Approach your exams the IB way

Psychology
IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

✓
IB PARED
PRE
John Crane,
Andrea Slaus Kokotovic

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 IB Prepared
Approach your exams the IB way
Psychology

Published April 2012

Published on behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization, a not-for-profit educational

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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2012

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asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The International Baccalaureate Organization (known as the IB) offers three high-quality and challenging
educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools, aiming to create a better, more peaceful
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ISBN: 978-1-906345-56-3

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Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr Robert Keegan and Angela Strange for advice on IB Diploma Programme psychology.

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 IB learner profile
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common
humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct
inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy
learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so
doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad
and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize
and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in
more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work
effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and
respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take
responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and
are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and
communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of
view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of
others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive
difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought,
and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They
are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to
achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.

Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are
able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support
their learning and personal development.

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288 00 Psychology Prelims.indd 4 16/12/2011 10:26
 Contents
Table of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction 1

Chapter 2. Get to know your exam papers 3

Chapter 3. Command the command terms 9

Chapter 4. How to evaluate a theory or study 12

Chapter 5. Top tips 15

Chapter 6. Paper 1: Core areas of study 17

Chapter 7. The biological level of analysis 18

Chapter 8. The cognitive level of analysis 30

Chapter 9. The sociocultural level of analysis 43

Chapter 10. Paper 2: Optional areas of study 58

Chapter 11. Abnormal psychology 59

Chapter 12. Developmental psychology 72

Chapter 13. Health psychology 79

Chapter 14. The psychology of human relationships 84

Chapter 15. Sport psychology 91

Chapter 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology 98

Chapter 17. Are you ready? 112

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 1. Introduction
1. Introduction

The goal of this book is to help you

How to use this book
prepare for your exams after having
The focus of this book is to give you advice on how to approach the questions that may
studied the course for two years. be asked on the IB psychology exam papers. There are samples of real student answers
It is not meant to be a substitute from past exams accompanied by examiner comments and marks to help you to better
understand the expectations of examiners. Simply reading through this text is not
textbook.
enough – it is important for you to attempt to answer the questions yourself to see if
you are on the right track.

What is in this book?

• Chapter 2 focuses on the structure of the exams. Among other useful information,
we explain the assessment criteria and the way in which marks are awarded for each
of the three exam papers to help you understand what is expected on each of the
papers.
• Chapter 3 explains a selection of command terms. These are key words used in
exam questions that tell you what is expected in your written responses.
• To do well in psychology it is important that you do not simply memorize a lot of
material and then write it all down in the exam; it is important that you focus your
answer and demonstrate critical thinking and analysis as well. Chapter 4 focuses on
different strategies for evaluating research and theories in order to help you develop
your critical thinking skills.
• Chapter 5 provides “top tips” for maximizing your success in the exams. These
tips reflect common errors that examiners see on exam papers, as well as what
impresses examiners.
• Chapters 6–9 examine the “core” of the curriculum which is the basis for paper
1. Both HL and SL students are required to study and understand the levels of
analysis: biological, cognitive, and sociocultural. Each chapter gives advice on how to
approach the learning outcomes and makes links to the various options in order to
reduce the amount of content you need to master for the exams. In addition, there
are marked sample responses with examiner feedback.
• Chapters 10–15 discuss the optional units of study which make up paper 2.
There are five options: abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, health
psychology, the psychology of human relationships and sport psychology. Each
chapter gives advice on how to approach the learning outcomes. There are also
marked sample responses. For the abnormal psychology option this book gives
three examples of student responses because it is the most popular option. The
other options have one sample each in order to give you an example of a good
response.
1

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1. Introduction

• Qualitative research methodology is the focus for paper 3. In Chapter 16 we look

at the learning outcomes for this higher level (HL) component of the course and we
discuss how to approach the stimulus piece. There are also samples in this section to
clarify the expectations of the examiners.
• Finally, in Chapter 17 you will find further examples of exam questions, allowing
you to see exactly what to expect during the exams, and to put into practice what
you have learned in this book.

Please remember that this book alone is not enough to do well in the exams. Regular
reading about psychology is the best way to improve the breadth of your knowledge as
well as your ability to critically evaluate research. We do hope that this book will take
away any “mystery” from the exams.

We wish you low stress and high success on your exams, hoping that this book will
prove valuable in your preparation.

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 2. Get to know your exam papers
2. Get to know your exam papers

General
Standard level (SL) psychology students sit two papers. First you will sit a two-hour paper (paper 1) on the levels of analysis. This
is worth 50% of your overall mark. Then you will sit a one-hour paper (paper 2) on the option that you have prepared. This paper is
worth 25% of your mark. The remaining 25% comes from your internal assessment work.

Higher level (HL) psychology students sit three papers. First you will sit a two-hour paper (paper 1) on the levels of analysis. This is
worth 35% of your overall mark. Then you will sit a two-hour exam (paper 2) in which you will write two essays – one from each
of the options that you have prepared. This paper is worth 25% of your mark. Finally you will sit a one-hour exam (paper 3) on
qualitative research methods. It is worth 20% of your mark. The remaining 20% comes from your internal assessment work.

At the start of each exam you will have five minutes of reading time before you can write any response. It will be important that you
use this time to decide which questions to answer and begin developing a strategy.

Paper 1
This paper is exactly the same for HL and SL students. You will have two hours for this paper. There are two sections to this paper.

• Section A consists of three short-answer questions (SAQs). There is one question on each of the three levels of analysis. Each
question is worth eight marks. You must answer all three questions.

• For section B you are required to answer one essay question from the three that appear on the paper. Each essay reflects a
learning objective of one of the three levels of analysis. This section is worth 22 marks.

It is expected that you will spend approximately 20 minutes on each SAQ and one hour on the essay question. The SAQs may ask you to
describe or explain a research or theory. The essays are looking for evidence of more critical thinking – that is, you are expected to show
your skills in evaluating theories and studies. It is important for the second part of the paper that you go beyond basic description.
The following tables illustrate the assessment criteria used by examiners.

Markbands for paper 1: Section A

Markband Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
Low There is an attempt to answer the question, but knowledge and understanding is limited, often
inaccurate, or of marginal relevance to the question.
Mid The question is partially answered. Knowledge and understanding is accurate but limited. Either the
command term is not effectively addressed or the response is not sufficiently explicit in answering
the question.
High The question is answered in a focused and effective manner and meets the demands of the
command term. The response is supported by appropriate and accurate knowledge and
understanding of research.

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2. Get to know your exam papers

Strategies for reaching the top markbands for section A

Notice the key ways that you are assessed on the short-answer questions.
• You must directly answer the question and write a focused response. It is a good idea for the first sentence of your response
to be a direct answer to the question.
• You must respond appropriately to the command term – that is, if the question asks you to explain a theory, then you should not
simply describe the theory.
• Knowledge of the level of analysis needs to be accurate. You are expected to use one theory or study to answer each SAQ. It
is not recommended that you use more than is required by the question. If the question asks for only one theory and you
provide more than one, only the first theory mentioned will be assessed by the examiner.

Assessment criteria for paper 1: Section B

A Knowledge and comprehension

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–3 The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding that is of marginal relevance to the
question. Little or no psychological research is used in the response.

4–6 The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding relevant to the question or uses
relevant psychological research to limited effect in the response.

7–9 The answer demonstrates detailed, accurate knowledge and understanding relevant to the question,
and uses relevant psychological research effectively in support of the response.

B Evidence of critical thinking: Application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–3 The answer goes beyond description but evidence of critical thinking is not linked to the
requirements of the question.

4–6 The answer offers appropriate but limited evidence of critical thinking or offers evidence of critical
thinking that is only implicitly linked to the requirements of the question.

7–9 The answer integrates relevant and explicit evidence of critical thinking in response to the question.

C Organization

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–2 The answer is organized or focused on the question. However, this is not sustained throughout the
response.

3–4 The answer is well organized, well developed and focused on the question.

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 2. Get to know your exam papers
Strategies for reaching the top markbands for section B
For criterion A
• You must directly answer the question and write a focused response. This means you should identify key facts and provide
generally accepted definitions and/or explanations relevant to the specific question. For example, when writing about the
Asch study, you would define the independent and dependent variables, define “confederates”, and write a clear statement of
the results.

• Don’t forget to provide evidence to support your response. It would be good to be able to mention at least two theories or
studies, unless otherwise stated in the question. However, make sure you read the question carefully. If the question explicitly
asks for only one theory or research use your time wisely to give the most accurate and informative account of the one topic
which you are asked to address.

For criterion B
• Regardless of the specific question each piece of evidence that you use in section B should provide evidence of “application”,
“analysis”, “synthesis” or “evaluation”.

• “Application” could be defined as the practical use of an idea, theory or research findings. For example, you could state that
drugs that raise the level of serotonin in the synapse help some people suffering from depression or that the Sabido Method is an
application of social learning theory.

• “Analysis” means that you can break down a theory or model into its essential elements. In other words, you explain the principles
or other theories upon which it is based. An example of analysis would be breaking down social learning theory into its basic
elements of attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
• “Synthesis” means that you bring together two ideas/theories or approaches to create an even more powerful or comprehensive
explanation. Currently many psychological explanations provide a synthesis in order to fully explain psychological phenomena.
An example of synthesis could be the diathesis–stress model in which both sociocultural and biological factors are combined to
explain a disorder such as depression.

• Finally, “evaluation” can be demonstrated by offering strengths and limitations.

For criterion C
• You should respond appropriately to the command term and directly answer the question.

• You should write a well developed and focused response.

• Everything you mention in the response should be made relevant to the exam question. In other words, demonstrate only
knowledge of what you are asked; don’t write more than you are asked to do or less than you are asked to do. When addressing an
argument try to discuss it fully in one paragraph rather than splitting your discussion of the same issue in different places within
the answer.

• Write a short and clear conclusion at the end.

• Although style and language of the essay is not directly assessed, poor language use may make it difficult for the examiner to
understand the argument, resulting in a lower mark being given.

• It is also important that you structure your essay by providing a clearly stated introduction, good supporting paragraphs, and a
simple conclusion.

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2. Get to know your exam papers

Paper 2
Although this paper looks exactly the same for both HL and SL there is a significant difference. SL students answer one essay in one
hour while HL students answer two essays, taken from two different option topics, in two hours. It is expected that you will spend
one hour on each essay.

As on paper 1, you are expected to use two or more pieces of research and evaluate the studies/theories that you are using to
support your argument, unless otherwise stated in the question.

Notice that the rubric is the same as for section B of paper 1.

Assessment criteria for paper 2

A Knowledge and comprehension

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–3 The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding that is of marginal relevance to the
question. Little or no psychological research is used in the response.

4–6 The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding relevant to the question or uses
relevant psychological research to limited effect in the response.

7–9 The answer demonstrates detailed, accurate knowledge and understanding relevant to the question,
and uses relevant psychological research effectively in support of the response.

B Evidence of critical thinking: application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–3 The answer goes beyond description but evidence of critical thinking is not linked to the
requirements of the question.

4–6 The answer offers appropriate but limited evidence of critical thinking or offers evidence of critical
thinking that is only implicitly linked to the requirements of the question.

7–9 The answer integrates relevant and explicit evidence of critical thinking in response to the question.

C Organization

Marks Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1–2 The answer is organized or focused on the question. However, this is not sustained throughout the
response.

3–4 The answer is well organized, well developed and focused on the question.

• You should apply the same strategies for reaching the top markbands as the ones suggested for paper 1 (pages 3–7).

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 2. Get to know your exam papers
Paper 3 (HL only)
Paper 3 is only for HL students. There will be a stimulus piece, that is, a simple and short description of a qualitative research
study that you have not seen before. The study does not come from any particular part of the curriculum and it does not assume any
knowledge of theories or content relevant to the study. Paper 3 only assesses you on your understanding of qualitative research methods.
The stimulus piece will be followed by three short-answer questions. Each question is worth between 8 and 12 marks, with a total of
30 marks available for the paper.

Markbands for paper 3

Markband Level descriptor

0 The answer does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

Low There is an attempt to answer the question, but knowledge and understanding is limited, often
inaccurate, or of marginal relevance to the question. The response makes no direct reference to the
stimulus material or relies too heavily on quotations from the text.

Mid The question is partially answered. Knowledge and understanding is accurate but limited. Either the
command term is not effectively addressed or the response is not sufficiently explicit in answering
the question. The response makes limited use of the stimulus material.

High The question is answered in a focused and effective manner and meets the demands of
the command term. The answer is supported by appropriate and accurate knowledge and
understanding of qualitative research methodology. The response demonstrates a critical
understanding of qualitative research methodology applied to the stimulus material.

Strategies for reaching the top markbands for paper 3

Notice the key ways that you are assessed on your responses.
• You must respond appropriately to the command term and directly answer the question.
• You must answer the questions by making direct reference to the stimulus piece, that is, the study. You may refer to line numbers
in the text in order to support your response.
• Knowledge of qualitative research methodology must be accurate and well applied.

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2. Get to know your exam papers

Danger Zones

There are several mistakes that students often make that lessen their overall performance on the exam papers. Read through
this section carefully and think about each of these points while studying for the exams.
• Poor time management: It is very important that you plan your time carefully for each of the papers. Nothing is worse
than running out of time in your exam!
■
On paper 1 you need to be careful to spend only 20 minutes on each of the SAQs. There is no advantage to spending a
lot of time on one of the questions and then rushing through the rest. You need one hour for the essay. You may want to
start with the essay to help you pace yourself better.
■
On paper 2 you should use the five-minutes reading time to choose the one (SL) or two (HL) essay questions that you are
going to answer. Be sure to make a quick outline of the response before you begin, and do not spend more than one
hour on a question.
■
On paper 3 it is important that you use the reading time to read the stimulus piece. When the exam begins, read the
three questions and then give yourself five minutes to reread, highlight, and/or annotate the study. You should spend
roughly 15 minutes on each of the questions.
• Not directly answering the prompt: When writing an SAQ response, make your first sentence a direct response to the
question. If it asks you to discuss one study that demonstrates the interaction between physiology and cognition your first
sentence should be: “One study that demonstrates the interaction between physiology and cognition is…” It needs to be 100%
clear to the examiner how you plan to answer the question. In essay questions, a short introduction should quickly answer the
question and show how you are going to develop your argument by identifying the studies and/or theories that you will use.
• Imprecise use of psychological terminology: A significant part of the IB assessment is that you “think like a psychologist”.
It is important that you use the terminology of research that is used by psychologists and that you correctly identify
theories. For example, when describing a study make sure that you correctly identify the research method used. Do not
use the term “experiment” unless you are sure that the study is really an experiment; this means that in the study an
independent variable is manipulated and all other variables are held constant.
• Defining terms: It is important that you define and apply terms correctly. It is not enough, for example, to say “a study
lacks ecological validity”. You should always follow such terms with a clarification, for example, because the study was
overly controlled and artificial, making it uncertain that it predicts what happens in the real world.
• Lack of examples/giving poor examples: It is not enough just to write about a topic, you must give examples of
research and theories. You cannot receive top marks without them. When using a study, it is important to outline the aim,
procedure and results of the study.
• Overload of information: The facts that you provide have to be relevant to the focus of the question. You should not just
dump all of your knowledge of the general topic into your essay. If you mention a study or theory, you need to explain how
it relates to the question. Also, fewer studies with more analysis are better than showing that you can outline 25 studies!
• Lack of link between research and the question: It is important that when you have finished describing a study, you
connect it back to the question. So, after you have described a study, you might write: “This study is an example of an
experiment.” And then show why it is so.
• Overly descriptive – no true analysis or evaluation: For the essays it is important that you always include critical
thinking at some level. Simply describing studies is never enough for a top mark.
• Stating the obvious: Use of evaluation strategies that are always true are of little value. For example, avoid statements
such as: “The sample could have been larger or this study would have to be done again to see if it is reliable”.
• Using absolutes: Avoid words like “prove”, “always”, “never” and “in all cases”.
• Writing one long paragraph: Finally, well developed arguments use well developed paragraphs. Writing one long
paragraph for your essay is a poor writing strategy. It is often confusing for the examiner to read and tends to be rather
unfocused.

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 3. Command the command terms
3. Command the command terms

Command terms are the words in the question that tell you what type of answer you
should write. It is important that you can distinguish between the different instructions,
so that you can determine how much depth you should provide in an answer.
Below is a list of command terms that are used on the psychology exam papers, along
with a detailed explanation of what each term means. It is a good idea to always
highlight the command term on the exam paper to help you understand the question.
Any command term may be used for any section of the three papers, with the
exception of paper 1, section A. In section A, only level 1 and level 2 command terms
will be used.

Level 1 command terms

Level 1 command terms are associated with assessment objective 1: Knowledge and comprehension.

Define You should write no more than one or two sentences in which you give the precise meaning of a term or
concept used in psychology. You may want to include an example to illustrate your definition. All three
papers could have sub-questions asking you to define terms or concepts.

Describe You should write a detailed account on the topic of the question. When describing make sure you address
the main features (characteristics) of the concept, theory or research study in sufficient detail. A description
suggests that you communicate a mental image (representation) of something. This is a lower order
command term so you should report to the reader what is happening without analysing or explaining why
this is so.

Describe simply asks, “What is ________?”

Examples of descriptions that you could be asked to give would include a description of a theory, research
study or method, strategies for coping with stress or symptoms of a disorder.

Outline You should write a brief description (account) or give the main points of something. Paper 1, section A could
have short-answer questions asking you to outline one or two principles, terms, research studies or theories.
Paper 2 could have sub-questions within the essay question asking you to outline something. In paper 3 you
could be asked to outline how you would conduct a qualitative study.

State If you are asked to state a term or concept it is enough to write a specific name or other brief answer without
any description or explanation. For example, on paper 3 you could be asked: “State which qualitative
research method was used in this study.”

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3. Command the command terms

Level 2 command terms

Level 2 command terms are associated with assessment objective 2: Application and analysis.

Analyse Analysis asks for more than just a description; it includes breaking down complex concepts or terms into their
essential parts and describing how these parts relate. Usually this command term asks you to recognize the
underlying assumptions. You could be asked to analyse a phenomenon, concept or theory/model in psychology
within any exam paper. When thinking about analysis, think “how does this work?” For example, if looking at
serotonin as a basis for depression, analysing the theory would involve explaining neurotransmission. You could be
asked to analyse the effect of certain factors (for example, biological or cognitive factors, a neurotransmitter, genetic
inheritance, stereotypes or emotion) on human behaviour. You could do this by breaking down the answer into
three parts: cause, interaction and consequences.
Also, paper 1, section B or paper 2 could have sub-questions within the essay question asking you to analyse
something.

Apply This command term asks you to use the knowledge you have about a principle or method and make clear when and
where it is used. For example, you could be asked how a particular method is applied in research at the cognitive
level of analysis.

Distinguish If you are asked to distinguish you need to show that you understand the differences between two or more concepts
or terms in psychology.

Explain If you are asked to explain something, you should go beyond mere description and provide complete information
including background information or reasons for a phenomenon or type of behaviour.
An explanation requires you to answer the question: “What is ________ and why does it happen?”
When the command term explain is paired with advantages and disadvantages, you should state and outline
advantages and disadvantages and provide background information as to why they are considered positive or
negative.

Level 3 command terms

Level 3 command terms are associated with assessment objective 3: Synthesis and evaluation.
These command terms could be used in all exam papers; however, on paper 1 they may only be used in section B. You will not see
these command terms in SAQs in paper 1, section A.

Compare This command term asks you to identify, describe, explain and discuss how two or more concepts, research methods
or theories are similar to each other. You should provide information that goes beyond pure description and include
reasons why certain concepts are similar and a discussion of the extent of this similarity.

Compare This command term asks you to identify, describe, explain and discuss how concepts or theories are both similar
and and different. You should provide information that goes beyond pure description and include reasons why certain
contrast concepts are similar and different and a discussion of the extent of this similarity and difference.
If you are asked to compare and contrast you could start with a description and then continue with a discussion of
similarities and differences.

Contrast This command term asks you to identify, describe, explain and discuss how two or more concepts or theories are
different. You should provide information that goes beyond pure description and include reasons why certain
concepts are different and a discussion of the extent of this difference.

10

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 3. Command the command terms
Discuss This command term asks you to give a balanced review offering evaluative comments about the issue you are
discussing. Your opinion and conclusions should be given clearly and supported by relevant knowledge and
appropriate evidence.
If you are asked to discuss a model/theory you could answer the question in several different ways.
• You could state strengths and limitations of a model/theory and support your opinion with empirical evidence.
Don’t forget to evaluate the quality of these empirical studies.
• You could discuss the usefulness of a certain theory by discussing possible applications of a theory and discussing
how effective and universal these applications are.
• You could describe the theory and then compare it to an alternative theory.
• You could discuss the extent to which the theory is universal – are the explanations provided by the theory
specific to a culture or gender? Is the theory based on findings that are methodologically questionable?
If the question asks you to discuss advantages and disadvantages of something, you should provide a clear
judgment about whether the advantages or disadvantages are most significant and then explain reasons for your
opinion.

Evaluate This command term asks you to give judgment and opinion about something. When you evaluate you should make
clear comments about how important, useful, accurate, or applicable something is. You should do this by discussing
strengths and limitations. It is important that you discuss both strengths and limitations, though the discussion does
not have to be evenly balanced between the two.
You might be asked to evaluate a theory or model. Essentially, this question is similar to the command term
“discuss” on the same topic. You would explain the theory/model and provide an opinion about how accurate and
useful it is. You should support your judgments with relevant research studies and findings. You could also provide
information about the extent to which the theory is specific to a culture or gender.
If you are asked to evaluate a research study you could answer the question in several different ways.
• You could discuss strengths and limitations of the research methodology.
• You could judge the validity and reliability of the study.
• You could discuss how the sample was selected and relate this to the issue of generalizability of findings.
• You could assess if the research study has cultural, ethical and gender considerations.
For more examples of strategies for evaluation, see chapter 4.

Examine This command term asks you to closely look at a model, concept or theory by giving detailed information that
reveals underlying assumptions or the interaction of various factors. You should make some judgment about the
points you are examining and discuss the relative importance of different factors to the basic term/concept under
consideration.
“Examine” requires a detailed description accompanied by a clear, thorough, and organized reflection of the matter
in the question.
If the question asks you to examine a model/theory you should distinguish the components of a certain theory and
discuss how they relate to one another. You could also discuss principles underlying the theory and how the use of
specific research methods influences data collection.
If the question asks you to examine how certain factors influence human behaviour you should describe these
factors, judge their relative importance and discuss their interaction.

To what This command term could ask you to discuss the validity of an argument. You should give both sides of the
extent argument and provide a judgment by emphasizing the strengths of some arguments over others. You should give
some judgment on the relative importance of factors, that is, biological, cognitive, or sociocultural, on the theory or
behaviour. How important are these factors? Why are they important? Is the relevance of these factors specific to a
culture or gender? Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence.

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4. How to evaluate a theory or study

4. How to evaluate a theory or study

In order to achieve high marks on the IB psychology exam papers, it is important that you are able to show critical thinking skills
with regard to research and psychological theories. Students who achieve high marks are those who tend to use a breadth of
evaluative strategies and show a firm understanding of the strengths and limitations of psychological study. Before you can apply
evaluative strategies, you have to make sure that you know what you are evaluating.

• A theory is a collection of related statements whose principal function is to summarize and explain observations made by
researchers.

• A model is a representation of how things may be. It is like a pattern or a blueprint.

Evaluating theories
Here is a summary of some of the most basic evaluative strategies.

• Descriptive value: Is the theory consistent with existing behavioural, physiological, neuroscientific and other empirical data?

• Heuristic value: This is the degree to which a theory stimulates investigators to do further research. Does it support “common
sense thinking”? Theories vary in their capacity to fulfill this goal. Good heuristic value implies that the theorist defines his/her
concepts operationally. An operational definition of concepts requires some statement as to how the behaviour will be measured
and/or defined.

• Falsifiability value: Does the theory employ concepts and definitions that can be tested? For example, is it not really possible to
verify the theory because of the assumptions underpinning it? Many early Freudian theories were not falsifiable, that is, it was
impossible to refute the theory scientifically. Some studies of depression are problematic because not all of the participants may
have the same type or severity of depression. In other words, there is a problem with construct validity – the variables being
studied have not been carefully and consistently defined.
• Breadth: Can the theory be applied to a broad diversity of phenomena or is it limited in both the range and the variety of
psychological phenomena it can explain?

• Applicability: Does the theory help psychologists understand everyday human behaviour?

Evaluating studies
The goals of psychology as a science are to describe, explain, predict, and perhaps influence psychological processes or behaviour. In
order to do this, psychologists conduct psychological studies.

When describing a study to support your argument, it is important to always outline the aim, procedure, and findings of the study.
Whenever possible, it is a good idea to identify the research method used, that is, experiment, observation, interview or case study.
In the case of experiments, it is a good strategy to always identify the independent and dependent variables, as well as any variables
that were controlled.

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 4. How to evaluate a theory or study
Here is a summary of some of the most basic evaluative approaches to research studies.

• Are there advantages/disadvantages to the research method being used? For example, Festinger used a covert naturalistic
participant observation to study the Doomsday cult. What are the strengths and limitations of this method?

