SECTION C: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD. You should answer all parts of this question.

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1 6 SECTION C: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC METHOD You should answer all parts of this question. Total for this question: 35 marks 7 A psychologist was interested in testing a new treatment for people with eating disorders. She put up adverts in several London clinics to recruit participants. Thirty people came forward and they were all given a structured interview by a trained therapist. The therapist then calculated a numerical score for each participant as a measure of their current functioning, where 50 indicates excellent, healthy functioning and zero indicates failure to function adequately. The psychologist then randomly allocated half the participants to a treatment group and half to a no-treatment group. After eight weeks, each participant was re-assessed using a structured interview conducted by the same trained therapist, and given a new numerical score. The trained therapist did not know which participants had been in either group. For each participant, the psychologist calculated an improvement score by subtracting the score at the start of the study from the score after eight weeks. The greater the number, the better the improvement. Table 1: Median and range of improvement scores for the treatment group and for the no-treatment group Treatment group No-treatment group Median Range (a) With reference to the data in Table 1, outline what the findings of this investigation seem to show about the effectiveness of the treatment. (2 marks) (b) The psychologist used a statistical test to find out whether there was a significant difference in improvement between the treatment and no-treatment groups. She found a significant difference at the 5% level for a one-tailed test ( p 0.05). Identify an appropriate statistical test for analysing the participants scores. Explain why it would be a suitable test to use in this study. (c) What is the likelihood of the psychologist having made a Type 1 error in this study? Explain your answer. (2 marks) (d) The psychologist assumed that improvements in the treatment group were a direct result of the new type of treatment. Suggest two other reasons why people in the treatment group might have improved. (e) The psychologist could have used self-report questionnaires to assess the participants instead of using interviews with the therapist. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using self-report questionnaires in this study rather than interviews. G/T51106/Jan10/PSYA4

2 7 (f) The psychologist needed to obtain informed consent from her participants. Write a brief consent form which would be suitable for this study. You should include some details of what participants could expect to happen in the study and how they would be protected. (5 marks) (g) What is meant by reliability? Explain how the reliability of the scores in this study could be checked. (h) The psychologist noticed that female and male participants seemed to have responded rather differently to the treatment. She decided to test the following hypothesis: Female patients with an eating disorder will show greater improvement in their symptoms after treatment with the new therapy than male patients. She used a new set of participants and, this time, used self-report questionnaires instead of interviews with a therapist. Imagine that you are the psychologist and are writing up the report of the study. Write an appropriate methods section which includes reasonable detail of design, participants, materials and procedure. Make sure that there is enough detail to allow another researcher to carry out this study in the future. (10 marks) END OF QUESTIONS G/T51106/Jan10/PSYA4

3 5 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method A teacher has worked in the same primary school for two years. While chatting to the children, she is concerned to find that the majority of them come to school without having eaten a healthy breakfast. In her opinion, children who eat a decent breakfast learn to read more quickly and are better behaved than children who do not. She now wants to set up a pre-school breakfast club for the children so that they can all have this beneficial start to the day. The local authority is not willing to spend money on this project purely on the basis of the teacher s opinion and insists on having scientific evidence for the claimed benefits of eating a healthy breakfast. 1 9 Explain why the teacher s personal opinion cannot be accepted as scientific evidence. Refer to some of the major features of science in your answer. (6 marks) A psychologist at the local university agrees to carry out a study to investigate the claim that eating a healthy breakfast improves reading skills. He has access to 400 five-year-old children from 10 local schools, and decides to use 100 children (50 in the experimental group and 50 in the control group). Since the children are so young, he needs to obtain parental consent for them to take part in his study. 2 0 The psychologist used a random sampling method. Explain how he could have obtained his sample using this method. 2 1 Explain limitations of using random sampling in this study. 2 2 Explain why it is important to operationalise the independent variable and the dependent variable in this study and suggest how the psychologist might do this. (5 marks) 2 3 The psychologist used a Mann-Whitney test to analyse the data. Give two reasons why he chose this test. (2 marks) 2 4 He could have used a matched pairs design. Explain why this design would have been more difficult to use in this study. (2 marks) Section C continues on the next page G/T62938/Jan11/PSYA4 Turn over

