WACE Psychology: complete 2026 guide to Year 12 ATAR Units 3 and 4
A complete 2026 guide to WACE Year 12 ATAR Psychology: Unit 3 Memory and learning, Unit 4 Motivation, wellbeing and health, the Science inquiry strand assessed in both, the designated studies, how school assessment is weighted, the three-hour exam structure, and links to every current dot-point page.
WACE ATAR Psychology in Year 12 is made up of Unit 3 and Unit 4, set by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). Both units are examined in a single external written examination at the end of the year, and the Science inquiry strand (research methods and ethics) runs through both.
This page is the index for the current syllabus: what each unit covers, how the course is assessed, the exam structure, and links to every dot-point page.
These pages follow the SCSA Psychology ATAR Year 12 syllabus that has been taught since 2024 (Unit 3: Memory and learning; Unit 4: Motivation, wellbeing and health). SCSA issued a version for teaching from 2026 that it describes as having minor changes; check your school's copy for the exact wording of each content description.
How the course is structured
The syllabus has two strands that are taught together:
- Psychological knowledge and understanding: the theories, studies, models and concepts of each unit.
- Science inquiry: ethics, formulating research, methodology, data collection, analysis, conclusions, evaluation and communication. The same Science inquiry content appears in both units.
Designated studies must be known for their aim, method, key findings, contribution to psychology and criticisms: Craik and Tulving (1975), Pavlov (1902), Watson and Rayner (1920), Thorndike (1898), Skinner (1948), Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961) and He et al. (2020).
Named theorists must be known for the features, strengths and limitations of their theory and its application to a real-world context: Bandura (Unit 3), and Deci and Ryan, and Maslow (Unit 4).
How WACE Psychology is assessed
School assessment. Your school sets tasks against the SCSA assessment table for Year 12:
| Assessment type | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Science inquiry (at least one practical and one research inquiry across the year) | 20% |
| Response (tests, scenario analysis, extended responses and similar) | 40% |
| Examination (school exams that follow the design brief) | 40% |
External examination. All students enrolled in Year 12 ATAR Psychology sit the SCSA examination, which samples both strands of Units 3 and 4. Your moderated school mark and your exam mark are combined to give your course score.
The exam at a glance
| Section | Weighting | Format | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section One: Short answer | 70% | 5 to 8 questions with sub-parts that increase in difficulty; at least 20% of the section from each strand | 120 minutes |
| Section Two: Extended answer, Part A | 10% | One compulsory question | 60 minutes for Section Two |
| Section Two: Extended answer, Part B | 20% | One question from a choice of two |
There are 10 minutes of reading time and 3 hours of working time, and non-programmable calculators are allowed. Questions often use stimulus material such as text, diagrams, tables, graphs or recent research findings. The 2024 paper had six short answer questions, one Part A question and a choice of two Part B questions. For timing and technique, see the exam strategy guide.
Unit 3: Memory and learning
Memory
- Sensation and perception
- Attention and the Cocktail party effect (Cherry, 1953)
- Models of memory: multi-store and working memory
- Brain structures in memory formation (hippocampus, cerebellum, amygdala)
- Forgetting: retrieval failure, interference, motivated forgetting, decay
- Recall, recognition and relearning
- Levels of processing and Craik and Tulving (1975)
- Rehearsal and the forgetting curve
- Causes of memory loss: CTE, Alzheimer's disease, Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
Learning
- Theories of learning compared
- Classical conditioning, Pavlov (1902) and Watson and Rayner (1920)
- Operant conditioning, Thorndike (1898) and Skinner (1948)
- Social learning theory and Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)
- Behaviour modification: systematic desensitisation and token economies
Unit 4: Motivation, wellbeing and health
Motivation and wellbeing
- Sources of motivation
- Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985)
- Maslow's hierarchy of needs (1954, 1970)
- Models of wellbeing (Diener, 1984; Ryff, 1989)
Applications of psychology to health
- Stress and stressors
- The General Adaptation Syndrome (stress as a response)
- The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (stress as a stimulus)
- The transactional model of stress and coping (stress as a transaction)
- Coping and the health consequences of stress
- The purpose of sleep
- The sleep-wake cycle: NREM and REM
- Sleep deprivation
- Sleep hygiene and He et al. (2020)
Science inquiry (both units)
- Research methods: aims, hypotheses, variables, designs and sampling
- Data collection, analysis and evaluation
- Ethics in psychological research
Older pages that are not examined in Year 12
These pages were written for the Year 12 course taught before 2024. Their topics are not in the current Year 12 syllabus, so they are not examined in the WACE exam; most are now in the Year 11 syllabus. Each page is marked with a note.
- Brain and nervous system: biological bases of behaviour, the brain and hemispheric specialisation, neuroplasticity
- Attitudes: attitudes and social cognition, attribution theory, cognitive dissonance
- Social psychology: social psychology, conformity, obedience, group influence, prosocial behaviour and the bystander effect
- Developmental psychology: developmental psychology, Piaget, attachment, Erikson and nature versus nurture
- Culture: culture and community, cross-cultural psychology, prejudice and intergroup relations
How to use this hub
- Starting Unit 3: read sensation and perception, attention and models of memory in order, because each builds on the one before.
- Revising designated studies: make a card for each of the seven studies with the five headings SCSA lists (aim, method, findings, contribution, criticisms).
- Science inquiry practice: work through the research methods and data pages, then apply them to the designated studies, which are often used as stimulus material.
- Weeks from the exam: practise past SCSA papers from 2024 onwards, which are set on the current syllabus, under timed conditions.
The system around WACE Psychology
The official syllabus, sample assessment materials and past ATAR examinations are on the SCSA senior secondary website at senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au. Every page on this hub was written by ExamExplained and is independent of SCSA.
Guides
In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.
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