• Artificiality: Is the lab situation too controlled to allow us to understand human behaviour outside of the lab? If a study is too
artificial, it may lack ecological validity, that is, it may not predict what happens outside of the lab. It is important to remember
that the only way to find out whether a study has ecological validity is to see what really does happen in a naturalistic setting.
Not all lab studies automatically lack ecological validity. Another way to look at artificiality is to determine whether a study has
mundane reality, that is, are the participants doing something that they might experience in real life? Sometimes, even though a
study supports a theory, the procedure is so far-fetched that it is doubtful whether it really does predict human behaviour.
• How good are the measures used to record the data? For example, if the study used a questionnaire, was it a standard one widely
accepted by psychologists? Is the measure culturally sensitive? Was data recorded immediately or did the researcher record the
data later? If it was recorded later, how could reconstructive memory have played a role in the final results?

• Does the study have predictive validity, that is, does the study consistently and accurately predict human behaviour? For example,
although Bandura’s social learning theory states that we must identify with a model in order to imitate and eventually learn their
behaviour, not everyone who identifies with a model does so. Another example is that some tests – like the American SAT – may be
a good predictor of university performance, but they are not a good predictor of happiness or future professional success.

• Could there be researcher bias? Sometimes this is because researchers want to support their theories and thus find what they are
looking for. More often, it is because of a lack of appropriate controls. In order to avoid researcher bias a double blind procedure
is used in which the associates working with the experimenter do not know what the aim of the study is. In addition, when data is
collected, the researcher does not know which data was from which group.

• Could demand characteristics have affected the outcome of the study? For example, the participants could have figured out
the aim of the study and then acted in a way that they thought they were expected to act, demonstrating expectancy effect. Or
they could have performed better than usual simply because they were being watched, that is, social facilitation effect. Or in
an interview the participants could have said things simply to avoid looking inappropriate or foolish, something called the social
desirability effect.

• In addition to demand characteristics, order effects may play a role in the validity of the results of a study. In a repeated
measures design, did the repetition of the task alert the participants to the aim of the study? Did the participants do
better the second or third time around simply because they had now practised the skill? This is called maturation. This is
especially problematic when participants must be trained to do something before the study begins. This can be prevented by
counterbalancing, that is, the participants are divided into two groups and one group is treated with condition A, followed by
condition B, and the other is treated with condition B followed by condition A.

• When studies are done over a period of time, there is the chance that contamination takes place, that is, that information from
outside the study affects the results. This can be because the individual did some research on the internet, spoke to someone that
was already in the study, or that personal life experiences affected the participant’s behaviour.

• Is there a chance that the placebo effect occurred? That is, could the behaviour observed simply be because the participant received
a treatment and expects to see a change in behaviour, but that the treatment did not cause the behaviour? This can be controlled by
having a group that receives a placebo, a treatment with no known therapeutic value.

• Was the research carried out by a team of researchers? If so, how was inter-rater reliability established? Was the team trained? Was
a pilot study done, that is, was a “trial run” done before the actual research began?

• Is the study supported by other studies? Has it been replicated and found reliable, that is, it gets the same results. If it is a
qualitative research study, are the findings transferable, that is, can they be applied to situations other than those in the original
study? Or are there other studies that appear to contradict the study or theory?

• Is the sample representative? For example, many studies only use university students. There are several problems with this,
making it difficult to generalize results when applying them to the general population. How diverse is the sample? Is there a
gender bias or class bias?

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4. How to evaluate a theory or study

• Is there cross-cultural support for the study? Are the researchers adopting an etic approach, that is, comparing one culture to
another? Etic researchers decide what to study and how to analyse it before they arrive in the field. They tend to visit cultures,
collect data, and then draw conclusions. Or are they adopting an emic approach? Emic researchers apply their findings to the
culture that they are studying without a goal of comparing to another culture. They carry out research that is informed by local
knowledge in collaboration with local people. They begin collecting data after becoming familiar with the culture. In etic research
there is the danger of ethnocentrism, that is, imposing concepts and methods from the researchers’ culture onto the culture
being studied. On the other hand, in emic research there is the danger of a loss of objectivity.

• A limitation of much correlational research is bidirectional ambiguity, that is, it is unclear if x causes y, y causes x, or if there is
no causal relationship at all. For example, if there is a correlation between students using a social networking site and being less
social in school, you have to wonder if the use of the social networking site has caused social withdrawal or whether students who
were already socially withdrawn started using a social networking site. You must also consider the possibility that there is really no
true cause and effect relationship between the two factors.
• How do other levels of analysis look at the same problem? What are the significant differences in their approaches? For example,
how does the biological level of analysis contrast with the cognitive level of analysis in explaining depression? Do they support
each other in any way? Are there important explanations that a theory overlooks?
• Is the study ethical? Was informed consent obtained? Were the results of the participants kept confidential? Were the
participants subjected to undue stress or harm? Were participants debriefed and allowed to withdraw their data? Were they
allowed to withdraw from the study at any time? It is important that if you are unsure about the details you do not assume that
ethical considerations were not met.

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 5. Top tips
5. Top tips

Here are some tips that will help

Before the exam
you throughout your exams. Some
• When reviewing your notes, try to focus on conceptual understanding, that is,
of them are obvious, but these are
you need to understand and be able to apply main concepts in psychology rather
sometimes the ones that students than simply memorizing huge amounts of facts. Once you have a clear idea of what
forget. concepts mean it will be easier to memorize the facts.

• Try to cover all parts of the syllabus. Exams are carefully constructed to make sure
that you have to address every part of the syllabus so it is vital that you revise all of
the main topics in the course. You will certainly find some parts easier than others
and therefore you will find you can answer questions on those parts more easily; but
don’t count on these being on the exam paper.

• Make sure that you review the material that you are most unfamiliar with. It is easy
to review the material that you already know. It makes you feel good, but it doesn’t
help you to be more prepared for the exam.

• Work hard to learn relevant definitions, studies and theories. Practice discussing
studies and theories – what are their main advantages and disadvantages? How
are they similar or different to other theories/studies? Are biases present? Does the
study provoke ethical concerns? What are the possible applications?

• Don’t overdo it by learning more than is necessary. If a learning objective asks you
to explain one theory, there is no reason to study more than one in depth because
you won’t get a chance to show your knowledge on the exam paper.

• Use past papers or similar examples of questions to practice writing answers to

questions in the actual time that will be available, without referring to your notes
or a textbook. Practice taking one hour to do an essay from paper 1, section B or
paper 2 and give yourself approximately 45 minutes to answer 3 SAQs from paper 1,
section A. This will help you gain experience of what we call “exam conditions”.

• For practice answer as many questions as possible. It would be good to answer all
the questions from previous sessions. Some questions tend to reappear. Even if the
questions are not repeated in the same words, quite often the questions are similar
across the levels of analysis or options. Writing skill develops through practice.

• Check and make sure you completely understand how examiners allocate marks to
answers and what the requirements for a high mark are. If you have a chance, mark
your own or someone else’s answer. This exercise will put you in the shoes of the
examiner. As an examiner what would you like to see in an answer? Is appropriate and
accurate knowledge present? Is there evidence of critical thinking that is clearly related
to the command term stated in the question? Through this experience you might
understand better how to avoid potential weaknesses of an essay.
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5. Top tips

• Highlight the mistakes that you tend to make while answering practice questions. Do not
overlook them and do not fool yourself that “it was a silly mistake”. Also analyse your
mistakes thoroughly. What was your main problem? Did you neglect essential parts of the
question? Did the answer reflect a lack of conceptual understanding or was it a result of
forgetting the facts? Master your weaknesses after analysing them.
• Do not postpone studying. Waiting until the last minute to study puts you in the position
of needing to cram before the exam. Even when using memory tricks such as mnemonics,
you need time to put all the facts into place. Allow yourself plenty of time before the exam
for studying, and try to repeat the main topics several times.
• It isn’t enough to memorize definitions and facts and retell them during the exam.
Knowledge has to be applied when writing answers. The more you practice your critical
thinking skills the better answers you’ll be able to write.

During the exam

• You should read all the questions carefully and look for key words which will guide you
when writing your answer. Essential parts of the question are the command term and the
body of the question. You should link these two in your answer, for example, evaluate a
theory, discuss a relationship, analyse a model, examine a relationship.
• Many students miss out on marks because they don’t read the question carefully enough.
After reading the question and underlining the main parts make a list of the main points
you should cover to gain marks. Make a short plan before answering the question. This
way you can ensure your answer is well thought out and well structured rather than just a
collection of thoughts written down. Make sure all your notes address essential parts of a
question. When writing your answer start off with the issues that are most important for your
question. Try to integrate the statement of the question somewhere in your answer. Either
begin with it or end with it. This makes your answer focused and well constructed.
• Try to include definitions of important concepts in your answer.
• For paper 1, section A answers should be short and precise. Don’t exceed a limit of 500
words in short-answer questions.
• For paper 1, section B and paper 2 remember to include reference to theories and
studies in your essay.
• Write like a psychologist. You have spent many long hours learning psychology and now
is a chance to show someone else what you have learned. Use precise vocabulary.
• Do not simply make statements using psychological vocabulary – clarify your answer.
For example, do not simply write that there was a problem with ecological validity. Explain
what you mean by the term and how it relates to the study that you are discussing.
• Good writing skill doesn’t necessarily mean using complex, sophisticated vocabulary. It
means you should express ideas clearly and focus on the question. There should be no
ambiguity in your answers.
• Use time wisely. Make sure you know well in advance the duration of every exam. The
exam will be timed, so you must budget your time. First answer the questions you know
the answer to. After you have answered all the questions you are sure of, go back to the
questions you skipped and try to address those aspects of the question you understand
and know.
• Never leave a test early. You can always check your answers over one more time.

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 6. Paper 1: Core areas of study
6. Paper 1: Core areas of study

Paper 1 assesses your knowledge and understanding of the core areas of study – the levels of analysis. The three levels of analysis
are:
• biological level of analysis
• cognitive level of analysis
• sociocultural level of analysis.

The paper is exactly the same for both SL and HL students.

There is no one set of studies that needs to be covered in order to do well on this paper. In fact, many of the studies that you do in
your options may also be used on paper 1 to meet the learning objectives. For example, you may use a twin study that investigates
the role of genetics in the origin of depression to answer one of the biological level of analysis questions.
The focus in this section of the text is on how to approach the learning outcomes. To help you make links between the options
and paper 1, several of the learning outcomes have suggested studies from the options that could be used to write a response.
Although some studies/theories are presented, the emphasis is on the strategies for interpreting and responding to the question. It
is important that you use what you have learned in your class, as well as in your main texts, in order to use the strategies that are
outlined in this section. Please do not get anxious about the list and feel that you must learn the studies that are given as examples!
Remember that on paper 1 there are three SAQs that are mandatory – you must answer all three. For each SAQ you must remember
the following points.
• Make appropriate use of one study or theory. You should not overload your answer with studies, but it is important that you have
research to support your claims.
• Write a well developed argument based on the question.
• You should not focus on evaluation. This is only required for the essay questions.
• You should spend approximately 15 minutes on each SAQ.

For the essay questions, remember the following points.

• Make appropriate use of studies/theories. You should not overload your essay with studies, but it is important that you have
research to support your claims. All aspects of the theory/study are not always necessary, so only provide the information about
the theory/study that is relevant to the question.

• Demonstrate critical thinking. This does not mean that you have to evaluate every study you use, but that you should show clear
analysis and/or evaluation as relevant to the question.

• Write a well developed argument based on the question.

In order to give you a sense of how the SAQs and the essays are assessed for the core, you will see a high, mid, and low range essay
for each level of analysis. All samples will also have examiner comments and there will be advice on how the question should be
approached.
For more information on paper 1, please refer back to chapter 2.
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7. The biological level of analysis

7. The biological level of analysis

The biological level of analysis focuses on how the anatomy and physiology of our
nervous system, endocrine system and genes affect behaviour.
Researchers from the biological level of analysis claim we cannot completely understand
our thoughts, feelings and behaviour without referring to their biological context.
Development of technology has enabled researchers to monitor and map brain activity of
individuals while carrying out particular behaviours. Current research is also investigating
chemical substances involved in different psychological processes.
Biology also influences behaviour through mechanisms of heredity set by genetic
principles. Human behaviour is a result of complex interactions between genes,
physiological processes and environmental triggers.
Although psychologists working at the biological level of analysis primarily focus
on biological factors, they do not ignore the relevance of other variables on human
behaviour. Scientists nowadays try to explain human behaviour by uncovering how our
physiology and genes interact with cognitive and sociocultural factors.

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this core area of study are given below. They state what you
should be able to do after studying this core area.

General learning outcomes

• Outline principles that define the biological level of analysis.
• Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be
demonstrated in research.
• Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the biological level of
analysis.
• Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis.

Physiology and behaviour

• Explain one study related to the localization of function in the brain.
• Use one or more examples to explain effects of neurotransmission on human
behaviour.
• Use one or more examples to explain effects of two hormones on human behaviour.
• Discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes.
• Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of behaviour.
• Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between
biological factors and behaviour.
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 7. The biological level of analysis
Genetics and behaviour
• Discuss with reference to relevant research studies, to what extent genetic
inheritance influences behaviour.

• Examine one evolutionary explanation of behaviour.

• Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behaviour.

Essential definitions
Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to react adaptively to different inputs.
Environmental stimulation during learning causes changes in neural networks and
these may change biochemical and physiological characteristics of the brain.

The diathesis–stress model is an approach primarily used in the study of abnormal

behaviour that states a genetic predisposition for certain behaviour is inherited but that
the behaviour will only occur when triggered by environmental stressors.

Evolutionary explanations of behaviour suggest that certain human behaviours are

the result of psychological adaptations that have evolved over time to help maximize
our species’ chance of reproduction and survival.

Environmental stressors are changes in the environment that may cause a person
to experience stress. Environmental stressors may either be sensory (noise, extreme
temperature), physical (crowding, being attacked) or perceived (stress in the workplace,
deadlines).

Genetic inheritance is the biological transmission of characteristics from one

generation to the next. We inherit genes from our parents. These genes influence
physiological processes and these tend to guide our behaviour. Human behaviour is
often the result of complex interactions between genes, physiological processes and
environmental triggers.

Hormones are chemical substances that are released by specialized endocrine glands.
They are carried through the bloodstream to different organs where they gradually
affect body functions and influence behaviour.

Localization of function refers to evidence from studies suggesting that different

parts of the brain are associated with different mental processes. Localization of higher
functions, such as problem-solving skills, may be distributed in multiple areas of the
brain.

Neural transmission is a process that is triggered by a neuron being stimulated either

by the environment or by chemical information from other cells. Transmission occurs
when one neuron (nerve cell) influences the activity of an anatomically neighbouring
neuron. An electrical charge passes through the neuron, causing the terminal buttons
to release neurotransmitters into the synapse.

Neurotransmitters are substances that transfer information between two

neighbouring neurons via synapses. Neurotransmitters in the nervous system have
specific and highly localized effects that tend to be short-lived. Different chemicals can
affect behaviour by imitating natural neurotransmitters, increasing the secretion of
natural neurotransmitters or blocking natural neurotransmitters.

Physiological processes are all physical and chemical functions occurring in a living
organism or any of its parts.
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7. The biological level of analysis

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

Principles of the biological level of analysis

Patterns of behaviour can be inherited.

• Animal research may inform our understanding of human behaviour.
• Cognitions, emotions and behaviour are products of the anatomy and physiology of our nervous and endocrine systems.
Link to health psychology option: Joseph Brady “Stress in Executive Monkeys” (1958). Principle: Animal research may inform our
understanding of human behaviour. Research method: Experiment with animals

In an independent samples design experiment Brady found that monkeys from the experimental group, who had
to press a lever on a fixed schedule to avoid electric shock, died from ulceration. In contrast, a control group of
passive subjects – monkeys that got the same number of shocks as their worker companion but who did not have to
work on a schedule – didn’t develop ulcers. Brady concluded that the ulcers were caused by the continuous stress
of making decisions. The findings of this study can help us understand how stress relates to human behaviour and
human physiological processes.

Research methods used at the biological level of analysis

• Experiments.
• Correlational studies: including twin research, adoption studies and pedigree studies.
• Case studies.
• Meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that summarizes results from many studies with the same research question.
• Brain imaging techniques (EEG, PET, fMRI, CAT) are recently developed techniques to directly or indirectly observe the structure
and functioning of the brain. They may be used as part of an observation, experiment, or case study. By themselves they are
not a research method!

Ethical considerations at the biological level of analysis

Ethical considerations are relatively the same at each level of analysis, although there are a few that are particular to the biological
level of analysis.
• Inflicting pain and death in animals in order to draw correlations to human behaviour.
• The use of brain lesioning and other irreversible techniques.
• Confidentiality of genetic information.
• Deception in the use of placebos.
• Gaining informed consent.

Localization of function in the brain

• Broca (1861).

In 1861 Paul Broca conducted a case study on a 51-year-old man who lost the ability to produce speech after a head
injury. A post-mortem autopsy suggested that the cause of the man’s deficit was damage to a specific part of the
brain – the left frontal lobe. The findings of this study tend to be used as confirmation of localization of function,
connecting a specific behaviour (speaking ability) to a specific brain area. Current investigations suggest that this
area of the brain seems to be responsible for language comprehension as well as production.

Link to abnormal psychology option: The role of the hypothalamus in eating disorders.
Link to cognitive psychology option: The role of the hippocampus in memory, for example, the case study of HM.
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 7. The biological level of analysis
Effects of neurotransmission
Link to abnormal psychology option: Delgado and Moreno (2000) did a correlational study finding lower levels of noradrenaline
and serotonin in patients with major depression. Correlational research indicates that there is a relationship between
neurotransmitter levels and depression, but it does not demonstrate a cause and effect relationship.
Link to cognitive psychology option: Martinez’s study on the role of acetylcholine in memory.
Link to psychology of human relationships option: Fisher: The role of noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin in falling in love.

Effects of hormones
Link to psychology of human relationships option: Ditzen et al (2007): Oxytocin increases positive communication between
couples.

This study was a double blind experiment. 47 adult heterosexual couples who were married or had been cohabiting for at
least 1 year participated in the study. Participants received oxytocin or a placebo intranasally. The couple then participated
in an experimentally induced conflict discussion in the laboratory. The conflict session was videotaped and afterwards
coded for verbal and non-verbal interaction behaviour (for example, eye contact, non-verbal positive behaviour and
self-disclosure). Results suggested that oxytocin significantly increased positive communication behaviour in relation to
negative behaviour during the experimentally induced conflict discussion.

Link to abnormal psychology option: The role of melatonin in seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Link to developmental psychology option: The role of oxytocin in attachment.
Link to health psychology option: The role of cortisol on memory.

Effects of the environment on physiological processes

Link to health psychology option: Hans Selye (1974) General Adaptation Syndrome.

Hans Selye claimed stress has a negative effect on the health of an individual because chronic stress provokes
a series of chemical changes in our body. The typical reaction of the body is called the General Adaptation
Syndrome and can be broken down to three distinct phases. First is the alarm stage, also known as the fight or
flight response. During this phase stressors trigger the nervous system of the organism so that it starts to produce
hormones. Stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are released to bring immediate energy to
the body. These hormones cause quicker heart rate, higher blood pressure, more frequent breathing. The second
phase is resistance – if the stressors are still present, the body secretes more hormones that tend to raise blood
sugar level in order to provide additional energy and raise blood pressure. The final stage is exhaustion. This stage
is the most dangerous for the organism. Chronic stress causes damage of nerve cells in organs. The hippocampus
section of the brain is especially vulnerable; problems in thinking and memory are likely to occur and the person
becomes prone to anxiety and depression. Additional stress-related illnesses are high blood pressure, heart attack,
arthritis and migraine headaches. Prolonged, strong and frequent stress reactions can induce permanent disorders
and may eventually lead to death.

Link to the biological level of analysis: Rosenzweig on brain plasticity.

Link to abnormal psychology option: The diathesis–stress model of depression.
Link to developmental psychology option: Rutter et al on children’s responses to profound institutional privation.

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7. The biological level of analysis

The interaction of cognition and physiology and its effect on behaviour

Link to health psychology option: Medical University of Wisconsin (2009).

Patients with coronary heart disease who practiced the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique had
nearly 50% lower rates of heart attack, stroke and death compared to non-meditating controls, according to the
results of a study carried out by the Medical University of Wisconsin (2009).
The nine-year, randomized control trial followed 201 African American men and women, average age 59 years
old, with narrowing of arteries in their hearts who were randomly assigned to either practice the stress-reducing
Transcendental Meditation technique or to participate in a control group which received health education classes in
traditional risk factors, including dietary modification and exercise. All participants continued standard medications
and other usual medical care.
The study found a 47% reduction in the combination of death, heart attacks and strokes in the participants. There
was a clinically significant reduction in blood pressure associated with decrease in clinical events and significant
reductions in psychological stress in the high-stress subgroup. This research is correlational in nature and does not
establish a clear causation between the meditation and the effects on physiological processes.

Link to abnormal psychology option: Explanations of panic attacks.

Link to cognitive psychology option: The role of Alzheimer’s disease on memory.

The use of brain imaging technologies

Link to health psychology option: Wang et al (2007): Men and women respond differently to stress.

Researchers investigated stress reactions of 32 men and women in a controlled laboratory setting. They induced
moderate performance stress by asking participants to conduct a stressful maths task. For every participant the
researchers measured heart rates, cortisol levels, their subjective accounts and the candidates’ regional cerebral
blood flow (CBF). These measures were taken before, during and after performing the stressful task. Completed
fMRI scans indicated differences between men and women.
Men responded to stress with increased blood flow to the right prefrontal cortex which is responsible for “fight or
flight”. Women responded with increased blood flow to the limbic system, which is associated with nurturing and
friendly response.

Link to psychology of human relationships option: Fischer et al (2003) on the nature of passionate love.
Link to social psychology option: Fiske (2007) on the nature of prejudice and the brain.

The link between genetic inheritance and behaviour

Link to abnormal psychology option: Nurnberger and Gershon (1982) did a meta-analysis of studies of genetics as the origin of
depression. They found that the concordance rate for major depression was consistently higher for MZ twins than for DZ twins. This
seems to support the idea that there is some genetic basis for the etiology of depression.
Link to health psychology option: Garn et al (1981) on the origins of obesity.
Link to cognitive psychology option: Bouchard et al (1990): Minnesota twin study of intelligence.

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 7. The biological level of analysis
Evolutionary explanations of behaviour
Link to psychology of human relationships options: Trivers on parental investment theory.

Natural selection favours behaviours that maximize the number of offspring during an organism’s lifetime. Parents
must invest a certain amount of energy to increase the chances of survival of their offspring. Each parent has to
decide how much energy to invest in either offspring survival or their own survival.
According to parental investment theory men and women should be attracted to sexual partners who are the most
likely to create healthy and strong offspring. So, attractiveness is a result of reproductive fitness.

• Buss et al (1992).

Buss et al (1992) asked participants to imagine scenes of infidelity (cheating) and at the same time measured their GSR
(galvanic skin response) which can be used to measure stress levels. The results tended to indicate that men showed
higher levels of stress response than women. This suggests that these findings support the parental investment theory
– men want their women to be faithful so that they can take care of their offspring and try to increase their chances of
survival.

Link to abnormal psychology option: Evolutionary explanations of depression.

Link to sociocultural level of analysis: Evolutionary arguments of prejudice.

Ethical considerations in research into genetic influences

As behavioural genetics grows as a field, researchers are finding that there are ethical considerations in carrying out genetic research
that are presenting new issues for research.
• Consent and recruitment of research participants, particularly with regard to the question of “informed consent”. Do participants
really understand what the results will mean?
• Privacy of genetic data, for example, should findings be shared with doctors or insurance companies? As another example, genetic
information may be demanded by a court of law.
• Anonymization of samples, that is, DNA samples should not be identified by names, only by coding.
• The undue stress that findings may cause participants, either by predicting disease or revealing information such as the fact that
one is adopted or not the child of the father in the family.

Explain how one hormone influences human behaviour.  [8 marks]

[Taken from paper 1, section A, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

• First, it is important that you can correctly identify one hormone, for example, cortisol, melatonin, testosterone, estrogen
or oxytocin. Then, it is very important that you link it to human behaviour, for example, aggression, depression, stress,
mating behaviour or criminal behaviour. A general account providing how hormones affect the physiological system won’t
gain you many marks if it’s not connected to a specific form of behaviour.
Once you have made your choice, the question asks that you explain, that is, give a detailed account of how the chosen hormone
influences the chosen human behaviour. In order to earn the top marks, you need to show “understanding of research”. In order
to do this, you should have knowledge of one study or theory that helps to demonstrate the role of the hormone on behaviour.

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7. The biological level of analysis

This answer achieved 3/8

One of the hormones that influences human behavior is melatonin. Melatonin helps the body to regulate sleep.
Hormone is identified and its function is
It is most often used when you travel to another country with a different time zone then it is hard to regulate
stated.
your sleep and it takes time. Therefore it can be good to use melatonin. Too much of melatonin could cause
depression, that is why the body has to balance the amount if melatonin it has. The melatonin we have in our
Student correctly links one hormone to human bodies is affected by the changes of seasons. So when it is summer we get tired faster and the reason behind
behavior. this is because the day is longer and we get tired because our bodies will be used to the winter season.
Anyhow, these hormones also gets ‘turned on’ so to say when you enter a dark room.
Behaviour identified.
Student provides an everyday example but
there is no reference to a relevant study or
Student provides some vague description about theory.
the link between melatonin and depression but
there is no explanation.

Examiner report
The actual function of the hormone is not well described. Both the hormone and the behaviour (depression) are identified, but there is
no evidence to support the claim. The student has only used anecdotal information.