4 6 2 5 Other than parental consent, identify one ethical issue raised in this study and explain how the psychologist might address it. (2 marks) 2 6 The psychologist asks some of his students to conduct a separate observational study at the same time on the same group of children. The aim of this observational study is to test the idea that eating a healthy breakfast affects playground behaviour. Design an observational study to investigate the effects of a healthy breakfast on playground behaviour. Include in your answer sufficient detail to allow for reasonable replication of the study. You should state the hypothesis you are setting out to test. In your answer, refer to: an appropriate method of investigation materials/apparatus and procedure. Justify your design decisions. (12 marks) END OF QUESTIONS G/T62938/Jan11/PSYA4

5 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method Two psychologists investigated the relationship between age and recall of medical advice. Previous research had shown that recall of medical advice tended to be poorer in older patients. The study was conducted at a doctor s surgery and involved a sample of 30 patients aged between 18 and 78 years. They all saw the same doctor, who made notes of the advice that she gave during the consultation. One of the psychologists interviewed each of the patients individually, immediately after they had seen the doctor. The psychologist asked each patient a set of questions about what the doctor had said about their diagnosis and treatment. The patients responses were recorded and then typed out. Working independently the psychologists compared each typed account with the doctor s written notes in order to rate the accuracy of the accounts on a scale of A high rating indicated that the patient s recall was very accurate and a low rating indicated that the patient s recall was very inaccurate. 1 6 The psychologists decided to propose a directional hypothesis. Why was a directional hypothesis appropriate in this case? (1 mark) 1 7 Write a suitable directional hypothesis for this investigation. 1 8 The psychologists were careful to consider the issue of reliability during the study. What is meant by reliability? (1 mark) 1 9 Explain how the psychologists might have assessed the reliability of their ratings. 2 0 This study collected both qualitative and quantitative data. From the description of the study above, identify the qualitative data and the quantitative data. (2 marks) G/T78946/Jan12/PSYA4

6 7 The psychologists used Spearman s rho to analyse the data from their investigation. They chose to use the 0.05 level of significance. The result gave a correlation coefficient of Give two reasons why the psychologists used Spearman s rho to analyse the data. (2 marks) 2 2 Using Table 1 below, state whether the result is significant or not significant and explain why. (2 marks) Table 1: Extract from a table of critical values of Spearman s rho (r s ) Level of significance for a one-tailed test Level of significance for a two-tailed test N= Calculated r s must equal or exceed the table (critical) value for significance at the level shown. 2 3 Explain what is meant by a Type 1 error. (2 marks) 2 4 Use the information in Table 1 above to explain why the psychologists did not think that they had made a Type 1 error in this case. Section C continues on the next page G/T78946/Jan12/PSYA4 Turn over

7 8 The psychologists then wanted to see whether the use of diagrams in medical consultations would affect recall of medical information. In a laboratory experiment involving a medical consultation role-play, participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions. In Condition A, a doctor used diagrams to present to each participant a series of facts about high blood pressure. In Condition B, the same doctor presented the same series of facts about high blood pressure to each participant but without the use of diagrams. At the end of the consultation, participants were tested on their recall of facts about high blood pressure. Each participant was given a score out of ten for the number of facts recalled. 2 5 In this case, the psychologists decided to use a laboratory experiment rather than a field experiment. Discuss advantages of carrying out this experiment in a laboratory. 2 6 Identify an appropriate statistical test that the psychologists could use to analyse the data from the follow-up study. Give one reason why this test is appropriate. (2 marks) 2 7 Research has shown that music can affect the ability to concentrate. Design an experiment that could be carried out in a classroom to test the effects of two different kinds of music on a task requiring concentration (eg word search). You must use a repeated measures design. In your answer you should: fully operationalise the independent and dependent variables provide details of how you would control extraneous variables describe the procedure that you would use. You should provide sufficient detail for the study to be carried out. (10 marks) END OF QUESTIONS Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. G/T78946/Jan12/PSYA4

