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Psychology - A level - Component 2 - Past papers and answers / exemplar answers. Answers for past papers in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022$14.87
PSYCHOLOGY COMPONENT 2
• 2016 – Describe statement: An experimental design where participants take part in both the control and
experimental conditions (1) - Repeated measures or repeated design.
• 2016 – Describe statement: The level of measurement that has an absolute or true zero point (1) – Ratio
• 2016 – Describe statement: A type of skewed distribution, where the mode is less than the mean (1) –
Positive / Positive skew or Right skew.
• 2016 – Describe statement: A type of sampling where every 10th person on a list is selected (1) -
Systematic or Systematic sampling.
• 2016 – Define what is meant by a 'directional hypothesis' (2)
o A testable statement predicting the direction of difference between the conditions. [2 marks]
o A testable statement which predicts the direction of difference between the groups. [2 marks]
o A hypothesis that one group/condition will do better or worse than another group. [1 mark]
o Any other appropriate definition
• 2016 – Outline the main features of an experiment (4)
o Measures cause and effect relationships.
o Researcher retains control over research variables.
o Random assignment of participants to conditions.
o Equal treatment of participants, except in relation to the IV.
o Presence of a control condition.
o Any other appropriate description.
• 2016 – Explain one difference between quantitative and qualitative data (2)
o Qualitative data can be observed but not measured, whereas quantitative data can be measured (2)
o Quantitative data is easily analysed using statistical techniques, whereas qualitative data needs to be
turned into quantitative data before it is analysed with statistics (2)
o Quantitative data is easier to analyse than qualitative (1)
o Any other appropriate difference.
o N.B. Where an answer only juxtaposes the definitions of quantitative and qualitative data, such as
"Quantitative data is numerical data whereas qualitative data is non-numerical data", maximum
mark awarded should be 1.
• 2016 – Describe Milgram's sample and outline how he selected them for his (1963) 'Behavioral Study of
Obedience' (8)
o Accurate and detailed description of both the sample and how the sample was selected
o SAMPLE:
▪ 40 male participants.
▪ Between the ages of 20 and 50.
▪ Range of occupations, including "postal clerks, high school teachers, salesmen,
▪ engineers, and laborers".
▪ Range of educational level, from "one who had not finished elementary school, to those who
had a doctorate and other professional degrees.
▪ Some answers may include data from 'TABLE 1: DISTRIBUTION OF AGE AND
▪ OCCUPATIONAL TYPES IN THE EXPERIMENT' on page 372 of the original article - this should
receive credit if used.
o SELECTION:
▪ Advertisement placed in a New Haven newspaper.
▪ Direct mail solicitation
▪ Participants took part in research "voluntarily".
, ▪ Any other appropriate description of the sample or how it was selected - although it must be
cited in the original article.
• 2016 – Research conducted by social psychologists, such as Milgram, often has ethical issues. Analyse
ethical issues that arise in social psychological research (10)
o Use of deception: Employed by Social Psychologists to avoid demand characteristics or socially
desirable behaviours. Milgram told his participants that his research was on memory and learning
rather than obedience to authority. If he had told the truth, many or all of his participants may have
opted not to shock the learner. Milgram later talked about his use of 'technical illusions' rather than
deception.
o The risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain: In order to accurately assess our 'real' responses to
situations, social psychologists may cause negative emotions or behaviours which when the
participants know the truth may cause problems with self- esteem about how they behaved in the
research. Many of Milgram's participants suffered greatly during the research, 3 of the participants
had seizures. They were also "observed to sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan, and dig their
fingernails into their flesh". However, Milgram later reported that many of his participants were
actually 'gratified' to have taken part in such important scientific research.
o A lack of valid consent: Closely linked to deception as any deception means valid consent has not
been attained. Milgram's participants agreed to take part in research on memory and learning not
obedience to authority.
o Any other appropriate ethical issue and/or relevant social psychologist.
o N.B. Where the answer only contains a description of the ethical issues of Milgram's study, without
any attempt to analyse, the maximum mark to be awarded will be 3 marks.