This answer achieved 5/8

Hormones are chemical messengers that send messages around the body and cause behaviour. The hormone
Hormone identified.
that I will investigate is testosterone and its effect on aggression.
It is apparent from the outset that testosterone may have a role in aggression because aggression is a typically
The student correctly links one hormone to male behaviour and males have the testosterone whereas women have negligible amounts.
behaviour. The extent to which this can be true can be assessed by considering research studies. For example Beeman in
1947 investigated how testosterone affected aggression in rats. He castrated rats and found their aggression
A general account of the relationship between to drop. He then gave them injections of testosterone and found that their levels of aggression rose again.
testosterone and aggression is supported with This showed cause and effect relationship. He also found that the amount of testosterone he injected made no
reference to gender differences. difference to the degree of aggression that they showed. This suggested that perhaps it has solely a permissive
effect. One issue with this study is that it is an animal study and there are issues with generalizing to humans
as we are physically qualitatively different.
Mazur and Booth conducted a study on athletes and suggested that it was merely a dominance-seeking
hormone as athletes produce it before races. This is evidence against it solely having an effect on aggression.
There is no need to mention so many studies
in responses to SAQs. It would be better if However Berhardt in 1997 found a positive correlation between levels of testosterone and aggression in men
the student described one relevant study and found in low socio-economic areas. This is supported by Cohen, who found the same thing. However we
clearly explained how it supports or refutes the cannot be sure that the correlation is cross-cultural without research from other cultures.
relationship.
The proposition that testosterone has an effect on aggression appears to true as many studies support the idea.

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 7. The biological level of analysis
Examiner report
The student has shown good knowledge of testosterone, but the first study is not linked to human behaviour, as stated in the question.
The function of testosterone, that is, why it would be linked to aggression is not noted. Referencing fewer studies and focusing more
on explaining the function would make this a stronger SAQ response.

This answer achieved 8/8

Hormones are chemical messengers, part of the endocrine system, that are sent throughout the body in the
Definition of hormones is provided.
bloodstream to initiate specific changes. An example of a hormone is testosterone, which is thought to be
Testosterone identified as example.
linked to aggressive behaviour. Aggression can be defined as any sequence of behavior that seeks to dominate
or harm another individual. Testosterone is necessary for males in production of sperm (gametes) and also it
Behaviour identified and defined. is needed for the development of secondary sexual characteristics; thus testosterone is present in much higher
quantities in males, and it accounts for the fact that men are usually seen as the more aggressive sex.
Christiansen and Winkler were interested to find out whether the link between testosterone and aggression
Accurate and focused account of the link was cross-cultural i.e. it is not a product of either our ethnicity or social environment. In order to test this
between testosterone and aggression provided they measured testosterone levels of male members of the South African Khoi-San tribe, as well as carrying
and supported with empirical evidence. out observations to note aggressive behavior. Their results supported the theory, as they found that the
members with the highest levels of testosterone tended to be the most aggressive.
Beeman (1947) tested the effect of testosterone on rats, by first castrating them, where he noticed a drop in
levels of aggression, and then injecting them with testosterone, which reinstated their aggressive behavior.
Despite the supportive evidence, some psychologists have argued that the testosterone may not cause aggression
as such, but instead it may be connected to competitive behaviour. Both athletes and chess players have been
found to have high levels of testosterone before a race or match, and so this makes more sense to be regarded
Evidence contradicting the existence of a link
as competitive behaviour.
between testosterone and aggression.
Sapolsky also challenged the theory of testosterone causing aggression, stating that testosterone may simply
have a permissive effect, meaning that its mere presence allows for aggressive behaviour, and that an exact
causal link should not be seen as correct.
Despite the counter-evidence, an evolutionary perspective would suggest that testosterone does cause violence,
Clear conclusion provided. and this is necessary in males for them to seek an appropriate mate (e.g. stags fighting over females) and also
to protect their young.

Examiner report
The student shows an excellent understanding of the link between testosterone and behaviour, noting why it would make sense for
testosterone to be linked with aggression.

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7. The biological level of analysis

Discuss the use of brain imaging technologies to investigate the relationship between biological factors
and behaviour.  [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 1, section B, time zone 2, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

This question is very broad and allows you to discuss any Along with describing studies that demonstrate how imaging
brain imaging technologies used to study any area of techniques are used, it is important that you demonstrate
psychology. Remember that brain imagining technologies critical thinking with regard to the use of imaging techniques.
include CAT, PET and the fMRI. Your essay should focus on It is very important that you do not simply evaluate the
how the technology is used to investigate the relationship studies, but that you evaluate the use of brain imaging
between biological factors and behaviour. technologies. As part of that evaluation you may want to
consider the following points.
The question uses the plural, technologies, and when
planning out this essay, it is important for you to have two to • Advantages and limitations of brain imaging technologies.
three examples of how technology is used by psychologists
• Questions of ecological validity.
in research. Be sure to carefully describe the study, focusing
on how the technology was used. You may want to consider • When some techniques are more appropriate than others,
the studies that are outlined in this chapter, including for example, CAT and MRI show structural features of
Ramachandran’s study of phantom limb pain, the use of the brain, whereas the PET and fMRI demonstrate brain
PET scans in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, autism and/or function.
schizophrenia, Fiske’s research on the role of the amygdala in • Ethical considerations in using brain scanning.
prejudice responses or studies of localization of function.

This answer achieved 5/22

The use of brain scans is very common in establishing a diagnosis within medicine, but is also useful when it comes
The introduction focuses on diagnosis, which is to psychology. While a person’s behaviour may be attributed to purely psychological disturbances, it may also be
not the focus of the question.
caused by underlying biological factors. With the help of brain scanning these biological factors can be found.
While psychological diseases such as schizophrenia generally is not caused by an underlying biological factor, a
change in a person’s behaviour and personality may be purely biological. Tumors in the brain, for example, which
are located in certain areas, may cause behaviour which would not be present otherwise, such as extreme anger or
similar. This can be established with brain scanning, and a psychological cause can be ruled out. The basis for this,
Broca established in 1861 when he discovered that different parts of the brain controls different things, for example,
the speech, which was the case for Broca’s patient, who had a speech emparement[sic] from a head injury.
This is a good link, that brain scanning allows While Broca did establish the theory of localization, it could not be done before he was able to perform a
researchers to do research without having to post-mortem examination on the patient’s brain. However, nowadays, with brain scanning, an injury like the
wait to do a post-mortem. one Broca’s patient suffered from, can be established before the patient has died, and then perhaps get treatment.
While brain scanning can help to establish if there’s a biological factor playing a part in someone’s behaviour,
brain scanning may also work the opposite way. If a person experiences a change in his/hers behaviour, one may
suspect that there’s a biological factor to it. However, a brain scan may conclude that there’s nothing wrong with
the brain itself, and that there’s nothing biological/physical that is causing the change in a person’s behaviour.
The use of brain scanning today is a great advantage when it comes to giving diagnosis for all sorts of
Only the advantages of brain imaging conditions, may it be tumors causing a specific behaviour or any other injury or condition to the brain. (328
techniques are addressed.
words)

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 7. The biological level of analysis
Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: There is no description or discussion of two distinct techniques, that is, CAT, PET, fMRI or MRI. There is
also no research to demonstrate how technology is used to investigate the link between biology and behaviour. (2/9)
Critical thinking: There is a link to ways of improving how we do research, but otherwise there is no evidence of evaluation or analysis. (1/9)
Organization: The response does not stay focused on the question. The student should have focused on the strengths and limitations of
using brain scanning techniques, rather than focusing on the Broca study. (2/4)

This answer achieved 12/22

The methods scientists use to investigate the relationship between biological factors and behaviour have changed
A fairly good introduction, but could use
dramatically. Before, they would cut out, legion, or scar brain tissue and then monitor the effects it had on human
more focus on the link between biology
behavior. However, now we have much more advanced and less invasive methods which do not harm the patient.
and behaviour.
An example of an older method of trying to investigate the relationship between biological factors and behaviour is a study
by Hetherington and Ranson in 1942. They lesioned the hypothalamus region in rats brains. They found that the rats
The use of the word “patient” makes it
intake of food had dramatically increased and they had doubled in size. They deduced from these results that
sound like an essay on diagnosis/treatment
hypothalamus acted as a ‘break’ on eating. However, this was deemed untrue with later scientific research.
rather than on research.
It is methods like these that are no longer allowed to be performed due to many ethical considerations. The biggest of
which, is protection. Performing such experiments were often permanent and were damaging rather than helpful.
This is not completely accurate. Animal
studies are still conducted today. However, as scientific research advances, our brain imaging technologies, have too. We had an EEG machine which gave
us print outs of brain waves, this helped us understand new thinking patterns, however EEG’s do not allow us to see and
understand deeper regions of the brain. Although EEG’s have helped diagnose disorders such as phobias.
Not truly brain imaging. EEG methods
record the electrical activity of the brain Perhaps a better brain imaging technology would be PET scans. They give us coloured maps of the brain, they are
using electrodes placed on the scalp. fantastic as they can record brain activity over time - therefore they monitor brain activities such as thinking. Hence
they can be used to help doctors/psychologists understand what the brain is doing when someone has a panic attack due
to a phobia, for example. PET scans can be used to diagnose tumors and cancer, but due to the fact that they can be
Ethical consideration for use of PET scan.
monitor brain activity over time, they are often used to diagnose Alzheimer’s - so they can catch protein deposits
early. Despite all previously stated - they are particularly invasive. They work by the patient being injected with radio
active glucose in a very small dosage and the scanner picks this up. This is not harmful to the patient. The patient must be
Demonstrates a basic understanding of enclosed in a ‘capsule’ like machine, which of course can cause claustrophobia, which could potentially harm the patient.
how the PET works, and makes a very
Again, if the patient is particularly overweight they may not be able to use the PET scan, simply because it would not be
brief reference to how it could be used to
safe for them to try to fit inside the machine.
determine the effect of biology on behaviour.
Another brain imaging technology would be the fMRI or MRI scanner. These have one of the same problems as
the PET scanner - again patients must be enclosed in the machine - potentially causing a panic attack due to
claustrophobia or of the patient is overweight - they may not be able to use it. However - they produce 3-D brain
maps which are a much higher resolution then PET scans - which is an added bonus. fMRIs can be used to detect
such disorders or mental conditions such as Autism as fMRI scan can detect brain activity in specific regions of the
brain. An added bonus with fMRIs is that they do not require the patient to be injected with any substance - unlike
the PET scan.
In conclusion it can easily be noted that over the years they way we have viewed the brain in the context of the
relationship between biological factors and behaviour have changed dramatically from the harmful invasive techniques,
cutting out or scarring brain tissue to the totally no invasive fMRI scanners. From all of the different technologies
mentioned they all investigate different behaviours due to biological factors. For example the PET scans - they are most
commercially used to detect tumours and changes in the brain - for example protein deposits developing which leads to
Alzheimer’s disease. Or fMRI scanners which are commonly used to detect mental conditions such as Autism and
Schizophrenia. Then lastly, the most simple EEG, which is just a printout of brain waves can detect phobias - panic
attacks. Each brain imaging technology has its positive and negative criticisms, however, by them showing scientists
diseases like Alzheimer’s early - there is more time for us to try to slow the progression of these down. (708 words)

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7. The biological level of analysis

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: There is some description of the techniques, but it could be more precise. There is some link to
behaviour, but no research to support claims. (4/9)
Critical thinking: There is some evidence of critical thinking, but it is not always linked directly to the question. It would have been
better to discuss the reliability and validity of brain scanning in research. (5/9)
Organization: The response is reasonably well focused, but does not clearly address the use of scanning in research. (3/4)

This answer achieved 18/22

Brain imaging technologies are examples of non-invasive procedures which can be used to measure brain activity,
A clear link to the question regarding
look at brain structures and discover the functions of brain areas. These techniques are very useful to psychologists
“investigating the relationship between biology
because they allow study of the brain which is possible within the ethical guidelines prescribed by the British
and behaviour”.
Psychological Society and international equivalents. The alternatives to these kinds of non-invasive procedures are
invasive ones. In the 21st century these cannot be done on humans in the name of research because of their
Overstated. ECT is still used in the treatment
nature as being very dangerous and somewhat crude in certain cases. These invasive procedures include
of severe depression. It also is not usually used electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and psychosurgery. For ECT, an electric shock is given through electrodes on
for research. either side of the head. This is done in the hope of resetting the brain. Psychosurgery includes lobotomies and
lesioning by which sections of the brain are removed and behaviour before and after is compared.
The three most common non-invasive brain imaging techniques used today are electroencephalogram (EEG),
A very good clarification. This comment positron emission topography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). EEG cannot fully be described
indicates that EEGs just indicate the existence
as a brain imaging technique because it does not provide an image of the brain, but merely shows electrical
of brain waves while brain imaging techniques
activity, or “brain waves”. As a procedure it can be conducted very easily. In research it has been useful in
help in determining the location of injuries and
precise nature of the problem. measuring general brain activity during certain tasks such as sleeping and conducting memory tasks. It does
have some limitations as a procedure, for example, it cannot show brain structures and so the electrical
activity cannot be located to a particular point in the brain. Similarly, it can only show surface brain regions,
giving no access in terms of electrical activity to deep structures such as the corpus callosum.
PET, on the other hand, can provide information concerning brain structures. This technique works by injecting
radioactive glucose solution in the brain. The radioactivity acts as a kind of tagging mechanism. As the glucose
passes through the blood stream, it is taken into brain cells where it can be metabolized and used as energy.
The imaging technique is clearly described.
The presence of the glucose in these brain regions is detected by a reader which picks up the radioactive
particles emitted. The glucose mixture sounds dangerous but it is actually harmless, so from an ethical point
of view, PET scanning has no major faults. Research into behaviour using PET scanning was conducted by
Raine et al. (1997) who aimed to find any differences in brain metabolism between murderers and
Incorrectly identified methodology. Better to “normal” people. The results of the experiment were very interesting, as they showed differences, with
just use the term “study” when unsure.
murderers having particularly active right hemispheres and prefrontal cortex, with underactivity in the
corpus callosum. This was analysed by the researchers as part of the study and the suggestion was made
that as the right hemisphere is particularly involved in emotion, its overactivity suggested an excess of
emotion and the underactivity of the corpus callosum would not allow communication with the left
hemisphere which would analyse and rationalize this emotion. There could be no comparison, however,
with people before they committed murders in order to determine whether the crime was the result of the
physiological changes or a result.

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 7. The biological level of analysis
Gun et al. (1995) used PET scanning to determine that men have higher activity in the primitive brain centres
which control aggression, the results of this research into brain imaging suggests a reason as to why men are
Excellent examples of the use of PET scanning, more aggressive than women.
but no evaluation of its use. Mosconi et al (2005) found changes in brain activity which could be the characteristic of Alzheimer’s
disease before its onset. If underactivity is found in these certain brain areas then treatment can begin before
the actual onset of the disease, so it is now used as a screening process for Alzheimer’s disease.
MRI scanning is a technique which relies on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance by which
radiowaves can be passed through the brain in order for hydrogen ions to be detected by magnetic fields. The
result is that substances such as fats and water and other substances can be seen and an image can be
generated as a result. This is possible the most useful of the brain imaging techniques because it is of a much
higher resolution than PET scanning. There are very few ethical implications involved due to the harmless
and non-invasive nature of the technique.
Research into brain plasticity was done by MacGuire et al. (2001) involving comparing structural brain MRI
scans of taxi drivers with at least two years of experience with those of a control group. All participants were
right-handed males in order for variables to be reduced. The scans found that the hippocampus was larger in the
brains of the taxi drivers. It is an area which is associated with spatial memory and navigation. The grey matter
in the posterior hippocampus in particular was very dense compared to the control. This showed how the brain
Unclear how this is shown in the study. can be adapted and shows how behaviour can be genetically based, but as well, the brain will adapt to meet its
environment so that it can carry out necessary tasks.
The case study of the HM is one which was largely conducted before MRI and other similar techniques had
been invented and brought into use. Milner et al. (1968) initially focused on the assumption that 2/3 of the
hippocampus and parts of the amygdale and temporal lobes were what had been removed from HM’s brain.
The partial retrograde and local anterograde amnesia were then studied and conclusions were drawn about
how the episodic and declarative memories must have been located within the regions which were removed.
44 years after his initial psychosurgery at the age of 26, an MRI scan of HM’s brain was conducted. It
made certain exactly which areas of the brain had been removed during the surgery and to a great extent it
displayed the crude nature of psychosurgery when it was done. The results of the scan were able to reveal
possibilities as to why HM ended up with such severe amnesia after he underwent a surgical procedure which
was only supposed to alleviate his epileptic fits.
In terms of the principles of the biological levels of analysis, these brain imaging techniques allow a great deal
of research into the effects of anatomy, physiology and the endocrine and nervous systems on behaviour.
They take pressure off the need to conduct animal research as fewer and fewer invasive procedures become
necessary. They can be used to investigate brain structures, and any changes in such things provide insight
into the extent to which behaviour is innate, coming from genetic basis, and to what extent it is a result of
environmental factors which can be seen through brain plasticity. These procedures/imaging techniques
Mostly advantages of brain imaging techniques
provide a much lower risk and lower stress alternative to the invasive techniques which seem very old
provided.
fashioned in the 21st century. (1132 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: The student demonstrates a rich understanding of brain scanning techniques and their use in
psychological research. (9/9)
Critical thinking: Some good analysis but it is not consistent. Fewer examples of studies with more focus on the limitations of using
brain imaging techniques would have made for a stronger essay. (5/9)
Organization: The response is focused on the question and well developed. (4/4)

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

8. The cognitive level of analysis

Cognitive psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know why people
behave the way they do, we have to figure out what processes are actually going on in
their minds. In other words, psychologists from this level of analysis study cognition
which is the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired. They focus on the
way humans process information, looking at how we treat information (stimuli) and how
this treatment leads to responses. In other words, they are interested in the variables
that intervene between stimulus/input and response/output. The main areas of study in
cognitive psychology are: perception, attention, memory, problem-solving and language.

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this core area of study are given below. They state what you
should be able to do after studying this core area.

General learning outcomes

• Outline (at least) two principles that define the cognitive level of analysis. Explain how
and why these principles are connected to the research at this level of analysis.
• Discuss the use of at least two research methods in psychological research at the
cognitive level of analysis using specific research as examples. Explain why these
methods are used.
• Discuss ethical considerations of research studies at the cognitive level of analysis.

Cognitive processes
• Evaluate schema theory using examples of research studies.

• Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research
studies.

• Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

• Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

• With reference to relevant studies, discuss to what extent one cognitive process is
reliable.
• Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes.

Cognition and emotion

• Discuss to what extent cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion.

• Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
Essential definitions
Attention is a cognitive process that explains how we actively concentrate on certain
aspects of sensory stimuli present in our environment or mental experiences.

Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of inner tension caused by having conflicting thoughts

simultaneously. Cognitive theorists argue that we have a motivational drive to reduce this
feeling of dissonance. In order to do this, we change our attitudes, beliefs or actions.

Emotions are often called “feelings.” Emotions consist of three components: physiological
changes, such as a faster heartbeat or sweating; an individual’s subjective feeling, such as
happiness; and a behaviour, such as smiling or crying.

Encoding is the process of transforming sensory information into memory. The actual
processes by which this takes place is a major area of study in cognitive psychology.

Engram was the idea that memories were located in specific locations in the brain,
that is, that memory is localized. The existence of neurologically defined engrams is not
significantly disputed, though their exact mechanism and location has been a focus of
persistent research.

Episodic memory is the memory of personal experiences, for example, your graduation
day.

Flashbulb memory is a special kind of emotional memory which refers to vivid and
detailed memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as
though with the help of a photograph.

Heuristics are short cuts that help us to make decisions. For example, we might choose a
certain brand of breakfast cereal because the packaging makes it look healthy. This is the
representativeness heuristic. We use heuristics because we are cognitively conservative:
we don’t have time to do the research; we don’t know enough to make a decision; and we
don’t care enough to use up energy thinking about it.

Perception is the process of making sense of environmental stimuli received by senses.

Procedural memory is non-conscious memory, also called implicit memory, for skills,
habits and actions. It is the kind of memory that shows that we “know how to do”
something.

Reconstructive memory is the idea that memories are not stored in complete units,
but that memories are recalled by linking together several bits of information, thus
reconstructing a memory by rebuilding a collection of smaller memories.

Schema are mental representations that are used to organize our knowledge, to assist
recall, to guide our behaviour, to predict likely happenings and to help us to make sense
of current experiences. Schemas are cognitive structures that are derived from prior
experience and knowledge.
Semantic memory is a form of explicit memory that is fact-based knowledge that can be
easily retrieved. This is the kind of memory that shows we know what, where, or when.

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

Principles of the cognitive level of analysis

• Mental processes guide behaviour.

• The mind can be studied scientifically.
• Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors.
• We do not have to be passive responders to our environment. We are active processors of information. However, we are cognitive
misers, we do not want to use up a lot of energy thinking, so we often allow ourselves to be influenced by our environment or use
previous schemas and ways of thinking.

Link to abnormal psychology option: Molianen (1993) on schema and depression. Principle: Mental processes guide
behaviour. Research method: Correlation – self-reported data on questionnaires.

According to Beck’s influential cognitive theory, individuals who hold negative self-schemas when otherwise well
are vulnerable to developing depression in the future. A study by Molianen (1993) looked at the effect of negative
self-schema on college students. This study showed that students’ current depressive states were consistently found
to be related to their negative self-schema. That is, the students’ cognitive thoughts were shown to be affecting them,
and as a result they developed symptoms of depression.

Research methods used at the cognitive level of analysis

• Experiments: Several memory studies are simple experiments, for example, Loftus’s study on reconstructive memory of an
automobile crash.
• Interviews and questionnaires: Neisser‘s study of reconstructive memory was a combination of gathering information by
questionnaire and then carrying out a series of interviews.
• Correlational studies: These are often based on self-reported data. For example, studies on the correlation between wealth and
happiness.
• Observations: Much research on the activity of the brain during cognition is observed while the individual is undergoing an MRI.
• Case studies: There are several famous case studies in the study of memory, for example, HM, Clive Wearing and, for language
development, the study of Genie.

Ethical considerations at the cognitive level of analysis

Ethical considerations are relatively the same at each level of analysis, although there are a few that are particular to the cognitive
level of analysis.
• Historically, lesioning was used on animals to determine its effect on memory.
• The use of case studies of people with brain damage or who have experienced severe personal trauma. Issues of consent and the
maintenance of a professional and objective relationship between the researcher and the individual have sometimes been an
issue. The case study method enables the researcher to obtain personal information. The researcher should make sure that the
participant consents to the publication of some personal information.
• Deception is often used to hide the aim of the study and prevent demand characteristics.
• The manipulation of an individual’s personal memories. For example, the “mall study” in which Loftus created false memories in
her participants.
• Some research has been accused of “objectifying” participants by taking too reductionist an approach to human behaviour.

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
Schema theory

Link to cognitive level of analysis: Brewer and Treyens (1981)

Brewer and Treyens (1981) wanted to see how schema would affect participants’ memory for objects in an office.
Participants were asked to wait in an office for 35 seconds. Those items that fit in one’s “office schema” were well
remembered. Those objects that were not part of a typical office schema were not. Some participants falsely recalled
objects that were not in the room, but which would logically be part of an office schema.

Link to the sociocultural option: Gender schema affected the behaviour of the participants in Bandura’s classic “Bashing
Bobo” study.
Link to cognitive level of analysis: Bartlett’s “The War of the Ghosts” study.
Link to abnormal psychology option: The role of negative schema on depression.

Models of one cognitive process

• Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968): The multi-store model (MSM).

This model of memory had three components: the sensory buffer, the short-term memory store (STM) and the long-term
memory (LTM) store. External stimuli went into the sensory buffer by means of attention; information went from the
STM to LTM by a process of rehearsal. Memories were lost from STM by a process of displacement and from LTM by
a process of decay. This model has some support but primarily served as a springboard for other theories.

• Craik and Lockhart (1972): Levels of processing model and Baddeley and Hitch (1974): working memory model.
• Attention models: Broadbent’s filter theory; Treisman’s Attenuation Theory.
• Language development: Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky.

Some strategies for evaluation of models

• Look at what the model is unable to explain. For example, the MSM cannot explain reconstructive memory. More biologically
based models can. It also cannot explain multi-tasking which the working memory model can.
• Look at research that confirms or supports the model, for example, the HM case study or Glanzer and Cunitz’s study of serial
position effect.
• Is gender or cultural bias present in the model?
• Compare and contrast it to another model. In what ways are the models similar and different?
• Examine whether the model is useful in explaining things in real life.

Biological effects on one cognitive process

• Newcomer et al (1999): The effect of cortisol on memory.

This study was an experiment with three experimental conditions. The high cortisol group was given a tablet containing
160 mg of cortisol per day. The participants in the low level of cortisol group were given a tablet containing 40 mg of
cortisol per day. The third group was a placebo group.
All participants were asked to listen to and recall parts of a prose paragraph. The results were that the participants who
received the highest level of cortisol also showed the worst performance in verbal declarative memory. The performance
of participants in the high cortisol condition returned to normal after they stopped taking the hormone tablet. According
to the researchers, these results demonstrate a clear link between levels of cortisol and remembering.

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

• The role of sleep on memory or attention.