8 5 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method Some studies have suggested that there may be a relationship between intelligence and happiness. To investigate this claim, a psychologist used a standardised test to measure intelligence in a sample of 30 children aged 11 years, who were chosen from a local secondary school. He also asked the children to complete a self-report questionnaire designed to measure happiness. The score from the intelligence test was correlated with the score from the happiness questionnaire. The psychologist used a Spearman s rho test to analyse the data. He found that the correlation between intelligence and happiness at age 11 was Write an operationalised non-directional hypothesis for this study. (2 marks) 1 8 Identify an alternative method which could have been used to collect data about happiness in this study. Explain why this method might be better than using a questionnaire. 1 9 What is meant by internal validity? (1 mark) 2 0 Describe how the internal validity of the happiness questionnaire could be assessed. 2 1 A Spearman s rho test was used to analyse the data. Give two reasons why this test was used. (2 marks) Section C continues on the next page G/T88427/Jan13/PSYA4 Turn over

9 6 Table 1: Extract from table of critical values from Spearman s rho(r s ) test N (number of participants) Level of significance for a two-tailed test Level of significance for a one-tailed test Calculated r s must equal or exceed the table (critical) value for significance at the level shown. 2 2 The psychologist used a non-directional hypothesis. Using Table 1, state whether or not the correlation between intelligence and happiness at age 11 (+0.42) was significant. Explain your answer. 2 3 Five years later, the same young people were asked to complete the intelligence test and the happiness questionnaire for a second time. This time the correlation was With reference to both correlation scores, outline what these findings seem to show about the link between intelligence and happiness. The report was subjected to peer review before it was published in a journal. 2 4 What is meant by peer review? (2 marks) 2 5 Explain why peer review is an important aspect of the scientific process. 2 6 A psychology student was asked to design an investigation to see whether taking exercise could increase feelings of happiness. She proposed to do an experiment. She decided to recruit a sample of volunteers who had just joined a gym, by putting up a poster in the gym. She planned to carry out a short interview with each volunteer and to give each one a happiness score. She intended to interview the volunteers again after they had attended the gym for six weeks and to reassess their happiness score to see if it had changed. The psychology student s teacher identified a number of limitations of the proposed experiment. Explain one or more limitations of the student s proposal and suggest how the investigation could be improved. (10 marks) END OF QUESTIONS G/T88427/Jan13/PSYA4

10 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method 1 8 Outline what is meant by the term peer review in psychological research. (2 marks) 1 9 Explain why peer review is important in psychological research. (5 marks) Read the text below and answer questions 2 0, 2 1 and 2 2. A psychologist was interested in looking at the effects of a restricted diet on psychological functioning. A group of 20 healthy, young adult volunteers agreed to spend four weeks in a research unit. They were kept warm and comfortable but given only water and small amounts of plain food. They were able to socialise with one another and watch television, but they had to keep to strict, set mealtimes and were not allowed to eat anything between meals. The psychologist carried out various tests of emotional and cognitive functioning during this four-week period. One area of interest for the psychologist was the effect of the dietary restriction on the perception of food. He tested this by asking the volunteers to draw pictures of food at the end of each week. When all the drawings had been completed, the psychologist used content analysis to analyse them. 2 0 What is meant by the term content analysis? (1 mark) 2 1 Explain how the psychologist might have carried out content analysis to analyse these drawings. 2 2 The psychologist needed to be sure that his participants understood the nature of the study so that they were able to give informed consent. Write a consent form which would be suitable for this study. Make sure there is sufficient information about the study for the participants to make an informed decision. (5 marks) 2 3 The psychologist was also interested in the effects of a restricted diet on memory functioning and he expected memory to become impaired. The psychologist s hypothesis was that participants scores on a memory test are lower after a restricted diet than before a restricted diet. He gave the volunteers a memory test when they first arrived in the research unit and a similar test at the end of the four-week period. He recorded the memory scores on both tests and analysed them using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. He set his significance level at 5%. His calculated value was T = 53. State whether the hypothesis for this study is directional or non-directional. (1 mark) G/T53764/Jun10/PSYA4

