structure of the human nervous system, with reference to the central (i.e. brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (i.e. somatic and autonomic) nervous systems | Brain function | 1.7% | 5 of 12 |
| 4.2.6 | Explain how media can influence aggression, with reference to advertising, video games and social media | Interpersonal processes | 1.7% | 5 of 12 |
These 20 dot points carry 58.4% of the paper marks between them. Another 37 assessed dot points share the rest, and 0 of the 57 externally assessable dot points have not been assessed in any of these 12 papers. Content that has not appeared is still examinable.
What has moved between papers
Comparing the 2020 to 2022 papers with the 2023 to 2025 papers, three topics have moved by more than 3.0 percentage points.
| Topic | 2020 to 2022 share | 2023 to 2025 share | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory | 15.9% | 19.8% | up 3.9 points |
| Attitudes | 16.4% | 13.2% | down 3.2 points |
| Brain function | 15.8% | 11.9% | down 3.9 points |
How the papers are built
Short answer carries 76.7% of the marks across these 12 papers.
| Question type | Share of marks | Marks | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short answer | 76.7% | 445 | 193 |
| Multiple choice | 23.3% | 135 | 135 |
| Verb | Share of marks | Marks | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|
| describe | 28.1% | 163 | 69 |
| identify | 20.5% | 119 | 53 |
| explain | 14.5% | 84 | 32 |
| justify | 5.9% | 34 | 14 |
| provide | 5.5% | 32 | 13 |
| predict | 3.8% | 22 | 9 |
| draw | 3.4% | 20 | 7 |
| infer | 3.4% | 20 | 9 |
What these percentages do not tell you
Where to practise
Every topic above links to its own page of real QCAA questions with marking criteria and average scores attached: Memory, Attitudes, Learning, Brain function, Interpersonal processes, Social psychology, Sensation and perception and Cross-cultural psychology. For how students actually score on this content, read QCE Psychology hardest topics, and for the full question bank start at QCE Psychology.
Frequently asked questions
Which topic carries the most marks in the QCE Psychology external exam?
Memory carries 17.8% of the marks across the 12 QCAA papers from 2020 to 2025, ahead of Attitudes on 14.9%.
How are marks split between question types in the QCE Psychology exam?
Short answer carries 76.7% of the marks and multiple choice carries 23.3% of the marks, measured across 12 papers and 580 marks from 2020 to 2025.
Has the topic balance changed in recent QCE Psychology papers?
Yes. Memory moved up 3.9 percentage points, Attitudes moved down 3.2 percentage points and Brain function moved down 3.9 percentage points between the 2020 to 2022 and 2023 to 2025 papers.
How many past papers is this QCE Psychology analysis based on?
12 QCAA external papers from 2020 to 2025, covering 241 questions and 580 marks. 0.2% of those marks carry no dot-point mapping and sit outside the percentages.
Sources
- Psychology External Assessment, QCAA, 2025. 12 papers, 2020 to 2025, covering 241 questions and 580 marks. Listed individually in the table at the top of this guide. Dot-point numbering follows the current QCAA Psychology syllabus.
Syllabus and assessment material referenced in this guide is © State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0. See our QCAA licensing notice. AusGrader is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the QCAA.
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