• The role of the hippocampus on memory, for example, HM.
• The role of acetylcholine on memory, for example, Martinez and Kesner (1991).
• The role of beta-amyloid proteins on development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Social or cultural effects on one cognitive process

• Cole and Scribner (1974): The effect of schooling on memory strategies.

Cole and Scribner compared the recall of a series of words among both American and Kpelle (Liberian) children. They
found that the Kpelle children could not recall a list of words as well as American children unless the children had
attended school for several years. The number of words that they remembered did not increase, even with practice. They
did not demonstrate evidence of chunking. However, when the words were placed into a narrative story, there was a
significant increase in the number of words remembered. Schooling appears to play a role on how we remember.

• Rogoff and Wadell (1982) on the use of dioramas in Guatemala.

• Deregowski (1972) on depth-cues and perception.
• Wagner (1980) found primacy strongest in schooled Moroccan children.
• Allport and Postman (1947) on how cultural stereotypes distort memory.

The reliability of one cognitive process

• Loftus and Palmer (1974) on reconstructive memory.

In this classic study, Loftus and Palmer had participants watch a film of a car accident and then estimate the speed
of the car in the film. Participants were asked: “How fast was the car going when it hit the other car?” The intensity
of the verb was changed on different questionnaires given to the participants. The word hit was substituted with
collided, smashed, contacted or bumped. The researchers found that the more “intense” the wording of the question,
the higher the speed estimates. This shows that memory is easily manipulated and not as reliable as we would like
to believe.

• Bartlett (1932): “The War of the Ghosts” study.

• Neisser and Harsch (1992) on memory distortions of the Challenger disaster.
• Crombag et al (1996) on memory of a Dutch Boeing 747 crash.

The use of technology to investigate cognitive processes

• Kilts (2003): The role of the brain in product preference.

Kilts carried out a series of experiments using MRI scanners to see the role of the brain in product preference. When
participants were shown products and asked to rate them for “attractiveness”, Kilts observed more activity in the
medial prefrontal cortex, an area that is associated with our sense of self and personality. This may indicate that we
are attracted to products when we see them as part of our identity.

• Caramazza (2009) found that from the visual cortex, information about living and non-living objects is shuttled to different parts
of the brain so as to trigger appropriate reactions, even in blind participants.

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
• Van Veen et al (2009) had participants describe an uncomfortable environment as comfortable while in an MRI. The dorsal
anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula appear to be active during this cognitive dissonance.
• Kim and Hirsch (1997): Research using MRI on bilingualism and language processing.

The interaction of cognitive and biological factors in emotion

• Singer and Schachter (1962): Cognitive and physiological determinants of emotion.

Singer and Schachter carried out an experiment to determine the interaction between physiological and cognitive
factors in emotion. Participants consented to receiving an injection of what they thought was a vitamin supplement
in order to test their visual skills. In reality, the injection was adrenaline.
They were in one of four groups: adrenaline ignorant (no information about side effects), adrenaline informed (they
were told of the effects of adrenaline, although they still believed it was a vitamin); adrenaline misinformed (they
were told that the side effects were numb feet and a headache); and a control group which received an injection that
would have no effect.
Participants then waited in a room with a confederate who carried out a number of silly tasks designed to amuse
the participant. The misinformed participants were happier than all the others. The second happiest group was the
ignorant group. This demonstrates that these participants were more susceptible to the confederate because they had
no explanation of why their bodies felt as they did. The informed group felt the least happy because they understood
why they felt as they did.

• LeDoux’s (1999) model of emotions in the brain.

• Research from abnormal psychology on positive feedback loops and panic attacks.
• Speisman et al (1964) on cognitive appraisal.

The effect of emotion on one cognitive process

• Brown and Kulik (1977): Flashbulb memories.

Brown and Kulik administered a series of questionnaires to 80 American participants, asking them how they learned
of public events. They found that memories were most vivid for events that were unexpected and personally relevant.
The researchers concluded that the combination of surprise and consequentiality lead to “flashbulb memories.”
There is, however, much research that challenges this theory.

Link to health psychology option: State-dependent memory and alcohol use.

Link to abnormal psychology option: The effect of depression on memory retrieval.
Link to sport psychology option: The effect of arousal on attention.

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

Outline one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.  [8 marks]
[Taken from paper 1, section A, time zone 2, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

The first step is to identify the cognitive process that you have prepared for the exam, that is, memory, attention, language,
problem-solving or perception.
Then you need to recall one theory that shows how emotion may affect that cognitive process, for example, Brown and Kulik’s
flashbulb memory theory, the effect of depression on memory recall, state-dependent memory theory, Frank’s theory of the
role of passion on decision-making or the effect of arousal on attention.
The question asks you to outline one theory and focus on one cognitive process. This means that you should give a brief
description of the theory, showing clearly how emotion affects the cognitive process. Research (theories or studies) should be
used to support your response. Since the question specifically asks for only one theory, make sure you do not provided more
than this. Instead use the time to give the most accurate and informative account of this one theory.

This answer achieved 2/8

One theory of how emotion affects memory, a cognitive process, is the concept of a flashbulb memory
A very basic definition. To score higher marks, as something which enhances memory in times of heightened emotion.
a more complete outline of the theory is
expected. This theory was put forward by Brown and Kulik and helps explain why people remember more about
emotional events. Often in the circumstances it is not just basic things which are remembered, in the case of
Princess Diana’s death, or the 9/11 attacks, particularly in America now the death of Bin Laden, people tend
to be able to recall where they were at the time. However this theory has come under much scrutiny.
Neisser proposed that people were able to remember events such as those above better due to increased
rehearsal. For memories to enter the LTM in the multi-store memory model proposed by Atkinson and
This is evaluation of the theory which is not Shiffren (68), rehearsal is a vital process which must take place. Neisser et al argued this theory as well
what the question is asking for. saying that although confidence over a topic increases with heightened emotion, accuracy when recalling it
dropped.
To conclude, as the flashbulb method described by Brown and Kulik may be present, given they have no raw
evidence on this matter and there are studies which oppose this, it may not be the best explanation yet.

Examiner report
The theory is not adequately described or supported. The student has attempted to evaluate the theory, but that is not what the
command term is asking for.

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
This answer achieved 4/8

Many psychologists believe that emotion may affect cognitive processes. One theory of how emotion may
affect cognitive process is Kulik’s flashbulb memory theory. The theory states that when an event causes
A relevant theory is correctly identified and
significant emotional distress or arousal, then the memory of that event will be particularly vivid. As if a
some outline is provided.
photograph, or a snapshot of the event, had been imprinted onto the mind. This is reasoning behind why
people remember traumatic events to such a great extent, such as the death of Princess Diana.
A study was performed which showed that information remembered about traumatic events was better
A description of a study is provided but it’s very remembered that non-traumatic events. This suggests that the emotions felt at the time of the incident serve
vague. It is unclear what the aim, procedure, or
to help store information better. The theory also suggests that the memory is retrieved better as well, due to
results of the study really were.
the ‘emotional cues’ which aid memory retrieval.
The theory forms part of the cognitive interview process performed by the police to interview witnesses. They
This is inaccurate. The cognitive interview is
attempt to get the witness to recall not only the main periods of the incident, but also the aspects of their
based on schema theory.
environment at the time, as these points serve to act as cues to help retrieval.
However this theory has been criticized, as it is argued that while often more is remembered in events with
Although this comment is correct it is not
high emotional response or trauma, it may just be because the person rehearses the event a large amount in
necessary because the question asks you to
their minds, which relates to many theories involving rehearsal in memories, such as the multi-store model
only outline one theory.
(Atkinson and Shiffren 68).
Furthermore, it has been found that while much information may be recalled from events creating powerful
emotional responses, a study showed that accuracy was not overall better in ‘flashbulb’ events.
Finally, it is believed that many memories, even flashbulb memories may be distorted by mental schemas
(networks of knowledge and belief). A study was performed which showed that when remembering back on
old marriages, after a divorce, many divorced people saw them in a more negative light. This shows the
effect of a negative scheme, distorting emotional ‘flashbulb’ memory.

Examiner report
The student shows some understanding of flashbulb memory theory, but both the theory and its support should be more carefully
described. The evaluation is not necessary and it does not add anything to the response. It would have been better if the response
focused on the command term.

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

This answer achieved 8/8

One theory of how emotion affects memory, a cognitive process, is flashbulb memories. This theory was
Theory correctly identified and outlined.
coined by Brown and Kulik (1977). Flashbulb memories are extremely vivid, detailed emotional memory of
a highly emotional event that are formed when an event is unexpected or important, recorded by the brain as
by a camera’s flash. The assumption is that flashbulb memories are more accurate and better remembered
than ordinary memories. The explanation suggested for this is that there is a special neural mechanism
involved that triggers an emotional arousal because the event contains an element of surprise or importance.
This is an explanation of the basis of the
This has been supported by modern neuroscience, including the role of the amygdala – but there has also been
theory.
much criticism to flashbulb memories (for example Neisser (1982) and Neisser & Harsch (1992)).
The theory of flashbulb memories was based on Brown & Kulik’s (1997) research. The researchers
conducted interviews on participants’ recall of important public occurrences, such as the death of John F
Kennedy. The results were that most participants had very clear ideas of where they were, what they were
doing and what they felt at the time of the important public occurrence. In addition, it was found that 73 of
Empirical support for the theory is provided.
80 participants reported to share flashbulb memories of shocking personal events, such as the death of a
relative.

Examiner report
The student has given a well developed and focused outline of the theory and presented research that appears to support the theory.

To what extent is one cognitive process reliable?  [22 marks]

[Taken from paper 1, section B, time zone 2, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

This question asks you to examine “to what extent” one cognitive process is reliable. That means that you need to present
a range of arguments supported by appropriate evidence. As with the SAQ, your first step is to determine which cognitive
process you are going to examine.
Then it is important that you think about the question of reliability, that is, can that cognitive process be trusted? For example,
can we really rely on our memories and/or eyewitness testimony? Whenever you answer a “to what extent” question, you
should consider both sides of the argument. Is memory totally unreliable? What evidence is there that it is reliable?
When describing studies, it is important that each one is linked to the question of reliability, and that any distortions are
explained, that is, why may these distortions be happening?
• Remember that for essays it is essential to demonstrate critical thinking. For this question you could simply provide an
analysis of relevant theories that address reliability of a cognitive process. Also you could provide information about the
practical use of theories or research findings relevant to the reliability of one cognitive process. When evaluating research
or theories, always make sure that the evaluation is clearly linked to the demands of the question, that is, the reliability of
the cognitive process, and not simply a general evaluation of each study/theory.

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
This answer achieved 9/22

Memory is one of the cognitive processes that has been studied thoroughly, and strategies for remembering
The introduction does not link to the question
of “reliability of memory”. Always try to link
have been suggested, for example schemas, chunking and flashbulb memory.
the introduction directly to the question. The one who first suggested schemas in cognition as a strategy/way of remembering was Bartlett, his theory
was that what we have in our minds is an outline of the memory and that we then fill in the outline with
necessary information at retrieval. He attempted to demonstrate this through the study of “the war of ghosts”
where he let his participants read a story (Native American) to then re-tell the story over and over in order
to replicate the process of rumour-telling or oral stories. The story did not only become shorter with each
Evaluation is attempted, but is not clarified as telling but also became more conventional to the western standards of the participants, they had filled it out
to why ecological validity is an issue. with information fitting by their own schemas. The conclusion drawn from this is that memory is not always
a reliable process. However, as this was a laboratory study ecological validity is an issue. His findings are
supported by other studies, and Loftus and Palmer (1974) also they came to the conclusion that memory is
unreliable as they investigated the effect of loaded words on eye-witness testimony.
Some indication of findings of the second study
is provided but needs to be more accurate. Loftus and Palmer used three groups, all of who were shown a video of a car crash, the first group got the
What was the aim of the experiment? question ‘at what speed did the cars hit?’, in group 2 the word was instead ‘smashed’, group three was a
control group. They found that group 2 estimated higher speeds than group 2 or 3, indicating that the
adjective had effected estimations, and when asked whether glass had been present at the crash group 2
S ome link to the question is made but it needs members were more likely to say yes even though no glass had been present. This again demonstrates how
to be more explicit: how did the researchers easily memory can be manipulated by external factors, and due to this study criticism of eyewitnesses is better
explain their findings? How are these findings applied, and convictions are not made on this alone. There are naturally also criticism of the study, ecological
linked to the reliability of memory? validity of laboratory experiment and the participants’ ability to correctly judge speed for example.
However Loftus not only claims that existing memories can be manipulated but also that false memories can
even be created. She has conducted studies on children undergoing therapy and has demonstrated that as
 nce again, an attempt at evaluation, but not
O
many therapists assume something must be wrong with the child they unintentionally, by leading questions
well developed or explained. It would be better
if the student clarified why the experiment
etc, create traumatic memories. This is a frightening example of the extent of memory unreliability.
lacks ecological validity. Several models have been made to demonstrate memory process, and also they indicate the flaws of memory.
Atkinson and Schiffren suggested the multi-store model of memory where we take in sensory input from
environment, but only that which we pay attention to, it is then, transported to the short term memory for a
This paragraph on memory models is not made
few seconds, where much information is lost but some retained through repetition and stored in what is
relevant to the question of reliability, that is,
the trustworthiness of memories.
believed to be the infinite long term memory where some information is also displaced due to lack of use, but
from where it can be retrieved. Badley and Hitch criticized the model for its simplicity and developed the
working memory model where the STM is divided into the visuospatial sketchpad, the phonological loop and
the episodic buffer, however this model also realized that displacement occurs in memory.
There is also evidence for primacy and recency effect in memory, studies show that when read a list subjects
usually best remembers the first and last items, which gives a clue to the nature of memory and how we
This paragraph is also not relevant to the
could improve our memory through repetition, and perhaps through practice and schooling make it more
question.
reliable, studies between uneducated Kpelle of Siberia and educated Kpelle show that those schooled have
much better memory.
Flashbulb memory is also a theory that concerns itself with the reliability of memory, it shows that under
An attempt is made to show the precision of traumatic and significant events we often are able to retain more detailed information due to the emotional
memory, but it is not well developed. involvement at the event. However emotions may also distort a memory as one might remember what one
wants to in order to shield from disturbing emotions.
To conclude, most studies and models of memory show the large flaws our memory is subject to, but it is also
demonstrated the large capacity we have for remembering information. Many factors influence whether or
no memory is reliable, but through caution and critical thinking we can help memories from becoming false
or distorted and through learning and strategies such as chunking information into reasonable groups we can
improve our memory. (754 words)

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: There is some sound understanding of research and theory, but ideas should have been more
developed. (4/9)
Critical thinking: The student has attempted to evaluate research, but there is no real explanation of the terms that are used. Better to
write out why ecological validity is lacking. (3/9)
Organization: The response does not stay focused on the question and only minimally addresses the question of “to what extent”. (2/4)

This answer achieved 13/22

Eyewitness testimony is an area in which memory is vital. A witness’ memory of events could influence such
A good clear introduction. things as court cases and imprisonments; and as such, if the memory is incorrect and unreliable innocent
people could face injustice. It is worrying to hear then that memory can in fact be very fallible, especially as
we often like to believe that our memories of events are unclouded and correct. A number of psychological
concepts accounting for this unreliability have been proposed, and in this essay I am going to both explain
However, introductions do not need to be this
them and discuss their relevant strengths and weaknesses.
long and can waste valuable time in an exam.
Firstly the concept of weapon focus suggests that in a criminal situation involving the use of a weapon of some
kind (e.g. a gun), the individual is likely to pay a lot of attention to the weapon, presumably out of fear,
Providing a counter-example is a good way to causing them not to have a strong memory of important details such as the face of the criminal. Loftus et al
include critical thinking in your essay. conducted a lab experiment in which participants were asked to watch a number of slides involving a criminal
wielding a gun, while their eye movements were tracked. The results showed that participants tended to focus
The actual results of Pickel’s study are not on the weapon for a lot of the time, seemingly supporting the study. Pickel (1999) conducted a counter-
clearly stated. study, similar to Loftus et al’s original, however in the study the man wielded a stick of celery instead of a
gun. Surprisingly the results from tracking the eye movements were very similar, leading Pickel to state that
any unusual object would have such an effect, drawing witnesses’ focus because of its irregularity. Despite
these studies providing interesting and insightful evidence, their lab experiment settings mean that the
ecological validity is very low, especially when considering that a real-life situation involving a weapon
This is overstated. Clearly, both studies have would bring about great emotion and secretion of hormones such as adrenaline, which is completely neglected
been very important in psychology. This type of in the two studies, proving them to be highly reductionist and of very little use.
evaluation is not helpful to the essay.
A second psychological concept related to eyewitness testimony is leading questions. These are questions
which are more likely to elicit a certain response due to their wording; and they are especially pertinent in the
Student has applied the phenomenon to questioning of witnesses, where care should be taken to avoid using them so as not to influence the witness’
everyday experiences.
memory and answers. An example of a leading question would be: “did you see the briefcase?” as opposed to
the much more ambiguous, “was there a briefcase?”. This subtle change in wording can have a profound
effect on recall, as shown by Loftus and Palmer (1974) in their study which involved participants watching a
video of a car crash, and estimating the speed of the impact. Participants were asked “at what speed did the
Description of relevant study is clear and two cars crash?” however the verb was changed each time from crash to bump to smash etc. The experiment
relevant. was independent measures in design and thus each participant was only questioned once. The results showed
that there was a great disparity in speed estimations, with the word ‘smash’ leading to higher values on
average than ‘crash’, and even lower than that, ‘bump’. The study appears very conclusive but yet again its
ecological validity is fairly low due to the lab experiment setting.
Here is an attempt at evaluation, but it is Memory conformity is a concept related to what is called informational conformity, and it proves how easily
not well done. Better to state that in a real our memories can be altered, and even added to through mere conversation with another witness. The theory
accident situation there would be different
is that when one witness relates their story to another and vice-versa, over time their stories become more
emotions than when watching a video and thus the
study could lack ecological validity.
and more similar. Wright et al. (2000) asked participants to watch a video of a woman stealing a man’s

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 8. The cognitive level of analysis
wallet at a bar. Eventually, when the idea of an accomplice to the thief was introduced, the participant
would adapt their story to include the detail, assuming that they had forgotten or simply not noticed. For this
reason, police try to prevent the various witnesses from talking to each other prior to questioning, so that they
can hear the witnesses’ uninfluenced stories as much as possible.
The concept of schema theory (Bartlett, 1932) may also be of relevance in relation to memory distortions.
This is neither developed nor clearly linked to As was found in Bartlett’s study “The War of the Ghosts”, people will often adapt a story, or in this case their
the question. This could have been left out.
memory, if the change causes it to make more sense e.g. a pole may become a ladder in later recallings.
As can be seen from the various concepts and evidence discussed, memory can be very unreliable at times,
and so it is all important that certain measures are taken, such as how the police deal with memory
conformity, in order to provide the most accurate retelling of events. (780 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: Sometimes “less is more”. The student should have used fewer studies and explained them more
carefully. (6/9)
Critical thinking: Though there is some evidence of critical thinking, it is not carefully linked to the question. Attempts that are made
are not well developed. (4/9)
Organization: Although there is an attempt at some counter-evidence, the discussion of “to what extent” memory is reliable is not
fully developed. (3/4)

This answer achieved 19/22

The cognitive process of memory, particularly in relation to eyewitness testimonies, may be affected by
Excellent opening.
several factors which reduce its reliability. The first of these is weapon focus, where the individual focuses
during a crime on the weapon held by the perpetrator, making any description of other aspects, such as the
appearance of the perpetrator, unreliable. This is supported by a study by Loftus et al in which participants
First factor identified. were shown slides of either a customer handing a cashier a cheque or pointing a gun at the cashier. It was
found that participants spent large amounts of time staring at the gun, and in the slides with the gun, the
descriptions of other features of the slide were less detailed. It was concluded that witnesses focused on the
gun because they were aroused by it. However, the ecological validity of the study is questionable, since this
Clear description of empirical evidence.
was only a laboratory experiment. While this means that variables can be controlled, the setting is unnatural
and the participants were not in any real danger. Kramer also found that individuals showing weapon focus
showed no self-reported arousal. Pickel suggested that the weapon attracted attention because it was
Here is a clear explanation of the issue of ‘unusual’ to the setting. A study was conducted where participants’ descriptions of the person carrying the
ecological validity with regard to the study. gun were more accurate when the setting was a place where guns are expected, such as a shooting range.
Descriptions were also less accurate when the person was seen to be holding a stick of celery instead of a gun
in unusual places.

Further development and clarification of the

weapon focus.

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8. The cognitive level of analysis

Another factor which may affect the accuracy of recall is leading questions. These are questions which may
Second factor identified.
suggest an idea to the witness and consequently change their recall. This was demonstrated in a study by
Loftus and Palmer in which participants were shown footage of a car crash. Participants were then asked
how quickly the car was seen to be moving, but the verb in the question was changed. For example, they may
Rather good description of relevant studies have been asked how fast they thought the car was moving when it ‘crashed’ or ‘collided’. Higher estimations
supporting the idea that leading questions were generally given when the verb used was more evocative of speed, such as ‘crashed’. A later study by
affect reliability of memory.
Loftus and Zanni had a similar procedure but the independent variable was the use of the definite or
indefinite in asking if they saw ‘a’ or ‘the’ broken headlight. Even though there was no broken headlight, a
significant amount more from ‘the’ group answered yes than participants from the ‘a’ group. These studies
were again laboratory experiments so variables could be controlled but they have low ecological validity.
Counter-evidence helps to develop the question
Yuille and Cutshall found that witnesses of a real crime recalled the event accurately and were not persuaded
of “to what extent” memory is reliable. This
study could be further developed.
by leading questions.
Memory conformity, where a witness changes their recall of an event to match how another witness recalled
Third factor identified. it, may also influence eyewitness testimony. Memon and Wright observed how witnesses of the Oklahoma
bombing who initially recalled seeing one person involved later recalled seeing a second person after there was
a media exposure on a ‘John Doe’. This was a natural experiment, meaning that it is ecologically valid, but
lacks control of the variables. This limitation is somewhat corrected by a laboratory experiment by Wright in
Good outline of relevant empirical evidence which participants were shown images of a woman stealing a man’s wallet. Half of the participants were
supporting the concept of memory conformity. shown a male accomplice to the woman in these images. Participants were then put into pairs, one from each
of the two groups, to recall what they saw. A significant number of the participants who had seen no male
accomplice later reported seeing one when asked on their own. Although this laboratory experiment lacks
ecological validity, this issue is addressed by the natural experiment, meaning that the two studies together
provide a strong case for memory conformity affecting memory.

This part of the response addresses the It is often believed that emotional memories, such as memories of a crime, may in fact me more reliable than
question of “to what extent”. other memories. For example, Brown and Kulik claimed that emotional memories are accurate
representations of the event, calling these memories flashbulb memories. However, this claim has been
disputed by Talarico and Rubin, who claimed that emotion led to more confident recollection but not
necessarily more accurate. This is supported by a study from Neisse and Harsch in which witnesses to the
Challenge space shuttle disaster were interviewed one day and then two years after the event. Despite
witnesses being confident, later recollections tended differ noticeably from earlier ones. This was a natural
experiment, giving it ecological validity although there would have been a lack of control of the variables,
especially considering the large time scale.
Eyewitness testimonies are often considered a reliable source of information. However, such evidence
Short and clear conclusion provided. indicates that accuracy can be difficult to determine, factors such as weapon focus, leading questions,
memory conformity and flashbulb memory should be taken into account when determining the reliability of
a memory. (813 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: The student demonstrates a good breadth and understanding of the research. (9/9)
Critical thinking: The student tends to apply the same evaluative strategy but also compares findings of different studies. Some ideas
could be a bit better developed. (6/9)
Organization: The response addresses the question of “to what extent” and is well developed. (4/4)

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 9. The sociocultural level of analysis
9. The sociocultural level of analysis

Human behaviour can be fully understood only in the social context. Sociocultural
research studies how people think about themselves and other people. The main areas of
study in social psychology are:
• cognitive habits that lead people to make errors and biases in their judgments
• how and why we conform to social norms
• how individuals behave in groups
• the effect of culture on the behaviour of the individual
• how we learn from our environment.

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this core area of study are given below. They state what you
should be able to do after studying this core area.

General learning outcomes

• Outline principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis.
• Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be
demonstrated in research.
• Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of
analysis.
• Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of
analysis.

Sociocultural cognition
• Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour.
• Discuss two errors in attributions.
• Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies.
• Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour.

Social norms
• Explain social learning theory, making reference to two relevant studies.
• Discuss the use of compliance techniques.
• Evaluate research on conformity to group norms.
• Discuss factors influencing conformity.