11 7 2 4 Table 1: Extract from table of critical values from the Wilcoxon signed ranks test Level of significance for a one-tailed test Level of significance for a two-tailed test N T Calculated T must be equal to or less than the critical value (table value) for significance at the level shown Using Table 1, state whether or not the psychologist s result was significant. Explain your answer. Read the text below and answer questions 2 5 to 2 8. A psychologist is using the observational method to look at verbal aggression in a group of children with behavioural difficulties. Pairs of observers watch a single child in the class for a period of one hour and note the number of verbally aggressive acts within ten-minute time intervals. After seeing the first set of ratings, the psychologist becomes concerned about the quality of inter-rater reliability. The tally chart for the two observers is shown in Table 2. Table 2: Observation of one child number of verbally aggressive acts in ten-minute time intervals Time slots Observer A Observer B Use the data in Table 2 to sketch a scattergram. Label the axes and give the scattergram a title. 2 6 Using the data in Table 2, explain why the psychologist is concerned about inter-rater reliability. 2 7 Identify an appropriate statistical test to check the inter-rater reliability of these two observers. Explain why this is an appropriate test. 2 8 If the psychologist does find low reliability, what could she do to improve inter-rater reliability before proceeding with the observational research? END OF QUESTIONS G/T53764/Jun10/PSYA4

12 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method It is thought that colours might affect our performance when carrying out certain tasks. Research in this area has been inconclusive. Some studies have shown that red improves performance but others have found the opposite. It could be that these contradictory results have arisen because red is beneficial only for certain kinds of mental processing. Some psychologists tested this hypothesis in a series of independent-groups design experiments using students at a Canadian university. The experiments involved computer tasks, with either a red, blue or neutral background appearing on the monitor. The researchers found that participants were better at a word-recall task and a spell-checking task when the screen background was red rather than blue or neutral. However, participants thought of more creative ideas when the screen was blue rather than red or neutral. The researchers concluded that red is beneficial for tasks that require attention to detail whereas blue aids creativity. 1 7 What were the researchers aims in this study? (2 marks) Imagine that you are writing up the report for this series of experiments. 1 8 What is the purpose of the introduction section of a report? (2 marks) A psychological report also contains a discussion section. Researchers are expected to consider their findings critically and discuss issues such as validity. 1 9 What is meant by validity? (1 mark) 2 0 Explain how one factor in this study might affect its internal validity and how one factor might affect its external validity. (2 marks + 2 marks) 2 1 In the discussion section, researchers are also expected to consider any possible applications of their research. Suggest one practical application that might arise from these findings. (2 marks) G/T66816/Jun11/PSYA4

13 7 In a further experiment, participants were given 20 blue shapes or 20 red shapes. They were then asked to pick 5 shapes and use them to make a toy suitable for a child aged between five and eleven years. They were given a limited time to carry out this task. Participants given red shapes made toys that independent judges rated to be more practical but less original, whereas participants given blue shapes made more creative toys. 2 2 Explain why the researchers asked independent judges to rate the toys. (2 marks) 2 3 Write a set of standardised instructions that would be suitable to read out to participants in this experiment. (5 marks) Section C continues on the next page G/T66816/Jun11/PSYA4 Turn over