• 2017 - Explain one strength of conducting research on-line. [3]
o Ability to access participants all over the world comparatively easily (compared to past).
o Ability to access large numbers of participants more easily than if using traditional face to face or
questionnaire methods.
o Cost effective as on-line questionnaires can be quickly constructed, distributed for free and results
analysed using software that has minimal costs; traditionally there were printing costs, posting costs
and payments required to people who input data and analysed results from ‘pen & paper’
questionnaires.
• 2017 – Describe the main features of a content analysis [4]
o Analyses content in a systematic manner, using behavioural categories.
o Can be used to analyse primary and secondary sources.
o An indirect observational method of artefacts.
o Can be used to produce both quantitative and qualitative data.
• 2017 - Explain how you would calculate the median value in a set of data. [2]
o Placing the values of a data set in rank order and, if there is an odd number of scores just select the
middle value. However if there is an even number of scores, and the two middle values are different,
you can add the two middle values together and divide by two. [2 marks].
o Select the middle value from the data set. [1 mark].
o Any other appropriate content.
o N.B. Just stating what the median is ‘the middle value in a rank ordered data set’ does not receive
credit. The answer must explain the process of calculating the median.
• 2017 - Describe what is meant by a cross-sectional study. [3]
o Assessed at a single point in time.
o Can allow researchers to observe numerous factors (e.g. age, gender).
o Doesn’t involve the manipulation of variables.
o Frequently used to assess the prevalence in a given population.
o Examples of cross-sectional studies.
• 2017 - Describe what is meant by a longitudinal study. [3]
, o Assessed over a prolonged period of time.
o Usually used to show changes as people age.
o Is usually observational in nature.
o Examples of longitudinal studies.
• 2017 - Justify why cross-sectional studies might be more appropriate than longitudinal studies when
conducting research in psychology. [6]
o Comparison of the strengths of cross-sectional studies vs. weaknesses of longitudinal studies.
o Sample Attrition more likely to occur in longitudinal than cross-sectional research.
o Cross-sectional studies are likely to be cheaper to conduct than longitudinal studies.
o Data is collected quickly from a cross-sectional study, whereas it can take a long time to collect all
the data from a longitudinal study.
o Participants are less likely to suffer from demand characteristics in a cross-sectional study because
they take a 'snapshot' of behaviour, whilst in longitudinal studies participants are likely to be
repeatedly exposed to research materials.
• 2017 - Describe the methodology used by Kohlberg in his 1968 research ‘The child as a moral philosopher.’
[3]
o Longitudinal study which followed the development of the same group of boys for 12 years.
o Use of interviews to assess moral reasoning; including the use of moral dilemmas.
o Cross-cultural comparison.
o Any other appropriate description of the methodology - although it must be cited in the original
article.
• 2017 - Describe the sample used by Kohlberg in his 1968 research ‘The child as a moral philosopher.’ [3]
o 75 American boys who started the research between the ages of 10 and 16.
o The boys were 22-28 at the end of the research.
o Additional sample from Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Turkey and
o Taiwan were interviewed by Kohlberg or a colleague of Kohlberg.
o Any other appropriate description of the sample - although it must be cited in the original article.
• 2017 - Discuss the validity and ethical issues raised by Kohlberg’s (1968) research ‘The child as a moral
philosopher.’ [12]
o Validity Issues
▪ Use of hypothetical moral dilemmas.
▪ Investigator bias in interpreting responses.
▪ Population validity: use of all male sampling group.