Cultural norms
• Define the terms “culture” and “cultural norms”.
• Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behaviour.
• Use one or more examples to explain “emic” and “etic” concepts.
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Essential definitions
Attribution is how individuals explain causes of events, others’ behaviour, and their own behaviour.
Compliance means adapting one’s actions because of perceived pressure to respond to a request.
Conformity is the process by which a member of a group will adjust their attitudes and behaviours to fit the views of the group
although the situation doesn’t exert direct pressure. There are many reasons why people conform including a need to be accepted by
the group or avoiding criticism from others.
Cultural dimensions are distinct value constructs that serve to distinguish one culture from another. The cultural dimensions model
developed by Hofstede was based on an extensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture.
Culture is usually defined as a cumulative set of knowledge, experiences, beliefs and behaviours shared by a group. Culture provides
an ordered system of meaning and symbols that helps human beings interpret their experience and guide their social interaction.
Cultural norms are shared and integrated patterns of beliefs and practices that characterize a cultural group. They are transmitted
across generations and regulate behaviour in accordance with the group’s unique system.
Dispositional factors are internal factors that help us explain human behaviour by focusing on characteristics within the individual,
for example, an individual’s attitude or personality.
Emic concepts are accounts, descriptions and explanations used to understand a culture the way its members understand it, to
learn the concepts they use and to try to see the world in the way they do.
Errors in attribution tend to arise because people tend to prefer certain explanations when trying to understand why things
happen in the social world.
Etic concepts are accounts and explanations used to understand a culture in scientific terms, by comparing the culture to others and
addressing the universals of human behaviour.
Group norms are important regulators of human behaviour since members of a group tend to agree with the group norm. Norms
can be defined as a generally accepted way of thinking or behaving in the group.
Situational factors are outside factors coming from the environment or culture that help us explain human behaviour, for example,
rewards coming from the immediate environment or indirect pressure to follow the majority.
Social identity theory suggests all individuals belong to a group and are likely to derive their sense of identity, at least in part, from
that group. Individuals try to improve their self-esteem by making comparisons with out-groups.
Social learning theory assumes people can learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of those behaviours,
without necessarily repeating those behaviours.
Stereotypes are schemas stemming from applying generalized characteristics or motives to a group of individuals, giving the same
characteristics to all people in the group, regardless of the individual characteristics actually present.

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 9. The sociocultural level of analysis
Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes
Principles of the sociocultural level of analysis

• As human beings we are constantly influenced by other people or by requirements of society, even when we think we are acting
independently.
• Human behaviour is explained by both social factors and dispositional factors.
• Human beings are social animals and need others for survival.
• Humans have an individual and social identity.
• Tajfel’s Kandinsky or Klee study (1971). Principle: Humans have an individual and social identity. Research method: Experiment,
independent samples design.

Tajfel presented a group of boys aged 14–15 years old with 12 slides representing different paintings. Half of the
pictures were painted by Kandinsky and the other half by Klee. The boys were asked which paintings they preferred.
In an independent samples design experiment, Tajfel randomly assigned 48 boys to 2 groups. The boys thought the
grouping was based on their preference for the art of Kandinsky or Klee. Every boy was asked to award points to
two boys, one from their own group and one from the other group. Tajfel found that the boys generally awarded more
points to members of their own group and tended to make choices that maximized the difference between the profits
of the two groups, favouring members of their group. These results suggest boys tended to identify with their group
and created a positive social identity by giving their group more points.

Research methods used at the sociocultural level of analysis

• Experiments: Sherif’s autokinetic effect illusion study; Asch’s study (1951), Bandura et al (1961); Cialdini et al (1974) on the effect of
low-balling in a university setting; Parke et al (1977) on the effect of media violence.
• Interview: Mead interviewed 68 young females aged from 9 to 20 on Samoa. Findings from interviews suggested that the passage
from childhood to adulthood (adolescence) is a smooth transition.
• Observations: Karen O’Reilly’s (2000) qualitative study of British residents on the Costa del Sol in which she used overt observation
as one of the methods in her study to gain information about the interaction with Spanish people as well as naturally occurring
discussions about integration and language learning; Leon Festinger’s (1956) covert observation of a religious cult that believed the
world would come to an end.
• Case study method: Janis’s study of groupthink (1971). He studied retrospective accounts of individuals close to the decision-
making process in several policy decisions.

Ethical considerations at the socio-cultural level of analysis

Ethical considerations are relatively the same at each level of analysis, although there are a few that are of particular relevance to the
sociocultural level of analysis.
• In some studies participants have experienced high levels of stress that could have been avoided.
• Carrying out covert observations violates the participants’ right to informed consent.
• Researchers sometimes use deception about various aspects of the study. Deception is necessary in studies examining socially
sensitive topics in order to combat biases such as the social desirability bias and demand characteristics, and to produce valid
results. Often, participants are misled about what they believe will happen to them. The consequences of deception can be
benign, but can also be extremely stressful.
• The common use of focus groups can lead to problems with confidentiality of a participant’s response.
• Reporting findings from etic studies may lead to stereotyped images of certain cultures.

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Role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour

One of the great debates of social psychology is to what extent one’s behaviour is determined by dispositional factors, such as one’s
personality, or determined by situational factors. Often we attribute one’s behaviour to dispositional factors, when in fact situational
factors may play a more important role. For example, a student may not be doing poorly in class because he is lazy (a disposition),
but because he is having problems at home (situational).
• Hartshorne and May (1928).

The researchers conducted a study on honesty in schoolchildren. Children were put in a number of situations in
which they had a chance to be dishonest and believed they would not be detected. For example, they were given
money to play with that they could have kept; they were asked to report about work done at home; or they were
observed taking tests to see who would cheat and who would not. The children were neither consistently honest nor
consistently dishonest. This argues that honesty is not a dispositional factor, but is rather influenced by the situation.

• Asch (1951).
• Zimbardo’s Stanford prison study.
• Piliavin’s (1969) Good Samaritan study.

Errors in attribution
For your exam you have to prepare two errors in attribution. There are several possible attribution errors that you could study but
the most common are actor–observer bias, defensive attribution bias, fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias.
• Harre, Brandt and Houkamau (2004): Examination of the actor–observer effect in young drivers’ attributions for their own and
their friends’ risky driving.

Open-ended questions were used to obtain the attributions of 70 young drivers for their own as well as their friends’
risky driving behaviour. The aim of the study was to determine if there were self–other differences consistent with
the actor–observer effect.
Results indicated that dispositional attributions, for example, showing off or acting cool, was used significantly more
for friends than for oneself. On the other hand, situational attributions such as “I was in a hurry” or “I was running
late” were used significantly more often to explain one’s own behaviour. Participants rated their friends as taking
more risks than themselves.

• Jones and Harris (1967): Fundamental attribution error.

• Ross et al (1977): Fundamental attribution error in game show contestants.
• Johnson et al (1964): Self-serving bias in student tutors
• Bond, Leung and Wan (1982): Cultural differences in self-serving bias.

Social identity theory

Henri Tajfel claimed that people strive to improve their self-image by enhancing their self-esteem. This can be done through personal
achievement or through affiliations with successful groups. The theory is based on three components: social categorization, social
comparison and internalization of the values and norms of the group.

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 9. The sociocultural level of analysis
• Cialdini et al (1976): Basking in Reflected Glory.

This study is a field experiment conducted at seven universities with powerful football teams. It was predicted
that students at these schools would be more likely to announce publicly their connection with their universities
after their football teams had been successful than after the teams had not been successful. The obtained findings
tend to demonstrate the BIRG phenomenon by showing a tendency for university students to more frequently wear
school-identifying signs after their school’s football team has won than after they have lost. In the second part of the
experiment he phoned students several days after their college American football team played. When the team lost a
game most students used the pronoun “they” when describing the game. They used psychological distancing to cope
with the defeat. They tended to use “we” after their team won.

The command term in the guide asks that you be able to evaluate social identity theory (SIT). Looking at the strengths of the theory,
SIT has been applied to a wide range of social conflict and inter-group situations. It is an integrative approach that looks at both
psychological and social factors, and does not attribute conflict simply to dispositional factors. However, it also has its limitations.
The theory makes the existence of prejudice and inter-group conflict look almost inevitable. Much of the research that has been
conducted has been done in artificially constructed experiments, so the ecological validity of the support is in question. Finally, we
have many social identities. The theory does not explain why a particular social identity would become prominent and then lead to
a behaviour. The theory is not reliably predictive of behaviour, as individual identity will sometimes outweigh the influence of group
identity.
• Reicher and Haslam (2006): BBC prison experiment on SIT.
• Sherif (1961): The Robbers Cave Experiment.
• Tajfel et al (1971): Kadinsky versus Klee experiment.
• Bem’s theory on the origin of sexuality (1996).
• Maass et al (2006) on the role of SIT in sexual harrassment.

Formation of stereotypes
• Staats and Staats (1958).

The researchers told participants to learn word pairs: a nationality name paired with another word. In one group,
Dutch was always paired with a favourable word, and Swedish with an unfavourable word. This was reversed for the
other group. When participants were asked to rate national groups, this related to the learned pairings.

• Hamilton and Gifford (1976): Illusory correlation.

• Snyder and Swann (1978) in the role of confirmation bias.
• Rogers and Frantz (1962) on conformity to group norms in study of length of residence and race attitudes of Europeans in
Rhodesia.
• Campbell (1967) on the role of gatekeepers.

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The effect of stereotypes on behaviour

• Snyder, Tanke, Berscheid (1977).

University of Minnesota students were recruited for a study on “the acquaintance process”. Men were given fake
snapshot and biographical information about their partners. After that they were asked to get acquainted with their
partners by phone. Their expectations influenced how they talked to their partners. After the telephone conversations,
independent judges listened to tapes of the women’s conversations and had to judge the attractiveness of the women.
Women who had been talked to as if they were beautiful tended to sound attractive. They became confident, and
socially skilled. Those who had been treated as if they were unattractive soon became withdrawn, lacking in
confidence and awkward.

• Allport and Postman (1947) or Cohen (1981) on how stereotypes influence recall.
• Aronson (1995) on stereotype threat and African American performance in standardized testing.
• Spencer et al (1977) on stereotype threat and female performance in maths proficiency exams.

Social learning theory

• Gergely et al (2002).

An adult model pretended to be cold and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before performing an odd head
action. In an independent samples design 14-month-old human infants were divided into two conditions.
Hands-occupied condition – model performed the odd head action while using her hands to hold the blanket around
her shoulders.
Hands-free condition – model performed the odd head action with her free hands clearly visible on the table.
Results of the study indicated that 69% of the infants in the hands-free condition imitated the head action whereas
only 21% of the infants performed the head action in the hands-occupied group.

• Bandura et al (1963): Bashing Bobo experiment.

• Sabido annual report (2005): Ethiopia: A Case Study Using the Sabido Methodology for Sexual Health.
• Sprafkin et al (1975): Children’s willingness to help can be increased by viewing a televised example of prosocial behaviour.
• Eron’s (1986) longitudinal study of correlation between television viewing and aggression.

Compliance techniques
• Moriarty (1975).

The experiment used an independent samples design. A confederate put a towel on a beach and listened to a radio.
Then the confederate left the towel to stroll down to the water. Another confederate came along and stole the radio. In
this scenario, 1/20 people risked stopping the crime. When a person was asked to please keep an eye on the radio, then
the rate of helping went up to 19/20. In other words, once commitment was made, people were more likely to intervene.

• Cialdini et al (1975) on the door-in-the-face technique for student counsellors.

• Dickerson et al (1992) on the effect of foot-in-the-door technique on water conservation.

Cialdini et al (1974) on low-balling for getting students up early to lectures.

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Evaluate research on conformity to group norms
The classic study of conformity was done by Asch (1951). The Asch paradigm has been used for many later studies of conformity. This
learning outcome asks you to be able to evaluate research on conformity. Remember to consider the questions of artificiality and
ecological validity in the experimental setting as well as the fact that the predictive validity of the studies are questionable. There
are also many different variables that may affect one’s conformity to the group (see the next learning outcome). Finally, you might
consider the cultural and historical factors that may have influenced the results of the studies. For a list of studies, see the next
learning outcome.

Discuss factors influencing conformity

There are several factors that may influence conformity: the unanimity of the group, one’s self-esteem, one’s desire to be part of a
group, gender, and/or cultural dimensions.
• Bond and Smith (1996).

A meta-analysis of 133 studies from 17 countries was conducted to investigate if conformity levels to Asch’s paradigm
have changed over time and if there were cross-cultural differences. Analysis of US studies indicated that conformity
levels had decreased since the 1950s. Analysis of cultural variables tended to show higher levels of conformity in
collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures.

• Jenness (1932).
• Sherif’s study with autokinetic effect (1936).
• Asch’s study (1951).
• Crutchfield (1955).
• Berry (1967) study of the Temne (Sierra Leone) and Canadian Inuits.
• Moscovici and Lage (1976) on minority influence.

The role of cultural dimensions on behaviour

For the exam you need to know two cultural dimensions. The most common ones studied are: individualism verus collectivism,
power distance, masculinity verus femininity, uncertainty avoidance and time orientations.
• Petrova et al (2007).

This study was a field experiment aimed at studying how individualism/collectivism has an impact on the level
of compliance. The study involved over 3,000 participants. Almost half of them were American students and the
rest were Asian students studying at the same university. Results indicated that when participants complied with
the initial request this had a stronger impact on subsequent compliance of American participants than on Asian
participants.

• Bond and Smith (1996): Effect of individualism/collectivism on level of conformity.

• Levine and Norenzayan (1999): Time orientation and individual behaviour.
• Whiting (1979) on differences in helping behaviour in individualistic versus collectivistic societies.

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“Emic” and “etic” concepts

An etic approach to cross-cultural research looks for universal behaviour. The approach decides what is to be studied before arriving
in the new culture. Etic approaches study the behaviour from an ethnocentric viewpoint with the goal of comparing cultures. An
emic approach is looking to understand a culture in and of itself. After getting used to a culture, emic researchers then decide how
to carry out their research with the help of indigenous researchers.
• Bolton (1999).

Bolton carried out research in Rwanda to determine the level of PTSD and depression among the local population
after the genocide. Initial reports by aid workers had determined that the overwhelming majority of the population
suffered from the disorder. Bolton worked together with local people to determine a symptom list for what the locals
determined to be “abnormal grief responses”. When looking at PTSD through the diagnostic regime of the Rwandan
community, levels of PTSD and depression fell to much lower levels.

Other examples of emic studies are:

• Manson (1985): Studies of “depression” and “heartbrokenness” among Hopi Indians.
• Becker (2002): Food phobia in the diagnosis of eating disorders.
Cross-cultural studies use an etic approach, for example:
LeVine (1990s) on cross-cultural differences in helping behaviour.
Berry (1967) on differences in conformity.
Cole and Scribner’s (1974) studies of memory strategies.

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Describe one theory or study on the formation of stereotypes. [8 marks]
[Taken from paper 1, section A, time zone 2, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

This question asks you to look at how stereotypes are created and developed. Notice that it is only the first half of the learning
outcome “explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour”. It is important for this question that you only
address formation and not the effect of stereotypes on behaviour.
There are several theories and/or studies that you can choose from. These include Rogers and Frantz, Tajfel’s (1969) social
categorization theory, Hamilton and Gifford’s illusory correlation theory, Staats and Staats classical conditioning or Campbell’s
theory of gatekeepers. Describing more than one theory or study will not help you gain more marks so spend your time
describing just one.
When describing a theory, be sure to describe why it may work as well. For example, when describing Campbell’s theory
of gatekeepers, you may want to talk about social learning theory and how we learn from media, parents or peers. When
describing a study, be sure to address the aim, procedure and findings.

This answer achieved 2/8

The formation of stereotypes is a particularly relevant area of psychology as it explains people’s behaviour
when they adopt prejudices and discriminate. The theory that I will study is Confirmation Bias by Snyder
This is not about the formation of stereotypes, and Swann. This theory states that when someone knows of a stereotype, whether they wish to or not, they
but how they affect our behaviour. will often search for the behaviour in what they see and ignore other disproving behaviours. For example if
someone heard that women are bad at maths and then looked at a class of women who had bad scores they
would assume the stereotype to be true, whilst ignoring a class of boys who got poor marks in the same test.
This theory is supported by empirical evidence from Snyder and Swann who conducted an experiment on
stereotype formation. They told participants that the person they would meet would be an introvert or an
extrovert, and to prepare questions to ask them. They then saw that people had made questions that assume
what they have heard and seek to prove it. For example with the introverts, the questions would be ‘why
don’t you like parties?’ and for the extroverts, ‘what would you do to liven up a party?’
Whilst this study appears to support the theory very well, it is important to note that it was conducted in a lab
environment, and while it gets a good cause-effect relationship, it isn’t representative of real-life and
Evaluation of the study and theory is not therefore has low ecological validity.
necessary for the stated question.
Further criticisms of the theory are that it doesn’t accommodate for cultural differences and it is prudent to
solely use this theory in the culture in which it was invented.
The conclusion is only marginally relevant for However, it is very relevant as it studies stereotypes, which we know exist and the applications of the study
the stated question. are good in that it can be used to reduce stereotyping and prejudice which is a good thing.

Examiner report
The student has not addressed how stereotypes are formed, but rather how they affect our behaviour. Confirmation bias makes
stereotypes resistant to change. Some knowledge of stereotyping is demonstrated, but it is not directly relevant to the question.

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This answer achieved 5/8

A stereotype can be described as a generalization of a group which is then attributed to all the members of
Theory is correctly identified.
that group.
One of the theories about why stereotypes are formed is that of ‘social comparison’ which is mentioned in
Tajfel’s social identity theory. This theory suggests that people may strive to improve their self-image by
A good general description of social identity trying to enhance their self-esteem through affiliation with various groups. Moreover, when people become
theory is provided. a part of groups, they tend to engage in ‘social comparison’ where they compare the benefits of being in an
in-group versus being in the out-group. A strong and collective identity is formed where the group is seen as
However, only the last line of the response superior. Hence, it is easy to judge other groups and they may have a social, or collective, identity as well,
explicitly refers to stereotyping. which makes it easy to form a stereotype where you think that all members of that group are the same
(in their behaviour as well as appearance, intelligence and so on).

Examiner report
A good description of social identity theory is given, but it is not well linked to how stereotypes are formed. A more developed
response clearly giving evidence of SIT’s role in stereotyping would make this a stronger response.

This answer achieved 8/8

Stereotypes are classified by Katz and Braly as being erroneous, often negative assumptions about individuals
Clear definition of stereotypes provided.
of a group which are then generalized to apply to the whole group (e.g. all women are bad drivers). There
are many theories as to how stereotypes form, which tie in with the socio-cultural principle that as human
beings, our views are resistant to change. The theory I would like to examine here is that of Gatekeepers.
Theory is correctly identified. Gatekeepers, defined by Campbell, are sources of information which are either subversively influential or
generally trusted which serve, due to their specific content, to entrench stereotypes in the human mind.
Examples of gatekeepers may be news, television, music and even our parents. Anything which we trust as a
source of information and views can serve to form stereotypes in our minds. For instance, if all films tend to
depict Japanese tourists as constantly taking snapshots on Polaroid cameras, then one will eventually find it
difficult to imagine a Japanese tourist doing anything else, despite the fact that many of them do not engage
in this type of behaviour at all.
An excellent example which supports the This theory was supported by a study into the stigma and generalizations which surround people with mental
theory. health problems. Scottish television was monitored for a certain amount of time, and it was seen that in
depictions of people with mental health problems, only 12% were sympathetic whilst 60% of scenes involved
violent action. This study demonstrates the way in which media gatekeepers can serve to promote an
erroneous, but stereotypical perception (in this case, that mentally ill people are dangerous).
Though one could potentially criticize these studies for suggesting that the media dictates our opinions, it does
seem to have relevance.
An explanation of why this theory may work. Social Learning Theory (Bandura) can help to explain the concept of gatekeepers. The principles of SLT are
Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation. This is relevant to the development of stereotypes as gatekeepers
receive our attention (they are ‘models’), we will eventually retain the information that they promote, at some
point we may reproduce it (e.g. mockingly imitating a stereotype) and possibly receive yet more motivation to
perform in such a way (the laughter and approval of friends who share the stereotype for example).
Therefore it is clear that the presence of gatekeepers is an excellent theory for explaining the formation of
stereotypes.

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Examiner report
This is an outstanding response to an SAQ providing both support and explanation of the theory that is identified. A clear link to the
formation of stereotypes is given.

Discuss factors influencing conformity.  [22 marks]

[Taken from paper 1, section B, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

First, please notice that this is not a general question about the nature of conformity, but rather a focused question about
which factors actually determine how much one will conform. It is important that you don’t just tell “all you know” about
conformity in general. Since the word “factors” is plural, you want to discuss at least two factors in your essay. There are
two ways to approach a question of this type. One way is to discuss a small number of factors in as much depth as you can.
The other strategy is to discuss a larger number of factors in somewhat less depth. Both of these approaches are equally
acceptable.
There are a number of factors influencing conformity that can be discussed, including culture, unanimity, group size, minority
influence, cultural dimensions or self-esteem.
In order to show critical thinking you could evaluate studies that examine these factors. In addition to evaluating research
studies, you may also consider the problems of conformity research.
You can also show evidence of critical thinking through synthesis, because factors influencing conformity are rarely isolated. A
fuller explanation of conformity could provide information about how several factors are combined to influence conformity.

This answer achieved 6/22

Peer pressure is one of the things that influence conformity and we always see it in school or outside it could
be when friends pressure each other to smoke or anything else one would most often conform because their
This comment is not accurate. The student friend tells them to do so, but it could also happen without peer pressure. One example of conformity with no
hasn’t made clear how this study is relevant for
peer pressure is done by Asch, 1951. What he did was he told participants that they should compare the
peer pressure.
length ‘x’ to one of the lines in a, b, c. The difference between the lines were very obvious. Between the
participants there was 6 confederates who already know the aim of the experiment. They were the people
who should answer wrong to see if other participants would conform. The confederates were dressed as
business men. What Asch came up with was that people would conform because we as human beings need to
belong. So even though there was obvious difference between the lines a, b, c and it was obvious to see which
one matched x, they still conformed with no peer pressure.
General information about conformity Furthermore there was another study made to see whether or not minor groups influences majorities. There
provided. It is unclear from this paragraph was two confederates and 4 participant. The participants was shown slides with colors. One of the color was
what the factor was that influenced the blue-green; the confederates were to answer that this color was green. When they did answer with green
level of conformity. Moscovici argues that it is some of the participants also answered with green. 36% at least answered wrong once. Even after that the
the “consistency of the minority opinion” that
confederates had left the room, the participants were to continue and they would still answer wrong. This
influences the majority and not the minority
shows as that it doesn’t always have to be that majority controls minority but vice versa could always work.
opinion alone.