14 8 Psychological research suggests an association between birth order and certain abilities. For example, first-born children are often logical in their thinking whereas later-born children tend to be more creative. A psychologist wonders whether this might mean that birth order is associated with different career choices. She decides to investigate and asks 50 artists and 65 lawyers whether they were the first-born child in the family or not. 2 4 Write a non-directional hypothesis for this study. (2 marks) 2 5 Identify an appropriate sampling method for this study and explain how the psychologist might have obtained such a sample. The psychologist found the following results: 20 of the 50 artists were first-born children 35 of the 65 lawyers were first-born children. She analysed her data using a statistical test and calculated a value of 2 = She then looked at the relevant table to see whether this value was statistically significant. An extract from the table is provided below. Table 1: Critical values of 2 df Level of significance for a one-tailed test Level of significance for a two-tailed test Calculated value of 2 must be equal to or exceed the table (critical) values for significance at the level shown 2 6 Imagine that you are writing the results section of the report on this investigation. Using information from the description of the study above and the relevant information from the statistical table, provide contents suitable for the results section. You must provide all of the following: an appropriately labelled 2 2 contingency table a sketch of an appropriately labelled bar chart identification of the appropriate statistical test with justification for its use identification of an appropriate significance level a statement of the results of the statistical test in relation to the hypothesis. (12 marks) END OF QUESTIONS Copyright 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. G/T66816/Jun11/PSYA4

15 4 Topic: Anomalistic Psychology 1 2 Describe one way in which researchers have studied psychokinesis. 1 3 Harry had a dream last night about his aunt Susan. She emigrated to Canada years ago and he has not heard from her for three years. This morning, he received a letter from his aunt saying that she was going to visit. He thinks that he might have psychic powers. How might psychologists explain Harry s experience? Use your knowledge of the psychology of coincidence in your answer. 1 4 Discuss how Harry s anomalous experience can be explained by personality factors. (6 marks) 1 5 Outline and evaluate research into out-of-body experience and/or near-death experience. (4 marks + 6 marks) Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method 1 6 Explain what is meant by replicability. Why is replicability an important feature of science? (5 marks) A maths teacher wondered whether there was a relationship between mathematical ability and musical ability. She decided to test this out on the GCSE students in the school. From 210 students, she randomly selected 10 and gave each of them two tests. She used part of a GCSE exam paper to test their mathematical ability. The higher the mark, the better the mathematical ability. She could not find a musical ability test so she devised her own. She asked each student to sing a song of their choice. She then rated their performance on a scale of 1 10, where 1 is completely tuneless and 10 is in perfect tune. 1 7 Suggest a suitable non-directional hypothesis for this study. 1 8 Why might the measure of musical ability used by the teacher lack validity? 1 9 Explain how the teacher could have checked the reliability of the mathematical ability test. 2 0 Explain why the teacher chose to use a random sample in this study. (2 marks) G/K73290/Jun12/PSYA4

16 5 The results of the study are given in Table 1 below. Table 1: Mathematical ability test scores and musical ability ratings for 10 students Student Mathematical ability test score Musical ability rating In your answer book, sketch a graph to show the data in Table 1. Give the graph an appropriate title and label the axes. 2 2 Discuss what the data in Table 1 and the graph that you have sketched seem to show about the relationship between mathematical ability and musical ability. 2 3 The teacher noticed that most of the students who were rated highly on musical ability were left-handed. The teacher is aware that her previous definition of musical ability lacked validity. Design a study to test whether there is a difference in the musical ability of left-handed students and right-handed students. You have access to a sixth form of 200 students. You should: identify the design that you would use explain an appropriate sampling method and justify your choice describe the procedure that you would use, including details of how you would assess musical ability write a suitable debrief for these participants. (10 marks) 2 4 In your answer book, draw a table to show how you would record your results. Identify an appropriate statistical test to analyse the data that you would collect. Justify your choice. END OF QUESTIONS G/K73290/Jun12/PSYA4