▪ Issues resulting from use of interview.
o Ethical Issues
▪ Use of children
▪ Issues of informed consent
▪ Right to withdraw
▪ Use of hypothetical moral dilemmas
• 2017 - State the operationalised co-variables that you used in your correlational research. [2]
o Co-variable 1 was reaction time (milliseconds) and co-variable 2 was age (years). [2 marks]
o The co-variables were operationalised as follows: Age was measured in years and reaction time was
measured in seconds (to 2 decimal places). [2 marks]
o Co-variable 1 = Reaction time (seconds); Co-variable 2 = Age. [1 mark]
o N.B. Candidates get no credit for just noting the co-variables are 'age' and 'reaction times'. These are
not operationalised (as specified in the question) and could just be identified from this question.
• 2017 - With reference to your own correlational research, explain how you ensured that your research
was ethical. [6]
o Consideration of working with vulnerable individuals (e.g. children or elderly) - gain additional
consent from appropriate responsible adult.
, o Following ethical guidelines (e.g. BPS, ATP): a specific guideline might be applied to their research.
o Specific ethical issues, dealt with appropriately: confidentiality - data regarding age and reaction
times stored securely; individual participants given numbers rather than recording their names with
the results. Valid consent - participants and/or their representatives are fully aware of the real aim
and procedure of the research before being asked for written consent and participating in the
research.
• 2017 - Identify and fully justify the inferential statistical test that you used when analysing the data
collected in your correlation. [4]
o There will potentially be substantial differences that reflect the research choices made by each
learner; credit the inferential statistical test choice if it is potentially an appropriate way of analysing
the data collected in their observation of gender differences in food choice.
o A Spearman's Rank Order correlation was selected. This is appropriate as it assesses the correlation
between age (years) and reaction times (seconds).These two co-variables, age and reaction time, are
related data. Also, both the age and reaction time are examples of ratio data.[4 marks].
o Pearson's r can also be credited
• 2017 - State the operationalised alternative hypothesis for your observation. [3]
o There will be a difference in the frequency of males and females who choose to purchase a piece of
fruit or a cookie as a break time snack. [3 marks].
o More boys will buy chips from the school canteen than girls. [2 marks]
o There will be a difference in the gender of people purchasing sweets at a shop. [1 mark].
• 2017 - Describe the observational sampling technique that you used in your observation. [2]
o Event Sampling: Observed and recorded gender (male or female) of all of the students who
purchased chips in the school canteen.
o Time sampling: (either time point or time interval sampling): Time point - Observed and recorded the
gender of customer purchasing sweets every 60 seconds; Time interval - Observed and recorded the
gender of every customer purchasing sweets in five minute intervals.
o Any other appropriate observational sampling technique.
o N.B. The question specifies observational sampling technique, so credit cannot be given to discussion
of a sampling technique that selects participants for participation in research.
• 2017 - Explain why you chose to use this observational sampling technique in your observation. [3]
o Strengths of identified observational sampling technique.
o Weaknesses of alternative observational sampling techniques.
• 2017 - With reference to your own observation, explain how you ensured your research was valid. [4]
o Location of observation: observation conducted in an ecologically valid way as the behaviour of real
students was observed in a place where students normally buy sweets.
o Description of observational sampling technique used: any aspect of the technique used that would
promote validity can receive credit here, even if previously (or not) discussed in answer to b (ii).
o Participant selection: use of 'real' customers.
o Use of appropriate behavioural categories used in observation: following the interview of various
sixth-form students, the different types of food usually sold in the coffee shop were recorded and
then formed the basis of the behavioural categories used in the observation.
• 2017 - Suggest two ways in which your own observational research could have been improved. [6]
o Changes to characteristics of sample (e.g. greater/smaller age range).
o Changes to sampling method (e.g. change from opportunity to stratified to ensure greater
representativeness).
o Improving the ethical aspects (e.g. ensuring ethical guidelines were more strictly adhered to).
o Changes to observational sampling technique (e.g. use a time sampling technique rather than event
sampling.)
o Changes to procedural detail (e.g.ensure a nutritionist confirms the list of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy'
food).
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