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Another thing that also influences conformity is group thinking and that is when one group is talking about
Group thinking is identified as a relevant factor something one of the members might say something that another one doesn’t then the one who did not know
influencing conformity.
the fact from before would conform because they believe that friend and also don’t have the knowledge
themselves. Or it would be that the person motivates their fact very well that it is easy to conform.
A last study on how factors influences conformity is Bandura. He used 36 boys and 36 girls as participants.
However, there is no evidence to support
These kids were to watch adults either hitting a “Bobo doll” or verbally abusing the doll. They were then put
claims.
in another room with toys for a while. The adults then called the kids and put them in the room by
themselves with the Bobo doll to observe whether or not they would conform and do like the adult did
depending on the group they were in. Results showed that the first group with the hitting the Bobo doll
occurred the kids did the same thing, they conformed and so did the second group. Why this is seen as
This study is not relevant to the question.
conformity is because the kids are not peer pressured to do like the adult but they themselves choose to do so.
Some weaknesses in this study would be that maybe because they are kids they don’t really know if it is how
they should behave. They might have thought that since the adult is doing do they also should because that is
what they want.
A very vague conclusion is provided. It does not What we can see in this essay is that not only adults would conform but so do kids also. Even though it is not
relate to the stated question. always conformity happens, these studies show that it does happen many times. (579 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: While there are some relevant studies referenced and some knowledge demonstrated, overall the
studies are descriptive without clearly identifying the factor that affects the level of conformity. Some information is inaccurate or
irrelevant to the question. (4/9)
Critical thinking: There is no evidence of critical thinking, the essay is only descriptive. (0/9)
Organization: Although there is an adequate structure to the essay, the question is not adequately addressed. (2/4)

This answer achieved 13/22

Conformity is an area of psychology which is prevalent because it affects everyday decisions and is relevant in
simple decisions in terms of groups of friends, and in large-scale things such as what clothing is accepted and
appropriate in different cultures. I will investigate factors influencing conformity but before I do so it is
important to quickly describe the types of conformity it influences. I will first investigate informational and
normative influence and then later, group conformity.
T his background on the nature of conformity
is not what the question is asking for. Though Conformity is described as changing one’s thoughts to fit those of the group. Kelman proposed that there are
it is not “incorrect” it does not focus on the 2 types of conformity – internalisation and compliance. Internalisation involves making a public and a
demands of the question. private change – that is conforming publicly and actually believing in what you conform to. Compliance
involves a public change but no private change for example listening to a type of music in order to fit in but
secretly disliking it. Deutsch and Gerard in 1956 proposed 3 ideas pertaining to conformity. Firstly
informational influence – this is where someone is faced with an ambiguous task and modifies their
behaviour in line with the antecedent behaviours. One person who studied this was Jennes in 1932 studying
people’s guesses on how many beads there were in a jar. They had a group of people tell them privately a
guess and then noted them down. When asked to write down on the sheet their guess, they saw a few guesses
at the top (which were fake and had been written by Jennes) which were very high. The participants
compromised their original answer and modified it to become more like the previous guesses. This research

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however is very old and may not have relevance today. Deutsch and Gerard’s second idea was that of
Though this student has included dates of the cognitive dissonance. This is the idea that when one is faced with two conflicting choices or ideas, one feels
research, they are not required.
anxiety and the way to reduce this anxiety is by conforming to other’s behaviour in some way. This helps to
explain their next idea; normative influence. This is the idea that when faced with an unambiguous task,
Some evaluation of study is provided but needs people will conform to wrong information in order to fit in. Asch studied this in 1951 with his classic 3-line
more clarity and further development. study. He had participants match a test line to one of 3 others by length. The task was very simple. He had
many people in a room but only 1 was a participant. The rest were confederates that deliberately gave wrong
I ncorrect information. Even if it were correct, answers 12/18 times. He found that 75% of participants conformed at least once. Problems with study
it is not a very strong evaluation of the study. include the fact that it was a sample of students and therefore cannot be generalized. Asch found many
A more in-depth evaluation would make this a
factors affecting conformity rates, one of which was group size. He found that there was an optimum
stronger response.
number of confederates for conformity that was 3. He also found that when participants were asked to write
their answers down conformity dropped considerably because they didn’t have the anxiety about publically
This needs to be clarified. What is meant by disagreeing. He also found that unanimity was a very important factor in conformity. He found that every
“an optimum number for conformity”? confederate must give the same answer for the participant to conform.
Perrin & Spencer replicated the study but with engineers and medical students in order to find out whether
Several factors identified, but not discussed.
self-esteem decreases conformity. Stang also conducted a study and found self-esteem to be a leading factor
in conformity.
Reference to an additional study are provided One criticism of this is that there are cross-cultural studies, so in order to allow the theory to be generalisable
but results are not stated. we must show some. Made and Whittaker conducted a study on the Bantu people and found that their
conformity was very high. Kashima and Triandis said that this was because it was a collectivist society and
collectivist societies rate conformity high as a characteristic. This is supported by Marcus and Kitayama who
A relevant factor is identified and briefly
outlined. said that “in the US it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, in Japan it is the tall nail that gets pounded
down”. Smith and Bond also found in a large study that collectivist societies conform more.
One issue is that all of the studies above are lab experiments and therefore have low ecological validity or they
are unrepresentative of real-life. However, there is a significant amount of empirical evidence to suggest
This is inaccurate. Some studies have been that the theories are valid. One issue with the Asch study is that it had a very low task validity as matching
conducted in natural settings. lines is not representative of a real-life issue.
Another factor that affects conformity is groups. One type of group conformity is minority influence. This
This paragraph should have a stronger topic was studied by Moscovici and Lage and where the minority influences the majority. In their study they had
sentence to help define the factor, which is 4 participants and 2 confederates at one time estimate a colour. It was a blue/green but clearly more green.
minority influence. 32% of the time, by giving the answer blue, the confederates made people conform. They found that the
confederates must be flexible in their opinions (not appear belligerent) but consistent in their responses
(always give an incorrect answer).
It would appear that factors affecting conformity include: group size, anonymity, self-esteem, the culture in
which someone lives (particularly dependant on the dimension of individualism/collectivism) and the
A conclusion is provided and it is rather
appearance of the group. However as research in this area are lab experiments and must therefore be viewed
relevant although a bit simplistic.
prudently to prove a social problem such as conformity as it has low ecological validity. However, some of
the research is extremely useful and has been replicated many times such as the Asch study. Many people
Extreme statements such as “extremely useful”
have replicated it and it even has a theory named after it – the Asch paradigm which describes aspects of
should be avoided.
conformity. (919 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: Fewer factors with better explanation would make a stronger essay. (6/9)
Critical thinking: There is an attempt at evaluation, but it is not always correct or the evaluation is not well developed. (4/9)
Organization: The response is usually well focused but at times jumps from idea to idea without clear transition. (3/4)

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This answer achieved 20/22

Conformity is defined as behaviours whereby an Individual changes his/her beliefs or behaviours so that they
Good introduction provided, gives a definition
match those of a unified majority which surrounds them. Here, I shall discuss factors which influence
of conformity and addresses the specific
conformity, beginning by explaining types of conformity and reasons for conforming behaviour, before going
question.
on to discuss those things which affect the degree to which a person conforms.
Kelman identified two specific types of conformity: internalization (where one’s inner beliefs become
distorted to match those of the majority) and compliance (where one changes their outward behaviour to
match the majority but retains their internal beliefs). These concepts tie directly into the two reasons for
conformity suggested by Deutsch and Gerard: normative influence (where one conforms due to social
This paragraph discusses the nature of pressure and a desire to fit in – compliance) and informative influence (where one conforms out of the
conformity. This is not required, and it does not belief that the majority opinion is, in fact, correct, and you should share it – internalization). Festinger
add to the discussion of the question asked. suggested that the underlying reason for conformity was the alteration of cognitive dissonance. In other
words, we change in order to get rid of the negative feeling we get from being different. This theory ties in
with the socio-cultural principle which states that ‘human beings have an inherent need to belong’ and it is
clear that if any of the aforementioned factors were present in a situation then the chances of an individual
conforming would increase.
These theories have been supported by empirical research. Informative influence was supported by Jens, who
had several participants in the same room guess the number of beans in a jar. It was seen that, as the
participants had no idea how many beans there actually were, that their answers tended to be based on that of
the first participant to answer, whose informative influence and cognitive dissonance and distortion had
lead[sic] them to believe was justified in their guess.
Normative influence was demonstrated by Asch (1951) in his classic ‘three line’ experiment. Here, 123
young, male participants were placed on their own in a room with 7-8 confederates posing as participants.
A researcher then showed the group 4 lines on a board and asked them to estimate which of lines 2, 3 and 4
were closest in length to line 1. All the confederates were told to give the same, wrong answer, and the real
participant was made to answer last. It was seen that 75% of participants conformed at least once and that
approximately 25% conformed in every situation. This shows how normative influence and cognitive
dissonance can be contributing factors in conformity.
This study can, however, be criticized on several grounds. For instance, the sample was small and of a
specific gender, age and social group. It can therefore be observed that the findings of the study are not
wholly generalized to the public at large. Friend also criticized the study, claiming that there was a bias in the
interpretation of results. Friend stated that, in the face of unanimity, it is incredible that 25% of participants
did not conform at all, and that it is that statistic that we should analyse.
With this in mind, it is clear that there are other factors present which will influence whether an individual
Appropriate factors are identified.
conforms or not. Two of these, group size and the pressure of an ally, were investigated by Asch, who sought
to expand his experiment. Asch found that when the participants’ belief about the correct line was supported
by one other individual, that conformity dropped sharply. This suggests that identification with another
individual will reduce normative influence and thus conformity levels (confident is increased). Asch’s second
Empirical evidence relevant for the question is
expansion involved the presence of more and more confederates in the room. He found that the rate of
stated clearly.
conformity increased exponentially: conformity 14% of the time with two confederates but 32% of the time
with three. Interestingly, however, rates did not increase significantly beyond this point and actually
decreased after 15 confederates. This can be explained in two ways: either deindividuation beginning to take
Analysis of the results, this is a good example place in a group size of 15 or larger (the participant feels that there are too many people for his different
of critical thinking. opinion to be noted) or the participants began to become aware of the nature of the experiment, as so many
people chose the wrong answer.

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Stang suggested that self-esteem would play a role in conformity, with those with high self-esteem
conforming less. This was confirmed by Perrin & Spencer who replicated the Asch study using engineering
students who would be confident of their ability to estimate length: they found that conformity was far less
common.

Theory addressing factors influencing Yet another factor which can influence conformity is minority influence. This theory states that a minority
conformity is correctly identified and outlined. opinion can serve to change that of the majority. Moscovici conducted a study wherein participants were
asked to estimate the colour (blue or green) of a series of slides showing different shades of blue. Two
confederates were in the room with a group of participants and were either consistent (calling ‘green’ 36/36
times) or inconsistent (calling ‘green’ 26/36 times). Moscovici found that there was a tendency to confirm
Here the factor affecting conformity is clearly to the minority, but it was increase when the minority was consistent. It was therefore argued that minority
stated.
influence is at its highest when the minority is flexible, consistent, committed and relevant in regards to the
views that they hold.
Two factors which specifically influence minority influence are group identification and social crypto
amnesia. The first was investigated by Maass, who showed heterosexual participants a film on gay rights,
from either the perspective of a heterosexual minority or a homosexual minority. It was found that they
Further development of minority influences is were influenced more by the heterosexual minority as they were able to identify with the group. Social
provided and good explanation is provided. crypto amnesia is the process whereby, in a group discussion, a minority opinion can be subconsciously
internalized by a member of the majority group. The idea sits in the mind until they forget where it came
from, then interpret it as their own idea and begin to support the minority position. Therefore, minority
influence can have a powerful effect on conformity.
The final factor that I would like to discuss is the role of culture in conformity. Hofstede’s cultural
framework outlines a difference between the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism.
One more factor briefly but clearly outlined Individualist cultures focus on the role of the individual and is concerned with personal strength. The opposite
and its influence is supported with empirical is true of collectivist cultures which are focused on community and one’s place as part of a whole. Smith and
evidence. Bond analysed 31 cross-cultural conformity studies and found that people in collectivist cultures (such as
Italy (Goodman et al)) were far more likely to conform than those in individualist cultures, showing how
culture, as a factor, influences conformity.
In conclusion, it is clear that conformity is a very complex social phenomenon which cannot be explained by
A clear conclusion is provided.
one factor alone. In regards to future research, it would be interesting to investigate the reasons why
individuals consciously choose to become a minority and to go against the norm (eg punks). In all,
conformity is a fascinating and complex subject. (1169 words)

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: The student demonstrates a very strong base of knowledge on the topic. (9/9)
Critical thinking: The student analyses studies and evaluates them as well. This could be more developed if the student did not write
unnecessary material. (7/9)
Organization: The response is focused and well developed. (4/4)

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10. Paper 2: Optional areas of study

10. Paper 2: Optional areas of study

Paper 2 assesses your knowledge and understanding of the optional areas of study.
Each of these options goes into depth, examining one specific application of theory and
research in psychology. The five areas are:
• abnormal psychology
• developmental psychology
• health psychology
• the psychology of human relationships
• sport psychology.
SL students prepare one of the options; HL students prepare two.
The amount of information required for this in-depth study would be beyond the scope
of this book. The focus in this section of the text is on how to approach the learning
outcomes. Although some studies/theories are presented, the emphasis is on the
strategies for interpreting and responding to the questions. It is important that you use
what you have learned in your class, as well as in your main texts, in order to use the
strategies that are outlined in this section.
Remember that in order to earn high marks on this paper, you must do the following.
• Make appropriate use of theories/studies. You should not overload your essay with
studies, but it is important that you have research to support your claims.
• Demonstrate critical thinking. This does not mean that you have to evaluate every
study you use, but that you should show clear analysis and/or evaluation as relevant to
the question.
• Write a well developed argument based on the question.
Each separate chapter includes advice for each learning outcome as well as ideas on how
you might meet these three goals.
In order to give you a sense of how the essays are assessed for the options, you will see
examples of a high, mid, and low range essay for the first option, abnormal psychology.
All three samples will also have comments and there will be advice on how the question
should be approached.
For the other four options, there will only be one mid range response. This response will
also have comments and advice for how to answer the question.
For more information on paper 2, please refer back to chapter 2.

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11. Abnormal psychology

One of the keys to success on the IB psychology exam paper is to minimize the number
of studies that you need to learn for exam day. As you review these learning objectives,
think about how you could use the studies from this option to answer questions on
paper 1.
Below is a list of suggestions of how you can link some topics in abnormal psychology to
levels of analysis.
• Hormones and neurotransmitters are biological factors that influence abnormal
behaviour (biological level of analysis).
• Negative cognitive schemas tend to increase the chances of becoming depressed
(cognitive level of analysis).
• Exposure to media tends to positively correlate with the prevalence of eating disorders
(sociocultural level of analysis).
• Genetic inheritance of behaviour can be studied through description and evaluation of
the diathesis–stress model of abnormality (biological level of analysis).
• Sex stereotypes bias the process of diagnosis (sociocultural level of analysis).
• Emic and etic concepts of normality and abnormality (sociocultural level of analysis).

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this option are given below. They state what you should be
able to do after studying this option.

General learning outcomes

• Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence
abnormal behaviour.
• Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study
of abnormal behaviour.

Concepts and diagnosis

• Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality.
• Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis.
• Discuss cultural and ethical considerations in diagnosis.

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Psychological disorders
• Describe symptoms and prevalence of one disorder from two of the following groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, eating
disorders.
• Analyse etiologies (in terms of biological, cognitive, and/or sociocultural factors) of one disorder from two of the following groups:
anxiety disorders, affective disorders, eating disorders.
• Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders.

Implementing treatment
• Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to treatment.
• Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder.
• Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment.
• Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relation to one disorder.

Essential definitions
Concepts of normality and abnormality refers to a set of assumptions and concepts that help us explain and interpret some
aspects of abnormality.
Culture bound disorders are psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are recognized only within a specific culture or group of
people.
Diagnosis is a process by which psychologists define the mental health problem of an individual. Based on the diagnosis, an
appropriate treatment may be chosen.
Eclectic approaches to treatment refers to instances where the therapist selects concepts, treatments and strategies from a variety
of current approaches.
Etiology is a general term used to describe causes of a disorder.
Group approaches to treatment are types of treatments that involve the simultaneous treatment of two or more clients. Some
examples are: family therapy, a communications approach, systems approaches and couples therapy.
Individual approaches to treatment involve a systematic application of techniques derived from psychological principles for the
purpose of helping one patient.
Medical model is a model that views abnormal behaviour as the result of some underlying disease or biological causes.
The prevalence of mental health disorders is defined as the number of people with a disorder that are present in the general
population. This is usually expressed as a certain number per thousand people or a percentage.
Reliability of diagnosis means that a diagnosis must yield stable and consistent assessments. Consistency across two or more
practitioners is called inter-rater reliability, whereas consistency across time is called test-retest reliability.
Validity of diagnosis means that diagnosis is an accurate reflection of the conditions observed so a clear distinction to be made
between patients in one category and those in another.

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Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes
General learning outcomes
The general learning outcomes may be integrated with any of the learning outcomes in this option. That means that you could be
asked a question such as “To what extent do biological factors influence one psychological disorder” or “Evaluate one theory related
to the study of one psychological disorder”.

Examine the concepts of normality and abnormality

Defining normality and abnormality has been a matter of debate among psychologists. There are several different approaches.
Abnormality may be determined as any of the following.
• Statistical deviance.
• Dysfunctional behaviour that makes one unable to carry out daily responsibilities or maintain relationships.
• Deviance from social norms.
• Poor results on inventories (checklists) of optimal behaviours (Jahoda).
• Mental illnesses involving malfunctioning in the body (usually the brain) and suggesting the use of the classificatory systems like
the DSM, ICD, or CCMD. Lots of research has been carried out within the framework of the medical model and this has greatly
increased our understanding of the possible biological factors underpinning psychological disorders. However, much of the
evidence is difficult to interpret. For example, in twin studies, it is difficult to separate the effects of genetics from the effects
of environment. It can also be difficult to establish cause and effect between, for example, neurotransmitters and abnormal
behaviour.
• Universal (etic) versus culturally defined (emic) symptoms of dysfunction.
When examining the strengths and limitations of different concepts of abnormality, it is also appropriate to discuss the effect that
labelling someone as “abnormal” may have. This includes stigmatization, social isolation or a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example,
Caetano (1973) carried out an experiment that demonstrated the effect of labels. Good responses should discuss the difficulties of
defining the terms, but should also recognize that psychologists use these labels in order to potentially help individuals improve their
mental health.
When studying make sure that you can provide a review of concepts of normality and abnormality by referring to issues such as:
strengths and limitations, empirical support, appropriateness of concepts to contemporary society, possible cultural considerations
and/or problems in describing individual differences.

Discuss validity and reliability of diagnosis

A diagnosis is valid when it accurately identifies the nature of an individual’s abnormal behaviour. This is not as straightforward as
it seems, as often there is no single symptom that helps in the diagnosis, and there are several common symptoms among several
disorders. For example, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed.
Andrews et al (1999) assessed criterion validity by diagnosing individuals using both the DSM-IV and ICD-10. Findings indicated a
good agreement on diagnoses of depression, substance dependence and generalized anxiety; moderate agreement was determined
for other anxiety disorders, but only there was only 35% agreement on post-traumatic stress. Psychologists using the ICD-10
diagnosed twice as many cases as those using the DSM-IV. Overall, there was 68% agreement between the two systems.
Reliability of diagnosis refers to the agreement among different practitioners that a specific pattern of behaviour is a sign of a
particular psychological disorder. Two types of reliability are relevant for diagnosis: test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability.
• Cooper, Kendall et al (1972): Psychiatric diagnosis in New York and London.

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American and British psychiatrists watched the same videotaped interview sessions after which they were asked to
provide a diagnosis. Results showed that American psychiatrists tended to diagnose schizophrenia twice as often as
British psychiatrists and British psychiatrists tended to diagnose mania and depression twice as often. Researchers
suggested that there is a difference in the definition of schizophrenia. In Europe this diagnosis was generally reserved
for the severely mentally ill, while in USA it was applied also to milder psychiatric disorders.

When discussing validity and reliability, you may want to address the influence of the following factors on diagnosis.
• Cultural bias of the researcher.
• Cultural differences in symptoms.
• Gender bias in diagnosis.
• The means by which data is gathered for diagnosis.
• Confirmation bias when presented with a previous diagnosis.

Discuss cultural considerations in diagnosis

One central issue in relation to cultural considerations in diagnosis is whether psychological disorders are:
• absolute (found in all cultures in the same form)
• universal (present in some form in all cultures, but cultural influence is a factor in which factors bring them on and how they are
expressed)
• culturally relative (unique to every culture).
When looking at cultural considerations in diagnosis, you may want to discuss the following topics.
• Li-Repac: Cultural bias of the researcher.
• Kleinman (1984): Manifestation of symptoms.
• Emic approaches to determining symptoms of unhealthy behaviour.
• Rack: Reporting bias, that is, the lack of seeking assistance in some cultures.
• Culture-bound syndromes.

Discuss ethical considerations in diagnosis

Once a diagnosis is made a label is attached to a person; this might have unfortunate and unintended consequences for the
individual. The label tends to suggest that the individual is unpredictable and unable to function normally in everyday life. This
label may lead to a negative self-image or even to a self-fulfilling prophecy, that is, they may begin to “live the label”. Labels can also
cause others to interpret the behaviour of an individual as abnormal, seeing otherwise normal behaviour as a confirmation of the
diagnosis. Finally, if a person enters an institution, depersonalization and a loss of personal identity may occur.
Ogunsemi et al (2008) investigated the effect of a psychiatric label attached to an apparently normal person on the attitude of 144
final year medical students in Nigeria. Students were randomly assigned into two groups. Group A received a description with a
psychiatric label attached while group B received the same description without a psychiatric label. The finding indicated that a label
of mental illness elicited a negative attitude that resulted in the students wanting to maintain a significant distance from the person
that was labelled mentally ill.
In addition to labelling, other ethical considerations may include confidentiality of the diagnosis and the right to full information
about the prognosis of the disorder, as well as a clear explanation of the range of options available for treatment.

Describe symptoms and prevalence of one disorder from two of the following groups: anxiety disorders,

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affective disorders, eating disorders
When describing prevalence, it is important that you don’t just state a statistical rate of occurrence. You may also want to discuss
cultural or gender differences, age of onset or the growth in the number of those diagnosed. A sample description of the prevalence
of anorexia nervosa might include the following.
• Occurs in 5 to 10% of population.
• Of those affected, 95% are women.
• It is most often diagnosed in adolescence and young adulthood.
• An increased awareness of the disorder through the media and education may be the reason for the increased prevalence of the
disorder in the 1990s. It is currently growing in prevalence in China and India, perhaps as a result of the westernization of culture
in those countries.
• There is an increased number of males being diagnosed with the disorder.
When describing symptoms, you should consider a range of affective (mood), behavioural, cognitive and somatic (physiological)
symptoms. It is not necessary for you to label all symptoms by category, but understand that showing the range of symptoms will
make for a more developed response. You may also want to address some of the difficulties in using a symptoms-based approach to
diagnosis, or you may want to discuss cultural variation in symptoms.
To discuss the symptoms of anorexia nervosa you might include the following.
• Behavioural symptoms: unusual eating habits, obsessive counting of calories.
• Emotional symptoms: low self-esteem, isolation, fear of gaining weight.
• Cognitive symptoms: distorted body image, denial of seriousness of weight loss.
• Somatic symptoms: absence of menstruation for three consecutive months.
• Cultural differences: Chinese anorexics tend not to show any signs of distorted body image but instead show deep feelings of guilt
for not living up to parental expectations. This symptom of “shame” is not typically observed in Western patients.

Analyse etiologies in terms of biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors of one disorder from two of the
following groups: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, eating disorders
It is important to understand that for this learning outcome you may be asked about one or more of the levels of analysis, that
is, the question may ask only for biological factors, or for both cognitive and biological factors. You may also be asked to discuss
factors from “either anxiety disorders or affective disorders”. In other words, you may not always be asked about all three groups of
disorders. You will always be given two to choose from, but they may not be the two that you have prepared.
When looking at the different levels of analysis, you may want to consider the following.
• Biological factors include genetic predisposition, neurotransmitter deficit or surplus, hormonal imbalance or brain damage/
dysfunction.
• Cognitive factors include dysfunctional processing of stimuli, distortion of memory, attentional deficit or distortion or faulty
thinking patterns.
• Sociocultural factors include environmental stressors such as poverty or work stress, attributional styles, attachment styles or
communication/social skills.
One example is that cognitive theorists like Beck and Ellis suggest that depression results from maladaptive or irrational cognitive
processes taking the form of distorted thoughts. These cognitions tend to develop from a lack of experiences that facilitate adaptive
coping skills or can be learned through observational learning. Negative thinking causes depressed people to perceive situations as
being much worse than they really are.
In a study by Victor et al (2010), fMRI scans provide some support for a model suggesting depression is associated with heightened
processing of negative cues from the environment. When shown brief photos of emotion-laden individuals, depressive participants
tended to show exaggerated amygdala responses.

Discuss cultural and gender variations in prevalence of disorders

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• This learning outcome asks you to consider why there may be differences in the prevalence levels of disorders between the
genders and between cultures. Points to consider include the following.
• The role of reporting bias.
• The role of biases in diagnosis.
• Emic versus etic approaches to diagnosis.
• Over- and under-pathologization of some disorders.
• The way in which symptoms may be manifested by the different genders/cultures.
• Some psychological research suggests the vulnerability of females to certain disorders. For example, Nolen-Hoeksema has
conducted research on women’s tendency to ruminate and its role in depression.
• The difficulties of obtaining and comparing cross-cultural data.
An in-depth discussion of a few points is much better than a superficial description of many different issues.
A relevant study was conducted by Brommelhoff et al (2004). Researchers examined if higher rates of depression in women than in
men could be explained partially by the artifact hypothesis, that is, when both sexes had the same symptoms, women were more
likely than men to be diagnosed with depression. On a sample of 205 women they compared self-reports of depressive symptoms
with family reports. The obtained findings were as follows.
• Women were more likely to be reported as depressed by a family member even when the women report themselves as not depressed.
• Family members were more likely to attribute depressive symptoms of females to internal causes.

Examine biomedical, individual and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder
• This learning outcome asks you to give detailed descriptions of three approaches to the treatment of one disorder accompanied by
a clear, in-depth discussion of principles/assumptions underlying these approaches to treatment.
When studying make sure that you can provide a review of at least two treatments from each of the three approaches to the
treatment of one disorder by referring to issues such as appropriateness of each approach to treatment for the chosen disorder,
possible cultural considerations and/or problems with implementing these approaches to treatment for different individuals.
• You can also refer to gender issues relevant to different approaches to treatment. Don’t forget to support your claims with relevant
theories and psychological studies. When referring to theories and studies do not include material irrelevant for the learning
outcome – remain focused on the question asked (helping patients overcome their problems).

Evaluate the use of biomedical, individual and group approaches to the treatment of one disorder
To meet this learning outcome, you will need to be able to talk about the strengths and limitations of all three approaches to
therapy. In your evaluation you could also discuss the appropriateness of approaches to treatment for a selected disorder, underlying
assumptions of a certain approach to treatment or provide supporting/challenging empirical research and findings. It is important
that you are able to talk about research that is directly related to the disorder that you are writing about.
Here are some points to consider when evaluating the different approaches.

Strengths Limitations

Biomedical • Alleviates symptoms quickly • Side effects

• Reduces institutionalization • Placebo effect
• A reductionist approach
• May not cure the root of the problem
• May lead to psychological or physical addition

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Individual • Empowers the client • Often highly therapist-directed
• Addresses patterns of behaviour • May be expensive and long-term
• A more holistic approach • May be difficult to build rapport

Group • Therapist is a “guide on the side” • Conformity effects

• Builds a support system • Drop-out rates
• Financially advantageous • Issues of confidentiality

An example of a relevant study was conducted by McDermott et al (2004). They carried out a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of
group psychotherapy. They examined 48 studies out of which 43 studies showed statistically significant reductions in depressive
symptoms after group therapy. Compared with no treatment, group therapy significantly reduced depression at post-treatment and
at follow-up. Nine studies compared group and individual therapy. The results of five studies favoured individual therapy and four
studies favoured group therapy.