17 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Read this information very carefully as you will need to refer to it in later questions. 154 patients who suffered from panic attacks were asked by a psychologist to take part in a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). In order to select suitable participants for the trial, each patient completed a questionnaire which measured the severity of their symptoms on a scale of 1 (mild) to 10 (severe). 60 patients who had moderate symptoms with scores of 7 or 8 were selected to take part. They were randomly allocated to one of three conditions. Condition 1: Traditional cognitive behavioural therapy this consisted of 12 one-hour sessions over a 12-week period. Condition 2: Brief cognitive behavioural therapy this consisted of 5 one-hour sessions over a 5-week period with homework assessments. Condition 3: Control condition patients were placed on a 12-week waiting list for traditional cognitive behavioural therapy. This group did not receive any form of treatment during the 12 weeks. One week after finishing the course of therapy, patients in condition 1 and condition 2 completed the questionnaire for a second time. Patients in condition 3 completed the questionnaire for a second time at the end of the 12-week period. The three scores from this questionnaire were compared to see if there were differences in the severity of symptoms. 1 6 What were the aims in this study? [2 marks] 1 7 Identify one variable which does not appear to have been controlled in this trial. Explain how this may have influenced the outcome. [3 marks] 1 8 What is meant by validity? How could the psychologist have assessed the validity of the questionnaire used to measure the severity of symptoms? [4 marks] 1 9 The psychologist asked the 60 patients for fully informed consent to take part in this trial. What should the psychologist have told the patients so that they were able to give their consent? [5 marks] G/Jun14/PSYA4

18 7 Table 1 Mean and standard deviation of severity of symptom scores after therapy Severity of symptom scores after therapy Condition 1 Traditional CBT Condition 2 Brief CBT Condition 3 Waiting list Mean Standard deviation The psychologist used a statistical test to assess the differences in severity of symptoms between patients in Condition 1 and Condition 2. The difference between traditional CBT and brief CBT was found to be non-significant (p >0.05). 2 0 What do the data show about the effectiveness of the therapies for panic attacks? Refer to mean scores, standard deviations and the results of the statistical test in your answer. [6 marks] 2 1 Imagine that you are writing up the report for this experiment. What is the purpose of the abstract in a psychological report? [2 marks] In the discussion section of a report, researchers are expected to consider possible practical applications and implications of their research. 2 2 Discuss applications and/or implications that might arise from this piece of research. [5 marks] The psychologist wished to investigate which aspects of therapy were most useful. She decided to interview a sample of the patients. The purpose of the interviews was to encourage patients to talk freely and in detail about their experiences of therapy. Two of the questions used by the psychologist were: Please tell me about the most important aspects of the therapy which helped you to improve and Please tell me about any aspects of the therapy which were less helpful to you in dealing with your symptoms. 2 3 Explain how you would record the data from these interviews and your reason for choosing this method. [3 marks] 2 4 Explain how you would analyse the qualitative data from the interviews. [5 marks] END OF QUESTIONS G/Jun14/PSYA4

19 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method In an observational study, 100 cars were fitted with video cameras to record the driver s behaviour. Two psychologists used content analysis to analyse the data from the films. They found that 75% of accidents involved a lack of attention by the driver. The most common distractions were using a hands-free phone or talking to a passenger. Other distractions included looking at the scenery, smoking, eating, personal grooming and trying to reach something within the car. 1 8 What is content analysis? (2 marks) 1 9 Explain how the psychologists might have carried out content analysis to analyse the film clips of driver behaviour. 2 0 Explain how the two psychologists might have assessed the reliability of their content analysis. The psychologists then designed an experiment to test the effects of using a hands-free phone on drivers attention. They recruited a sample of 30 experienced police drivers and asked them to take part in two computer-simulated driving tests. Both tests involved watching a three-minute film of a road. Participants were instructed to click the mouse as quickly as possible, when a potential hazard (such as a car pulling out ahead) was spotted. Each participant completed two computer-simulated driving tests: Test A, whilst chatting with one of the psychologists on a hands-free phone Test B, in silence, with no distractions. The order in which they completed the computer tests was counterbalanced. 2 1 Explain why the psychologists chose to use a repeated measures design in this experiment. 2 2 Identify one possible extraneous variable in this experiment. Explain how this variable may have influenced the results of this experiment. 2 3 Explain how one factor in this experiment might affect its external validity. G/T93114/Jun13/PSYA4

