Psychology ATAR Year 12 syllabus — for teaching from 2026
School assessment is Science inquiry 20%, Response 40% and Examination 40%. The external paper has 10 minutes reading and 180 minutes working. The 2026 cover specifies six compulsory short-answer questions worth 134 raw marks and 70%, compulsory Extended answer Part A worth 26 raw marks and 10%, and a choice of one of two Part B questions, each worth 31 raw marks and 20%. Candidate raw total is 191; offered raw marks total 222. In 2025 the annual raw allocations were 142, 28 and 35, giving 205 attempted raw marks. Percentage weights are distinct from annual raw marks.
Past papers on this subject span more than one syllabus. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the units and content areas they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the syllabus it was set under.
Predecessor syllabus and examination structure · 2020–20232024–2025 syllabus — compare with the 2026 update · 2024–2025Current Year 12 syllabus for teaching from 2026; no completed 2026 examination yet · 2026–present
The units and content areas, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the syllabus, what the SCSA exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
- Unit 3 — Memory
- Unit 3 — Learning
- Science inquiry
- Unit 4 — Motivation and wellbeing
- Unit 4 — Stress
- Unit 4 — Sleep
Area 1 of 6
Unit 3 — Memory
Sensation, perception and attention; multi-store and working-memory models; brain structures; remembering, rehearsal and forgetting.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 3 points
- Sensation, perception and attention
- Memory models
- Brain, remembering and forgetting
What the exam asks
Apply models to unfamiliar scenarios and evaluate evidence, including Craik and Tulving (1975).
Where marks go missing
Attention is not a memory store, and one model does not explain every memory process.
Area 2 of 6
Unit 3 — Learning
Classical, operant and social learning, landmark studies and behaviour modification.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 3 points
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Social learning and behaviour modification
What the exam asks
Distinguish stimuli, responses and consequences; evaluate method, ethics and application.
Where marks go missing
Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour by removing an aversive condition; it is not punishment.
Area 3 of 6
Science inquiry
Research questions, variables, designs, sampling, data, validity, reliability and ethics.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 3 points
- Ethics and research formulation
- Design, sampling and variables
- Data, validity and reliability
What the exam asks
Justify a method and improvements in Unit 3 and Unit 4 contexts.
Where marks go missing
Random sampling supports representativeness; random allocation supports group equivalence. Correlation does not establish causation.
Area 4 of 6
Unit 4 — Motivation and wellbeing
Sources of motivation, self-determination theory, Maslow, Diener and Ryff.
What the syllabus lists under this area · 2 points
- Self-determination and Maslow
- Diener and Ryff
What the exam asks
Apply and evaluate theories against evidence and varied contexts.
Where marks go missing
Maslow is not an inflexible universal sequence; wellbeing is more than absence of distress.
Area 5 of 6
Unit 4 — Stress
Physiological, stimulus and transactional models, appraisal and coping.
What the exam asks
Compare Selye, Holmes–Rahe and Lazarus–Folkman in a scenario.
Where marks go missing
A stressor is not identical to the stress response.
Area 6 of 6
Unit 4 — Sleep
Sleep purposes, circadian timing, stages, deprivation and improvement.
What the exam asks
Interpret evidence and evaluate He et al. (2020).
Where marks go missing
An association between sleep and wellbeing does not by itself show causation.