Discuss the use of eclectic approaches to treatment

Early therapy was based on very rigid schools of psychology. Today the key principle of therapy is that the therapy should be
tailored to the client, and not the other way around. Eclectic approaches make use of different types of therapy to assist the
client. In addition to using other therapeutic styles, therapists may also integrate spirituality or other cultural approaches into the
sessions in order to meet the needs of the client.
The National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) conducted a study in 2004 with 439 adolescents suffering from major depression.
The aim was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and drug treatment (Prozac®). After 12 weeks
findings indicated that a combination of medication and psychotherapy was the most effective treatment. Compared with the
placebo group, the combination of Prozac with CBT was statistically more effective. Compared with Prozac alone and CBT alone,
treatment using Prozac with CBT was superior. Rates of success for Prozac with CBT were 71%; only Prozac 60%; only CBT 43%; and
the placebo 35%.
Though several studies combining drug therapy and psychotherapy have shown that an eclectic approach may be more beneficial
than one single approach alone, Lambert (1992) has argued that when a therapist uses a wide range of psychological techniques as
part of treatment, it is extremely difficult to assess the effectiveness of standard eclectic approaches.

Discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic approach in relationship to one disorder
This question is asking you to link the etiology of one disorder with the way that it is treated, that is, first explain the etiology and
then discuss why the treatment would be considered appropriate. You can choose a broad explanation (for example, biological
model, cognitive-behavioural model, sociocultural models) or a more specific explanation (for example, dopamine hypothesis,
cognitive triad). It would also be good to discuss the basic assumptions of the level of analysis with regard to abnormal behaviour,
For example, the biological level of analysis often assumes that treatment should be based on regulating bodily systems, that is,
hormones and neurological dysfunction.
For example, you may want to discuss the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of depression,
or the use of cognitive therapies for PTSD or eating disorders. When you provide a critical commentary you may include in your
response issues such as the appropriateness and effectiveness of treatment, ethical considerations or cultural issues relevant for the
therapeutic approach.

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Discuss how biological and sociocultural factors influence one anxiety, affective or eating disorder. [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 2, both levels, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

First read the question carefully and highlight all relevant parts. You will notice this is not a question asking you to provide
general information about a disorder including a detailed account of symptoms and the prevalence of a disorder. Rather the
question asks you about factors that influence one anxiety, affective or eating disorder. Since the question states the word
“factors”, a full response to this question requires you should provide at least two biological and two sociocultural factors.
Carefully choose one specific disorder, for example, phobia, bulimia or a more general disorder. You cannot use schizophrenia
because it doesn’t belong to this group of disorders.
Before you start writing your response on the essay paper, write short notes. Make sure in this early phase that you have
appropriate knowledge of psychological studies and theories relevant for both biological and sociocultural factors of the
disorder you have chosen. If you have detailed knowledge of only one group of factors try to choose another question from
the option because your answer will not receive full marks.
It is important that you don’t just tell “all you know”. Instead, choose a few of the factors and discuss their link to the disorder
in detail.
There are a number of factors influencing anxiety, affective or eating disorders that can be discussed. You could discuss the
role of genes, brain structure or biochemical causes as relevant biological factors. Sociocultural factors that could be discussed
include life stressors, influence of media, cultural differences, social pressure or socioeconomic status among others.
When discussing each factor make sure you use clear psychological language, support your knowledge with studies or theories
as accurately as possible and give a clear link between each factor and some aspect of the chosen disorder. For example,
factors may be related to prevalence of a disorder, etiology of a disorder, how a disorder is diagnosed or how effective a
certain treatment for a disorder is.
This question is an excellent opportunity for you to link your knowledge of levels of analysis to abnormal psychology. Since
the levels of analysis approach reflects a modern trend in psychology towards integration, in your answer try not to discuss
different factors as separate or distinct. Whenever you can, try to discuss how these factors can be intertwined. For example,
you could discuss the diathesis model as it integrates biological and sociocultural factors.

This answer achieved 5/22

An eating disorder is an example of abnormal psychology, and is the insufficient or excessive intake of food
A definition of an eating disorder is provided from an individual. In some cases it may include the use of laxatives or purging to aid weight loss. Both
and some description given.
biological factors and sociocultural factors can influence an individual’s chances of developing an eating
disorder. Biological factors that play a role are things like genetics, and sociocultural factors are things like
the environment one grows up in and things they are exposed to. In the case of eating disorders both can play
Biological factor identified and vague account
of sociocultural factors provided.
a very important role. It is important to understand though that there are other factors which may effect the
development of an eating disorder, it is not strictly biological and sociocultural. From the biological aspect of the
development of eating disorders, studies have been done which support the theory that genetics are a factor in an
This is a superficial attempt to provide some individual’s chances of developing an eating disorder. In other words, if someone has a family member who
knowledge of studies that address how genetic has an eating disorder, that person will be at a higher risk and more prone to developing an eating disorder.
factors influence eating disorders.

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While there is no total agreement among psychologists over whether biological or sociocultural factors play a
larger role in the manifestation of eating disorders, there is hard evidence to support that sociocultural factors
play a very important role. Especially to young girls put under pressure to look a certain way, the
Again a superficial attempt made to present environment they are placed in and the things they are exposed to can play a large role in if they develop an
knowledge of studies addressing sociocultural
eating disorder. With super skinny models and pressure from the media to be thin and beautiful, girls, even
factors related to development of eating
with higher self esteem, are prone to developing eating disorders.
disorders. This is based more on “common belief”
than on research. Eating disorders can range from a variety of things. Not only bulima, or making yourself throw up after
eating, and eating very little is considered an eating disorder, but also the over consumption and binge eating
of food is. In addition, over- exercising to the extreme and the use of laxatives is considered an eating
Some additional description of eating disorders disorder. All of these types of eating disorders can stem from either or both biological and socio cultural
is provided. This information is basically factors. (word count = 358)
correct although not crucial for the question
stated. This information should have been
provided earlier in the text when the student gave This is a general comment lacking specific
a definition of eating disorders. Answer is not well information and therefore it doesn’t add
organized. anything new or relevant. The whole answer
is purely descriptive and there is no evidence of
critical thinking.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding. No psychological research is
provided. (3/9)
Critical thinking: There is no evidence of critical thinking. (0/9)
Organization: The answer is organized but very schematic, not well developed and at times goes off topic. (2/4)

This answer achieved 17/22

Major depressive disorder is an affective disorder which can be diagnosed, according to the DSM-IV, by a
two-week spell in a depressed mood. There are several factors that can influence it.
From a biological perspective, it is considered that depression may have a genetic predisposition linked to it,
and several studies have been carried out. One of which is the study by Nurnberg & Gession (1979) when
 iological factor identified – genetic
B they carried out a twin study on several monozygotic & dizygotic twins. The results from this were that MZ
predisposition. A relevant study linked to the twins had a concordance rate of 64% whilst dizygotic twins had a concordance rate of 15%, which points to
factor is identified and findings stated. Some the possibility that there is a genetic factor due to the rate for MZ twins being over twice as high. However,
explanation of findings is provided. although MZ twins are identical, meaning they share all of their genes, their concordance rate is far from
100%, meaning there is also an environmental factor involved. Further studies have been carried out, and
 eference to additional study on genetic
R there is also the possibility that certain people may have a predisposition to stress, resulting in onset of
influence on predisposition to stress and its depression, as long-term stress and depression are well linked. Duenwald carried out experiments and
link to depression. More information about this discovered that the 5 HTT gene was shorter in patients with depression, and as that gene is linked to stress, it
study should be provided. supports the theory.

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Various psychological researchers have also said that an imbalance in levels of neurotransmitters could also be
linked to depression. Schildkraut’s catecholamine hypothesis (1965) states that low levels of noradrenaline
may be linked to depression. This theory is supported by several studies, including Jamocusky’s (1974)
experiment where he gave several participants physostigmine, a depressant, which resulted in them feeling
depressed, and correlated with their noradrenaline levels which had decreased. Delgado & Moreno (2000)
however, stated that depression may not be caused by low levels of noradrenaline but may actually influence
Second biological factor identified – the link
between imbalance of neurotransmitters and the production of neurotransmitters instead. Other psychologists such as Burns (2000) and Lacasse and Leo
hormones and depression. Examples of several (2005) believed that that there simply wasn’t enough evidence to say that noradrenaline was an influential
neurotransmitters are provided and accompanied factor. Rampello et al. said that depression is in fact the cause of imbalance in several neurotransmitters,
by reference to studies. which is possible as alternative theories have been drawn up.
Serotonin is another neurotransmitter that is considered to have an effect on depression and the serotonin
hypothesis states that an imbalance of serotonin levels could be a factor for depression. One other theory that
has been brought up is the Cortisol hypothesis. Cortisol is a stress hormone and plays an integral part. Stress
Information about studies should be provided itself is considered to be a general cause for most for most psychological disorders, and so with depression, a
with more care and precision – what do the link can be established with it and long term stress. There have even been high levels of cortisol found in
studies tend to indicate? How can we explain patients suffering from depression and further supports the theory.
these findings? What are alternative explanations?
Choosing two neurotransmitters and explaining Cortisol is also linked to the production of other neurotransmitters such as noradrenaline and serotonin,
their link to depression in a more detail way & reducing available receptors for them. There can generally be a link between the genetic predisposition and
referring to relevant information about studies imbalance of neurotransmitters contributing to depression.
could be a more successful approach
On the other hand, there can also be a link established between sociocultural factors and depression. Research
has also been conducted in this area, one such example being an experiment looking at depression amongst
women. It was discussed that 29 out of 32 women in the experiment had experienced a severe traumatic life
Method of study isn’t correctly identified.
Whenever unsure which method was used just event. However, out of a group of women who had all experienced a severe life event, 78% didn’t go into
state the general term “study”. depression. Further studies conducted showed that 2/3 of women in depression who experienced a severe life
event had already experienced a similar event before. This experiment generally indicates that certain events
can cause stress on the person and result in a depression. From this, the vulnerability model of depression was
Traumatic event and vulnerability model are
formed, based on the fact there are certain events which can affect a person and lead to depression. These
presented and supported with some reference
to relevant study.
events include: employment away from home, having several children to bring up, any history of child abuse.
The vulnerability model of depression has also been linked with the diathesis stress model, which involves
connecting the factors of genetic predisposition with environmental factors.
There have also been other studies carried out, especially cross culturally seeing how depression is perceived in
other parts of the world, and whether they consider any other factors. The World Health Organization
Some discussion of cultural factors influencing carried out a study (1983) in four countries, which include Iran and Japan, and the symptoms that they
symptoms of depression provided but needs consider to be depression. To this, they responded with varying symptoms, however there were a common
further elaboration. There is a very vague group of symptoms that was mentioned which included passivity, loss of interest, sad affect, weight loss,
reference to a relevant study but needs further negative/pessimistic thinking. This study has also been replicated in 30 world countries, with similar
explanation. Also, are there other possible symptoms discovered. However, in places such as China, Kleinman found out that they don’t consider
explanations of cultural differences in symptoms of
emotional symptoms, preferring somatization and only referring to any physical symptoms. This is also the
depression?
case in a lot of the western world, and so it is reported that there are almost no cases of depression across
Africa and parts of Asia. This is also down to the fact that there are collectivist societies in these countries,
Some explanation of how the difference and families are usually bigger and much more open, meaning that people with any emotional symptoms can
between collective and individualistic societies
resolve them with their families. In individualistic societies, such as in the western world this isn’t the case,
influences types of symptoms experienced is
provided. However, overall there is much more
and so people will often go to their doctors for both emotional and physical symptoms.
emphasis on the discussion of biological factors Overall, it is considered that whilst there may be a genetic predisposition and imbalance in neurotransmitters,
than sociocultural factors. there are also social and major life events as well as cross-cultural differences that need to be taken into
account.

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Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: Overall good knowledge of a large number of studies and theories is provided. Perhaps a more
detailed account of a smaller number of theories and studies would have allowed the student to provide more in-depth information
and a thorough discussion. Also, whenever a question asks for two things (in this case it asks for a discussion of how biological and
sociocultural factors influence one disorder) student should try to give equal attention to each of these. This reflects a balanced
knowledge of both topics. (7/9)
Critical thinking: Appropriate evidence of critical thinking is provided but at times needs to be more specific and elaborated upon.
(7/9)
Organization: The answer is well organized, focused, and clear. A more balanced review of both factors influencing a disorder is
necessary. (3/4)

Compare and contrast one biomedical and one individual approach to treatment. [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 2, both levels, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

First read the question carefully and highlight all relevant parts. You will notice two command terms, compare and contrast,
are present. They ask you to identify, outline, explain and discuss how one biomedical and one individual approach to
treatment are both similar and different. This means you should provide information that goes beyond pure description
and try to include evidence of critical thinking by giving reasons why these approaches are similar and different and some
discussion of the extent of this similarity/difference.
Make sure you understand what is meant by the terms “biomedical approach to treatment” and “individual approach to
treatment”. Biomedical approaches to treatment are based on the assumption that the patient’s problem is a result of the
malfunctioning of the body. Therefore, biomedical approaches to treatment could include drug therapy, ECT, psychosurgery or
other approaches. “Individual approaches to treatment” are techniques derived from psychological principles for the purpose
of helping one patient only, for example, cognitive behavioural therapies, person-centered therapy, psychoanalytic therapy or
any other recognized therapy you may have studied.
In your approach to the question you can choose to relate approaches to treatment to one specific disorder (for example, phobia,
depression or anorexia) or offer an account of the two approaches to treatment in general. Both ways are equally appropriate.
Before you start writing your response on the essay paper, write short notes. Make sure in this early stage that you have
appropriate knowledge of several relevant similarities and differences for the two approaches to treatment. If you have
detailed knowledge of only differences but don’t know what to write about similarities choose another question from the
option because your answer will not receive high marks.
It is important that you don’t just tell “all you know” about both approaches to treatment. Instead, choose a few relevant
similarities and differences, discuss them in detail and support your claims with relevant psychological research.
There are a number of issues you might want to address when looking for similarities or differences. For example,
• how effective the treatments are
• how appropriate they are for a certain disorder
• whether there are cultural, gender or economic issues that could be addressed.
At the end you might want to briefly discuss that both approaches could be combined to tailor the specific needs of a patient.
For example, drug therapy might be used in the beginning to ease the major symptoms of the disorder. Once the individual
is functioning better he/she might be ready for individual psychological therapy that will help him/her start developing
strategies to avoid future relapse.

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This answer achieved 12/22

This is a rather good introduction that provides a general distinction between biomedical and individual approaches to treatments.
Accuracy in this part could be improved by providing more specific information. For example, the student could state that the
medical approach to treatment is based on the assumption that abnormal behaviour is a result of some underlying disease or
biological cause while the individual approach to treatment involves a systematic application of techniques derived from psychological
principles for the purpose of helping one patient.

Over the years, scientists have developed many procedures for the treatment of mental disorders. These are
In the last sentence of the introduction the split up between different level of analysis, each of them with their own strengths and weaknesses. For
student addresses the specific question by example, a biomedical approach normally involves the utilization of medicine, while an individual approach
providing an understanding of how command seeks to change the patient’s way of thinking so that their behaviors change as well. Comparing and
terms (compare and contrast) can be applied to the contrasting the two approaches reveals the similarities and differences between the two approaches; however,
stated question. neither one is more effective than the other as each play to their own strengths.
Comparing the two approaches shows that there is little similarity between the two. This is because they come
Not correct. There are several individual from different levels of analysis: the biological level of analysis believes that mental disorders are caused by a
approaches and the behavioural cognitive
lack of balance of neurotransmitters within the brain. Individual approaches, however, come from the
approach to treatment is just one of them.
behavioral cognitive level of analysis, and they believe that abnormal behavior stems from the way of
thinking of the person. The biomedical approach for depression would be either tricyclic anti-depressants such
Statements need to be more accurate and as Prozac or serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as lithium. These medicines seek to raise serotonin levels in the
precise. There are other biomedical treatments brain because low levels of serotonin have been paired with depression. If one were to use an individualistic
as well, for example, ECT.
approach to depression Ellis’ rational emotive behavioral therapy or Beck’s behavioral cognitive therapy may
be suitable. Both approaches seek to treat and possibly cure the patient by altering their mind in some way so
that their behavior is normal. Both treatments can be combined in order to speed up the treatment process. In
Three similarities are outlined and some
support for these arguments is provided. one study involving people suffering from OCD, 70 % of patients had controlled their disorder with
combined treatments as opposed to the 60 % with behavioral cognitive therapy. Either treatment can also
lead to the Hawthorne effect. Similar to spontaneous remission the Hawthorne effect is where a patient’s
disorder disappears due to the simple fact that it is noticed and an active treatment is made to cure it.

A bit more clarity and detail is necessary in

this part. For example, the outline of the
study should be more accurate (by providing
information such as the researcher, the aim, the
participants).

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 11. Abnormal psychology
There are many more differences between the two approaches, and these differences allow specific treatments
to a specific group. For those seeking human interaction to solve their disorder, say depression, one might go to
a therapist that specializes in rational emotive behavioral therapy. REBT employs confrontation; that is, the
therapist directly confronts the person’s way of thinking. He/she tries to convince the patient that their way
of thinking is irrational, then introduces rational approaches to viewing their life. These meetings can become
very uncomfortable for the patient; however, it requires less sessions than biomedical treatments. A
biomedical approach to depression may be the administration of antidepressants such as Prozac and Lithium.
A strict diet is required for some of them, such as the avoidance of alcohol consumption. Side effects are often
Differences are outlined. At times information
associated with medication such as headache, fever and nausea, although lithium is void of these symptoms.
lacks accuracy, for example, an overly positive
account of cognitive behavioural therapy is
Even then, the medication may take several weeks to work and in the interval the patient may experience
provided. There is some reference to empirical hopelessness. A faster approach could be found in Beck’s cognitive behavioral therapy. It is non-
studies but the link between the study and confrontational so the therapist gently questions the rational of the patient. This is also used for those suffering
argument is vague or the information about the from depression and can be supported by many studies such as one by Edward Hirt and his colleagues. Hirt
study lacks detail. gathered avid Indiana University basketball players and monitored them throughout the season. Whenever
the team lost, the subjects felt a temporary wave of depression and expected negative outcomes not only for
the next game but for unrelated issues such as getting a job or a date. This shows that negative events cause an
overall negative attitude towards life, but Beck would perceive this as irrational and try to change the
thoughts of the patient. This therapy requires homework assignments such as writing in a journal about how
one felt during the day and how much of the positive aspects of it can be attributed to their own actions.
Studies show that this method of journaling one’s feelings actually works as patients are able to see the
progress they make unlike those taking medication. However, medication is cheaper and requires fewer visits
to the therapist.
Conclusion is a bit repetitive. The last sentence Differences and similarities between biomedical and individual approaches are expected as they come from
has potential and should be developed. One different views on the nature of mental disorders. Biomedical approaches serve to cure patients by changing
way this could be done is by indicating that
the chemicals within the brain to normal levels, while individual approaches seek to change a patient’s way of
many practitioners currently apply an eclectic
thinking with human intervention. Nonetheless, both methods may be combined in order to maximize the
approach to treatment that combines several
different approaches. strengths of both approaches.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: The answer demonstrates limited knowledge and understanding relevant to the question and uses
relevant psychological research with a limited effect. (5/9)
Critical thinking: The student offers appropriate but limited evidence of critical thinking. (4/9)
Organization: The answer is well organized and developed, does not go off topic but focuses more on differences than on similarities.
(3/4)

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12. Developmental psychology

12. Developmental psychology

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this option are given below. They state what you should be
able to do after studying this option.

General learning outcomes

• Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence human
development.
• Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study
of developmental psychology.

Cognitive development
• Evaluate theories of cognitive development.
• Discuss how social and environmental variables may affect cognitive development.

Social development
• Examine attachment in childhood and its role in the subsequent formation of
relationships.
• Discuss potential effects of deprivation or trauma in childhood on later development.
• Define resilience and discuss strategies to build resilience.

Identity development
• Discuss the formation and development of gender roles.
• Explain cultural variations in gender roles.
• Describe adolescence.
• Discuss the relationship between physical change and development of identity during
adolescence.
• Examine psychological research into adolescence.

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Essential definitions
Adolescence is a period between puberty and completion of physical growth and development, usually from 11 to 19 years of age.
Attachment is a long lasting and strong bond that typically refers to the connection between children and caregivers. It is important
for survival as it keeps infants close to their mothers which is important for getting food, staying away from danger and getting
comfort.
Deprivation is a lack of contact, affection and stimuli in the physical or social environment that is necessary for the development of
the individual.
Gender identity describes the gender a person identifies with. It is a personal conception of oneself as male or female.
Gender roles refer to the sets of behaviours, rights, duties and obligations of being male or female. It is, therefore, a schema, a
mental guide for action steering an individual towards a socially agreed construction of gender expression.
Identity is an individual’s mental representation of who he or she is. Aspects of identity include a sense of continuity and
uniqueness. People also acquire a social identity that is a consequence of their participation in various groups.
Trauma can be defined as either a serious physical injury or shock to the body, or an emotional wound that may damage the
psychological well-being of the individual.

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

General learning outcomes
The general learning outcomes may be integrated with any of the learning outcomes in this option. That means that you could be
asked a question such as “To what extent do sociocultural factors influence the development of gender roles”, “Discuss how biological
factors may influence cognitive development” or “Describe and evaluate one theory or study related to strategies to build resilience”.

Evaluate theories of cognitive development

You may use two of the following theories to address this learning outcome.
• Piaget’s theory.
• Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach to cognitive development.
• Neo-Piagetian theory.
• Brain development theories.
• Case (1992): The information processing approach to development.
When evaluating theories you may want to describe and evaluate research that supports the theory, discuss the strengths and
limitations of the theories and also look at how applicable these theories are to everyday life. If the question asks you to compare
or contrast two theories a successful approach requires you identify the main points – similarities/differences in relation to cultural
issues, type of research evidence, possibility of application. Don’t include too much description as all questions on paper 2 are essay-
type questions and require evidence of critical thinking skills.
For example, if you were going to evaluate Piaget’s theory, you may want to examine the following empirical evidence
• Piaget and Inhelder (1956): The three mountain task.
• Hughes (1975) devised his own experiment known as the “Policeman Doll Study”.
• Li et al (1999) tested Chinese children on the classic liquid conservation task.
• Baillargeon (1985) used the “impossible situation test” to determine the age at which children develop object permanence.
• McGarrigle and Donaldson (1974) questioned whether Piaget’s methods were suitable for such young children. They used a glove
puppet, known as Naughty Teddy, to “accidentally” transform the beads.

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Discuss how social and environmental variables may affect cognitive development
This learning outcome asks you to present a balanced review of how variables may affect cognitive development. When discussing
factors, you should support your argument with research, but you should also discuss to what extent we can trust the findings of
these studies. It may well be that it is the interaction of several of these factors and not one factor alone that influences cognitive
development. For example, studies attempting to isolate just one factor and assessing its effect on cognitive development tend to
lack ecological validity.
When answering the question try to discuss the influence of a few well chosen variables rather than overloading your essay with as
many variables as possible. An in-depth argument of 2–3 variables is much better than a superficial description of many different
factors.
Research to consider includes the following points.
• Schoon et al (2002): Long-term impact of poverty on academic achievement.
• Hibbeln et al (2007): Children of mothers who ate more seafood during pregnancy had better social skills, were more
communicative and accomplished more physically.
• Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) (1998): A meta-analysis of breakfast scheme studies on the benefits of a healthy diet on
progress in school.
• Tizard (1982): Parents who encourage their children to read contribute to their child’ s success in school.
• Clark (1993): Parent interventions such as appropriate monitoring of television viewing and homework completion are effective in
improving student achievement.

Examine attachment in childhood and its role in the subsequent formation of relationships
This learning outcome asks you to look at how attachment is formed in childhood, as well as how, why and to what extent it
influences relationships later in life. Relationships include friendships, work colleagues and intimate relationships. Attachment tends
to influence the formation of relationships in both the short-term and the long-term.
For an essay on this it would be important to first identify the different attachment styles before examining their role in the
subsequent formation of relationships. Attachment styles may affect one’s sense of security, ability to understand another’s emotions
and how one deals with conflict. In understanding the nature of attachment, you may want to consider the following studies and
theories
• Bowlby’s WHO study (1951): Effects of mother-child separation in early childhood.
• Ainsworth (1970): Strange situation – short-term effect of attachment.
• Rutter and Quinton (1984): Retrospective study of women who were institutionalized in their childhood.
Discussing attachment alone, however, is not sufficient for this essay. You must also address the question of its effect on
relationships. Studies to consider include the following.
• Hazan and Shaver (1987): Relationship between attachment style and other information collected via the “Love Test”.
• Simpson (1991) found that attachment styles had a clear influence on how couples go about resolving conflict.
• Feeney (1990): Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships.
• Hodges and Tizard (1989): Social and family relationships of ex-institutionalized adolescents.

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Discuss potential effects of deprivation or trauma in childhood on later development
For this learning outcome you can choose whether you want to focus on potential effects of deprivation or potential effects of
trauma. As part of your response you could discuss how the consequences of deprivation vary with the duration and severity of
the experience, age of the child and adequacy and amount of support later in life. Consequences of trauma depend on the type of
trauma, subsequent life events and personality characteristics of the child. You may want to address the relevance of resilience in
coping with deprivation and trauma since findings from many studies show it is possible to recover from adverse circumstances.
Research to consider includes the following.
• Koluchova (1971, 1991): Case study of twin boys suffering from deprivation and abuse.
• Rutter et al (2001): Longitudinal study on Romanian orphans adopted by UK families.
• Harlow and Harlow (1962) on effects of deprivation in rhesus monkeys.
• Cockett and Tripp (1994): The Exeter Family Study.
• Putnam (2003): Neurological research on the effect of abuse or trauma on neurological development in children.