20 7 2 4 Explain one or more ethical issues that the psychologists should have considered in this experiment. 2 5 Write a set of standardised instructions that would be suitable to read out to participants, before they carry out Test A, chatting on a hands-free phone. (5 marks) The computer simulator measured two aspects of driver behaviour: the number of hazards detected by each driver the time taken to respond to each hazard, in seconds. The mean scores for each of these measures is shown in Table 1. Table 1 Table to show the mean number of hazards detected and mean reaction times in seconds for Test A and Test B Mean scores Number of hazards detected Reaction time in seconds Test A: with hands-free phone Test B: in silence The psychologists then used an inferential statistical test to assess whether there was a difference in the two conditions. 2 6 Identify an appropriate statistical test to analyse the difference in the number of hazards detected in the two conditions of this experiment. Explain why this test of difference would be appropriate. They found no significant difference in the number of hazards detected (p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference in reaction times (p 0.01). 2 7 Explain why the psychologists did not think that they had made a Type 1 error in relation to the difference in reaction times. (2 marks) 2 8 Replication is one feature of the scientific method. The psychologists decided to replicate this experiment using a larger sample of 250 inexperienced drivers. Explain why replication of this study would be useful. END OF QUESTIONS G/T93114/Jun13/PSYA4

21 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method A psychology teacher observed that many of his students drew or scribbled aimlessly during lessons. He wondered whether this doodling had any effect on the ability of students to recall material. The teacher could not find any research on the topic so he decided to conduct his own experiment. He chose two of his AS classes of psychology students to participate. Each class was given a 2 minute audio recording which listed the names of 25 fictional students. All students were given the same set of standardised instructions telling them to listen carefully to the recording and to report whether the name Sam Smith was mentioned. The 20 students in Class A listened to the audio recording without distractions. The 20 students in Class B were instructed to doodle whilst listening to the audio recording. After the audio recording had been played, the teacher explained to each class that the task had nothing at all to do with identifying the name Sam Smith. Instead, he instructed them to write down as many of the names as possible which had been mentioned in the audio recording. 2 0 Write a fully operationalised non-directional hypothesis for the above experiment. [3 marks] 2 1 Identify the sampling strategy used by the teacher and explain implications of using this sample in this experiment. [1 mark + 4 marks] 2 2 Identify one control which was implemented in this experiment and explain why this control was important. [1 mark + 2 marks] 2 3 Explain how the teacher might have dealt with the ethical issue of deception in this experiment. [4 marks] G/Jun15/PSYA4

22 7 The teacher counted the number of names recalled by each participant, then carried out a Mann Whitney U test in order to see whether the difference between conditions was significant. He obtained a value U = 124. Table 1 Critical values of U for a two-tailed test at p < 0.05 (Mann Whitney) n n For n 1 and n 2 the observed value of U is significant if it is equal to or less than the critical values shown. 2 4 What level of measurement is required when carrying out the Mann Whitney U test? [1 mark] 2 5 Using Table 1, state whether the value of U = 124 was significant. Explain your answer. [3 marks] The teacher found that Class B performed better on the memory task, recalling around 30% more of the names than Class A. He constructed a theory based on his findings. He theorised that doodling improves recall by reducing the tendency to daydream during activities. 2 6 What is a theory? 2 7 Why is theory construction a major feature of how science works? [2 marks] [4 marks] A colleague of the teacher noticed that there were large individual differences in the scores. He suggested that the teacher should have used a repeated measures design. 2 8 Design an experiment to test whether doodling affects recall, using a repeated measures design. As part of your answer you should explain how you would control extraneous variables associated with the repeated measures design, and the materials you would use. You are not required to explain how you would deal with ethical issues or sampling in your experiment. [10 marks] END OF QUESTIONS G/Jun15/PSYA4

23 6 Section C Psychological Research and Scientific Method Answer all questions in this section. This topic carries 35 marks. Topic: Psychological Research and Scientific Method Read this information very carefully as you will need to refer to it in later questions. An investigation was set up to test the effectiveness of a new anxiety management programme for school students. A small-scale investigation was carried out before the main study took place. This was used to check the appropriateness of the questionnaire used to measure anxiety. Twenty-three students of both sexes and aged took part in this. At the start of the small-scale investigation an anxiety score was obtained for each student. This score was based on a 20-item questionnaire designed by a team of psychologists working at a local university. The higher the score obtained, the greater the level of anxiety. This was followed by a 6-week programme of anxiety management involving weekly 30-minute sessions for all the students. After the programme had ended, a second anxiety score was obtained for each student using the same questionnaire. 1 4 State a directional hypothesis for this small-scale investigation. [2 marks] 1 5 The researchers needed consent from parents/guardians for their children to take part in the investigation. Design a consent form that might have been given to parents/ guardians asking for permission for their child to take part. [5 marks] 1 6 The researchers wanted to establish the reliability and internal validity of their questionnaire. What is meant by the terms reliability and internal validity? [2 marks] 1 7 How might the researchers have checked the internal validity of their questionnaire? [3 marks] 1 8 The researchers chose to use a one-tailed test to analyse their data. Give one reason for this choice. [1 mark] G/Jun16/PSYA4

24 7 A Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Ranks Test was used to test for the significance of the difference between the anxiety scores at the start of the programme and after the programme had ended. No student s score remained the same. The calculated value of T was found to be 63. Table 1: Critical (table) values of T Level of significance for a one-tailed test N Values of T that are equal to or less than the tabled value, are significant at or beyond the level indicated. 1 9 Using Table 1 above, explain whether or not the results of the study are significant at the 5% level. [3 marks] When the main study was undertaken, 40 students were allocated randomly either to receive the 6-week anxiety reduction programme or to a control group which did not. The questionnaire was used to measure the anxiety levels of each student at the start and at the end of the 6-week programme. The change in each student s anxiety score was calculated for this period. The researchers found that the students who took part in the anxiety reduction programme showed a significant decrease in their anxiety scores compared with the control group. 2 0 Explain why a control group of students was necessary for the main study described above. [3 marks] 2 1 Explain why participants were allocated randomly to the two conditions. How might the students have been allocated randomly to the two conditions? [2 marks + 2 marks] Section C continues on the next page G/Jun16/PSYA4 Turn over

25 8 Table 2: Median reduction in anxiety scores and ranges for all participants Median reduction in anxiety score Range Experimental group Control group Sketch a suitably labelled graph to illustrate how the data for both groups of students might be presented. [4 marks] 2 3 What statistical test would you use to analyse the results from the main study? Give three reasons for your choice of test. [4 marks] 2 4 The researchers had considered using a matched pairs design in their study. What is meant by the term matched pairs design? How might a matched pairs design have been implemented for this investigation? [2 marks + 2 marks] END OF QUESTIONS Copyright information For confidentiality purposes, from the November 2015 examination series, acknowledgements of third party copyright material will be published in a separate booklet rather than including them on the examination paper or support materials. This booklet is published after each examination series and is available for free download from after the live examination series. Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been unsuccessful and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team, AQA, Stag Hill House, Guildford, GU2 7XJ. Copyright 2016 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. G/Jun16/PSYA4