Define resilience and discuss strategies to build resilience

Resilience may be defined as the positive capability of an individual to cope with and recover from adversity. Some strategies for
building resilience are listed below.
• Lowenthal (2001): Teaching children social skills.
• Love et al (2005) and Britner et al (1997): Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
• Powell et al (204): Home visiting.
• Mahoney et al (2005): Participation in after-school schemes.
When discussing strategies, it is important to focus on a few and to provide research or theories to support your argument. In
addition, you should consider to what extent we can assess the success of these strategies as this also depends on both risk factors,
such as parental conflict, poverty, criminal family background or violence in the community, and protective factors, such as
intelligence, parental support and socio-economic resources. Remember that it is difficult to actually measure the level of resilience
as it is, to some extent, subjective.
Due to the complex nature of resilience psychologists have recognized that a combination of strategies tends to be the most effective.

Discuss the formation and development of gender roles

In a discussion of the formation and development of gender roles, you should support your answer with both descriptions of
research and evaluation of different psychological theories. Keep in mind that there is no theory that completely explains the
formation and development of gender roles. Since these theories often represent competing explanations you can compare their
relative strengths and limitations in explaining behaviour.
Theories and research to consider include the following.
• Fagot (1985) and Mead (1935): Social learning theory.
• Money and Erhardt (1972): Biosocial theory of gender development.
• Martin and Halvorson (1983): Gender schema theory.
• Eagly (1987) and Sroufe et al (1993): Social role theory.

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Explain cultural variations in gender roles

This learning outcome asks you have to give an in-depth account that outlines reasons or causes for cultural variations in gender
roles.
For example, the social role theory suggests most cultures expect the two different genders to behave differently. Two processes help
establish the connection between expectancies and behaviour. First, through socialization processes authority figures encourage
individuals to learn different types of behaviour and skills that facilitate their gender role. Second, gender roles might more
directly affect the courses of action that individuals choose in a specific setting. Support for this theory is provided in Mead’s study
comparing gender roles in three New Guinean tribes.
You may also want to examine Hofstede’s masculinity versus femininity dimension. He argues that masculine cultures have more
strictly divided gender roles, whereas feminine cultures have more fluid gender roles.
You could also argue that cultural variations in gender roles help us understand that gender roles are not universal or unchangeable.

Describe adolescence
A description of adolescence should refer to physical, cognitive and emotional changes. Adolescence is characterized by a rapid
increase in growth and redistribution of muscle tissue and body fat. Female bodies produce more estrogen and girls become heavier
with broader hips and development of breasts while male bodies produce more testosterone, gain greater muscle mass and widen
their shoulders. The adolescent becomes able to think in more abstract and logical terms. Adolescence is also often experienced
as a period of stress and uncertainty. However, the way adolescence is perceived varies among cultures. Also, how the individual
experiences adolescence depends on individual traits.

Discuss the relationship between physical change and development of identity during adolescence
This learning outcome is asking you to provide a critical review of the link between physical change and development of identity
during adolescence. You should first describe the physical changes and then discuss what impact they have on development of
identity. Rapid physical change can cause problems for teenagers as they develop. Some of these problems centre on the notion
of body image. The physical changes taking place during puberty represent constant challenges to a teenager’s self-image. These
challenges are influenced by an interaction of biological, cognitive and social factors. Body image reflects norms and social standards
of attractiveness. For example, the media and the music industry are major sources that influence the perception of beauty and
attractiveness. Many studies suggest that gender differences exist in how adolescents respond to physical changes. Culture is a factor
that influences the relationship between physical change and development of identity, perceived differently in adolescent boys and
girls. The cultural ideal hypothesis (Simmons and Blyth, 1987) suggests that during adolescence boys come closer to their ideal body,
whereas girls move further away.
Research to consider includes the following.
• Ferron (1997): Cultural differences in the way adolescents view bodily changes.
• Brownell and Napolitano (1995): If Barbie and Ken were real.
• Freedman (1984): Reflections on beauty as it relates to health in adolescent females.
• Mendelson and White (1985): Development of self-body-esteem in overweight youngsters.

Examine psychological research of adolescence

In order to address this learning outcome, you will need to know at least two theories of adolescence. These may include Hall’s
biogenetic psychology of adolescence, Erikson’s theory of identity development, Lewin’s field theory of adolescence or social learning
theory on adolescent development.
When examining theories, it is important to first describe them and distinguish between them. Consider what assumptions these
theories make about adolescence. Also, describe and evaluate research studies that support or challenge the theory, for example,
Ochse and Plug (1986) or Condon (1987) challenging the cross-cultural validity of Erikson’s stage theory.
When studying make sure you can provide a review of theories by referring to issues such as: strengths and limitations,
appropriateness of concepts to contemporary society, possible cultural and gender differences and problems in explaining individual
differences. An in-depth examination is much better than a superficial account of many theories.
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Define attachment.
Discuss how childhood attachment may affect the formation of relationships later in life. [22 marks]

How do I approach the question?

Read the whole question (first and second line) and make sure you understand what it is asking from you. For each part of
the question, highlight the command term. This will tell you how much time, knowledge and evidence of critical thinking you
need to offer for each part of the question.
The first step is defining attachment. Be careful not to waste too much time on this part of the question. The command term
define is very basic, it is associated with assessment objective 1 indicating that this part of the question has a low cognitive
demand. Give a simple definition that uses clear psychological language. There is no need to talk about how attachment is
developed or about different types of attachment for this part of the question.
The second part of the question is much more demanding. It asks you to review what effect attachment (or lack of
attachment) has on an individual later in life. The term later in life really means later (not just several hours after the child has
been separated from the primary caregiver). The term formation of relationships can be interpreted in several different ways.
You can discuss the effect of childhood attachment on intimate relationships, friendships or group behaviour.
Remember that for essays it is essential to demonstrate critical thinking. A significant part of this should be related to
analysis. Try to make a clear link between formation of attachments in childhood and effects this could have on the type of
relationships a person has later in life. Make sure that for this part of the question you use psychological theories and studies.
When evaluating theories and studies don’t state all points of evaluation you can think of. It would be much better to make
a clear link to the aim of the question. Do these theories and studies explain the effect of childhood attachment on the
formation of relationships later in life? For example, there is contradictory evidence coming from different studies. Also, some
studies have methodological limitations. Another way of providing evidence of critical thinking is through application. Try to
elaborate on possible practical uses of the findings of studies or theories, or suggestions that could be given to parents and
caregivers.

This answer achieved 11/22

Attachment in psychology is a strong connection or dependence mentally and emotionally from one human
I n the introduction the student provides being to another. Childhood attachment in particular usually pertains to a child or toddler’s attachment to
a definition of attachment and mentions his/her parents (most of the time this will be his/her mother). There are different types of attachment a
different types of attachment. This clearly child can have with his/her mother, and depending upon the type of attachment, the child’s formation of
addresses the first part of the question. relationships later in life will be affected. Mary Ainsworth is one researcher in particular who studied these
different types of attachment a child can have with his/her mother, and her findings revolutionized how we
Student is going off the topic because the understand childhood attachment today.
finding of this study reflects how toddlers react
Mary Ainsworth’s experiment, “A Strange Situation”, involved studying how toddlers react when their
immediately after their mother leaves the
room. This information is relevant for the learning
mothers leave the room in a new setting. First, a mother and her toddler would enter a room (completely
outcome “examine attachment in childhood” new to both of them) where they would both play with toys. After a short time, the mother would leave the
but not for the question “how may childhood room, and the toddler’s behavior would be studied. A stranger would come into the room and try to comfort
attachment affect the formation of relationships the toddler. Finally, the mother would come back into the room, and the stranger would leave. All
later in life?” throughout this time, behavior of the toddler would be studied.

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After the experiment was finished, it was noticed by Mary Ainsworth that there were three types of
attachment a toddler could have with his/her mother: secure attachment, insecure avoidant, and disorganized
attachment. The first one, secure dependant attachment, was experienced by 70% of the toddlers. It was
where the child was comfortable when his/her mother was near, and was willing to play and explore the
new room when the mother was in it. However, when the mother left, the child began to become extremely
uncomfortable and cried, etc, looking for his/her mother. Even when the stranger came in, the child could
not become fully comforted, and still wanted its mother. When the mother finally did come back, the toddler
Too long a description of Mary Ainsworth’s fell into her arms and became comforted. After a short period of time, with the mother in the room, the
study and findings. Types of attachment are
child began to explore the new room once again and start playing.
described in too much length but with no
explanation as to how attachment is established. Insecure avoidant was where the child was indifferent to his/her mother leaving. When the mother left, the
By including the “internal working model” as part toddler did not cry, but just continued playing. When the mother came back, the child did not seek to be
of the response the student would provide some comforted. Ainsworth found that 20% of toddlers studied had this type of attachment.
explanation of how different types of attachment
affect later relationships. Lastly, disorganized attachment was experienced by 10% of toddlers. It was where the child stayed close to
its mother even in the new setting, and would not play or explore. The toddler began to cry when the mother
left the room, but the stranger nor the mother could comfort it when they came back. The child could not be
T his is the main focus of the question and comforted fully by anyone, and appeared to be disorganized in its responses.
therefore should be elaborated upon and Mothers of securely attached toddlers tended to always respond to the toddler, and be responsive and caring.
discussed much more thoroughly throughout
Mothers of insecure avoidant toddlers tended not to be there for their children most of the time. Finally,
the answer.
disorganized toddler mothers tended to be inconsistent in their behaviors, and perhaps have another caregiver,
etc. Later, another type, ambivalent, was added.
This part of the answer reflects some These types of attachment affect relationships later in life. Children who were securely attached tend to be
knowledge of relevant material for this specific able to form strong bonds and real connections with others later in life, because they have already made a
question. strong bond (as a base) with their mothers. They are able to have real emotional ties with others when they
grow up. Children that were insecurely avoidant when toddlers tend to not be able to make real connections
However, this part is very descriptive in their relationships later in life. They do not have a strong base, and never really had a full emotional
and vague. The effect attachment has on relationship with their mothers. They can still form relationships, but may never really be able to be
relationships later in life should be discussed emotionally attached – they never had this experience as a toddler. Finally, children who were disorganized
by providing theories and studies that confirm or attached as toddlers may have relationships that are “on and off”. While some relationships may be formed
disconfirm the existence of this link. well, emotionally they might one day decide to distance themselves from others. They are not able to actually
form stable relationships with other people, and are not confident and are shy.
The student is making an attempt to address All in all, childhood attachment may very well affect the formation of relationships later in life. During
the “discuss” command term but this part one’s childhood, he/she forms either a strong base for future relationships (securely attached) or does not
needs further explanation about other factors fully (insecure avoidant or disorganized). Though childhood attachment does not conclusively determine
that may affect the formation of relationships later
formation of later relationships (there were errors in Ainsworth’s experiment, such as ecological validity as it
in life. The student goes off the topic by providing
was done in a laboratory setting, and cross cultural validity as it was done on western parents and children
rather general comments about the quality of
Ainsworth’s study which is not really relevant for and may not be applicable to other cultures), it does help explain some of the reasons as to maybe why some
the question. people are not able to form relationships as well as others.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: This answer demonstrates good, basic knowledge of specific issues relevant for the specific question.
It lacks, however, psychological research focused on formation of relationships later in life. (5/9)
Critical thinking: There is appropriate but limited evidence of critical thinking. At times critical thinking is applied but not to the
specific question as it is stated. (4/9)
Organization: The answer is somewhat organized, focused, and clear but lacks specific focus on the stated question. (2/4)

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 13. Health psychology
13. Health psychology

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this option are given below. They state what you should be able to do after studying this option.

General learning outcomes

• Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence health-related behaviour.
• Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to health psychology.

Stress
• Describe stressors.
• Discuss physiological, psychological and social aspects of stress.
• Evaluate strategies for coping with stress.

Substance abuse, addictive behaviour and obesity

• Explain factors related to the development of substance abuse or addictive behaviour.
• Examine prevention strategies and treatments for substance abuse and addictive behaviour.
• Discuss factors related to overeating and the development of obesity.
• Discuss prevention strategies and treatments for overeating and obesity.

Health promotion
• Examine models and theories of health promotion.
• Discuss the effectiveness of health promotion strategies.

Essential definitions
Addictive behaviour is physical and/or psychological dependence on a substance or behaviour despite the negative consequences
associated with it.
Health promotion refers to the process of enabling people to increase control over their health, and thereby improve their health.
Stress is a negative emotional experience, accompanied by various psychological, cognitive, and behavioural changes.
Substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered addiction, for example, binge drinking.

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Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

General learning outcomes
The general learning outcomes may be integrated with any of the learning outcomes in this option. That means that you could be
asked a question such as “To what extent do biological factors explain addictive behaviour”, “Discuss how sociocultural factors may
influence overeating and development of obesity”, or “Evaluate one theory related to the study of coping with stress”.

Describe stressors
Stressors are the factors that cause a stress reaction. These stressors may be environmental, such as noise, traffic or war, or
psychological, such as deadlines, work related stress or worrying about losing one’s job.
To answer this question well, however, some understanding of different types of stressors should be shown. There is a difference, for
example, between acute and chronic stressors. There are also stressors that we can control, for example, how many commitments we
make, and those we cannot, such as the death of a loved one. Life changes are known to be particularly stressful.

Discuss physiological, psychological and social aspects of stress

This learning outcome is asking you to look at how the different levels of analysis may be used to understand the nature of stress and
its effects on an individual. Here are some theories and ideas to consider.
• Physiological: General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye); the role of cortisol on hippocampal cell loss; the role of cortisol depletion on
PTSD; the connection between stress and the immune system; the link between stress and heart disease.
• Psychological: The role of “cognitive appraisal” in defining stress; the role of personality in managing stress; the connection
between stress and depression; attributional style and stress management; the effect of stress on cognitive processes like
attention or memory.
• Sociocultural: the long-term effects of the stress of poverty on health; the role of social support in managing stress; cultural
definitions of stress; social learning theory as a means of coping; gender differences in giving and receiving support.
In order to discuss these aspects of stress, you should use empirical research to support your claims, but also employ critical thinking
– compare theories, evaluate theories or look at the general difficulties of drawing conclusions.

Evaluate strategies for coping with stress

This learning outcome is asking you to look at the strengths and limitations of different coping strategies. Some of the strategies you
may have studied include problem-focused coping (Folkman and Lazarus), the role of social support (Brown and Harris), meditation
and mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn), biofeedback, hardiness training (Kobasa) or anxiolytic drugs such as benzodiazapines, for example,
Valium.
It is important to identify and then briefly describe the strategy before writing the evaluation. Stronger responses will use research to
support the evaluation. You should consider how the strategy compares to other strategies or to placebo treatments. You may also
want to consider the different types of stressors, as well as any cultural biases or ethical considerations in the strategies.

Explain factors related to the development of substance abuse or addictive behaviour

There are several different factors that may contribute to the development of substance abuse or addictive behaviour. These include
genetic vulnerability (Sarafino), personality traits (Stein et al), self-esteem (Khantzian), peer influence (Vaz) and attributional styles
(Davies). The role of the media in encouraging addictive behaviours is also heavily debated, so social learning theory could also be
used for this learning objective.
In explaining the factors that may influence substance abuse or addictive behaviour, it is important that you use empirical research
or theories to support your claims. In addition, remember that much of the research is correlational in nature, and thus psychologists
are not sure what the nature of the relationship is. For example, addictive behaviour may be the result of a certain personality trait,
or the addictive behaviour may influence one’s personality.

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 13. Health psychology
It is best when answering this question to specifically focus on either substance abuse or a specific addictive behaviour. Also, when
answering the question try to discuss the influence of only a few factors. An in-depth argument is much better than a superficial
description of many different factors.

Examine prevention strategies and treatments for substance abuse and/or addictive behaviour
As with the previous learning objective, it is best to focus on substance abuse or a specific addictive behaviour. You should be able to
write about both prevention strategies and treatments.
Many of the prevention strategies are public health interventions, strategies employed on the societal level. Strategies include
targeting risk groups in health education, use of social learning theory in media campaigns, fear arousal through commercials or
images, or putting restrictions on the drug/behaviour such as taxes, age limits, banning advertisements or criminalization. It is
recognized that a combination of such prevention strategies is usually the most effective.
When examining prevention strategies, it would be appropriate to discuss the difficulties in evaluating their effectiveness.
While the prevention strategies are usually at the societal level, treatments are at the individual level. Treatments include aversion
therapy, self-management strategies such as response substitution, drug treatments to counter the physical effects of addiction,
the role of cognitive dissonance, or building self-efficacy in the individual. Group-based cessation treatments, such as Alcoholics
Anonymous, have also proven beneficial.

Discuss factors related to overeating and the development of obesity

As with stress and addictive behaviours, there are physiological, psychological and sociocultural factors related to overeating and the
development of obesity. A good discussion would look at different factors from at least two of the different levels of analysis. Here
are some suggestions.
• Physiological: genetic predisposition; compensates for feelings produced by low levels of serotonin; the role of leptin, the role of
the hypothalamus or pre-natal stress.
• Psychological: low self-esteem, distorted body-image, cognitive restraint; lack of self-efficacy and pessimistic thinking patterns;
• Sociocultural: social learning theory; sedentary lifestyle, high-fat diet, coping with poverty.
When discussing these factors, it is important to focus on a few and to provide research or theories to support your argument.
In addition, you should consider to what extent the research is able to measure or determine the role of these factors in the
development of obesity.

Discuss prevention strategies and treatments for overeating and obesity

This learning outcome should be approached in much the same way as the learning outcome on substance abuse and addictive
behaviour.
Many of the prevention strategies are public health interventions, strategies employed on the societal level. Strategies include
targeting risk groups in health education, use of social learning theory in media campaigns, fear arousal through commercials or
images, or putting deterrents on unhealthy high-fat foods such as taxes, health warnings or simple calorie counters. It is recognized
that a combination of such prevention strategies is usually the most effective.
When examining prevention strategies, it would be appropriate to discuss the difficulties in evaluating their effectiveness.
While the prevention strategies are usually at the societal level, treatments are at the individual level. Treatments include drug
treatments such as appetite suppressants and lipase inhibitors, self-efficacy training, cognitive behaviour therapy and goal-setting
training. Group-based treatments, such as Overeaters Anonymous, have also proven beneficial.

Examine models and theories of health promotion

In order to answer this question, you will need to know at least two models or theories of health promotion. These may include the
Health Belief Model, the Stages of Change Model, the theory of reasoned action/the theory of planned behaviour, social learning
theory or cognitive dissonance theory.
In order to examine the models or theories, it is important to first describe them and distinguish between them. Consider what
assumptions the models or theories make about people. Also outline research that supports or challenges the model.
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Discuss the effectiveness of health promotion strategies

In order to discuss the effectiveness of health promotion strategies, it is not enough simply to outline the strengths and limitations of
the various models, but as noted in the previous learning outcome, you should note the assumptions on which the strategy is based.
You should also discuss how effectiveness is determined – what are the difficulties of assessing the effectiveness of a public health
campaign, for example, the reliance on self-reported data

Discuss two or more factors related to overeating and the development of obesity. [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 2, both levels, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

First, write short notes for two or more factors related to overeating and obesity. If you know one factor related to overeating/
obesity in great detail but only have superficial knowledge of other factors try to choose another question because your
response will most likely be marked as limited and only a partial answer to the question.
There are many factors you can discuss including genes and genetic predispositions for metabolic rates, false hope syndrome,
perception of ideal weight, lifestyle and social class.
Provide a description of relevant factors using clear and precise psychological language and then move on to the discussion.
This is a good opportunity for you to use your knowledge of levels of analysis by discussing biological, cognitive and/or
sociocultural factors. Don’t use absolute statements (for example, current lifestyle is responsible for all problems related to
obesity). Whenever possible try to use synthesis, that is, describe how many different factors relate to overeating and obesity
and how they are integrated and inter-related. Use studies, theories or possible applications to support your argument. When
appropriate you can mention strengths and explanations of these studies or explanations.

This answer achieved 11/22

There are various factors that relate to overeating. One of which is a defect in the brain. A study showed
T he student gives some information in a vague
that in some overeaters, the case is that the brain doesn’t receive the signals from the body, that the body has
and general way but there is no indication
had enough intake. Therefore the person is most likely going to keep eating until they’ve felt a sense of
what kind of study was done or who the
participants were. satisfaction, even though technically the body has been satisfied for a while.
In some cases the person may actually have the binge eating disorder. This disorder is the complete opposite
Binge eating disorder (BED) is vaguely outlined. of anorexia, in a way that the person overeats mainly due to being emotionally distress. As you can see
This information could be more thoroughly emotions are a stressor therefore meaning that stress plays a significant role in overeating.
elaborated upon by providing a definition
Stress is a pattern of physiological and psychological states that result to positive or negative responses, which
or more accurate description stating that usually
large amounts are eaten when a person is bored or portray how the person perceives the threat.
during emotional lows. Research tends to suggest There are various ways people cope with stress, one of them being eating. When someone turns to eating it’s
that individuals suffering from BED tend to have
usually due to them being in a psychological state, be it a positive or negative response, such as different
other psychiatric problems as well.
emotions. When one is happy and in a mood of festivity they could turn to food to express their feelings or
when one is upset, depressed or even “heartbroken”, for some food would be the optimal coping strategy.
T he student gives some information in a vague
For people that turn to food as a coping strategy, especially those that turn to unhealthy food, they could be
and general way but there is no indication
what kind of study was done or who the
damaging their health and putting themselves in a position harmful to their body; this could include high levels
participants were. of cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Stress and emotional distress are linked to

overeating. This link needs to be explicitly
supported with reference to theories or studies.

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 13. Health psychology
This part of the answer is very vague and
Stress however is not only a factor related to overeating, but obesity too. Clearly one reason for why a person
contains minimal information. The specific could be obese is because they overeat. Seeing as stress is one reason for overeating, the more chronic the
link between stressors and obesity needs to be stress, the more intense the coping strategy; thus meaning that possibly a person could eat more and eventually
analysed. For example, the student could state that leading to the development of obesity.
stressors cause the body to release cortisol which
affects fat storage and weight gain in stressed
Genetics also plays a significant role in obesity. If you look at a family, and their history and you see a trend
individuals. The answer could also make reference of obesity, as an observer you could assume that it was due to genetics.
to any animal or human study that demonstrates A study shows that investigated prenatal environment in rats, found that overweight pregnant rats gave birth
that an increase in cortisol is associated with an
to an offspring that was even heavier. Then the researcher decided to give the rats folic acid, which is a
increase in appetite, cravings for sugar and weight
chemical that interferes with the gene passover from the mother to the offspring. They found that after
gain.
treating the rats with folic acid, their offspring weren’t as heavy in comparison to the previously tested rats.

The student correctly recognizes that genes are There is also the possibility that the society you live in could have an effect on you developing obesity.
factors influencing obesity. Kiel O’Shea, a young psychologist from the UK looked into how different socioeconomic backgrounds affect
health behavior. In his study he found those from a lower socioeconomic background had poorer health
Empirical study stated. Explanation of findings behavior and those from a higher socioeconomic background had better health behavior. A possible reason
needs to be more clearly elaborated upon, for why people from a lower socioeconomic is because healthy food is more expensive and not as abundant as
stating that the findings suggest that genetics “fast food”. There is also the issue that they may not be able to afford to go to the gym or get a personal
can be guided by certain environmental influences trainer, or are even less motivated to get healthy. All these are factors that if not taken into consideration
that lead to gene expression. can lead to the development of obesity.
Other studies conducted by Ritterman, Shively and Marmot, had some similarities in their studies. Their
Social factors outlined, socio-economic status studies mainly focused on the correlation between stress levels versus social hierarchy. They found that their
influences food choice (healthy food is usually
participants/subjects were “chubby” on the abdomen. Therefore one can assume that, since the lower one is
expensive).
on the social hierarchy the more stressed one is, and stress can lead to the development of obesity, that social
hierarchy is also an involved factor in the development of obesity. However the problem with this discovery
Some reference to empirical study but needs to is that the participants/subjects they observed could have been overweight due to either genetics or lifestyle.
be more clear. As one can see there are various factors that relate to the development of obesity and overeating. A number
of these factors are quite similar, especially the ones that relate to overeating and then the development of
obesity.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: This answer reflects basic knowledge of relevant factors influencing overeating and obesity. A vague
and occasionally inaccurate description of relevant research studies is given. (5/9)
Critical thinking: Appropriate but limited discussion is provided. More in-depth discussion is necessary focusing on the link between
stated factors and overeating and obesity. (4/9)
Organization: There is partial focus on the question. Some parts of the answer are more focused on stress than on overeating and
obesity. (2/4)

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14. The psychology of human relationships

14. The psychology of human relationships

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this option are given below. They state what you should be able to do after studying this option.

General learning outcomes

• Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence human relationships.
• Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study of human relationships.

Social responsibility
• Distinguish between altruism and prosocial behaviour.
• Contrast two theories explaining altruism in humans.
• Use one or more research studies to explain cross-cultural differences in prosocial behaviour.
• Examine factors that influence bystanderism.

Interpersonal relationships
• Examine biological, psychological and social origins of attraction.
• Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships.
• Explain the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of relationships.
• Analyse why relationships may change or end.

Violence
• Evaluate sociocultural explanations of the origins of violence.
• Discuss the relative effectiveness of two strategies for reducing violence.
• Discuss the effects of short-term and long-term exposure to violence.

Essential definitions
Altruism means giving help to another person for no reward and potential cost to oneself.
Attraction is a term for the factors that lead people to like each other, establish relationships, and, in some cases, fall in love.
Attachment is the emotional tie or bond between two people.
Prosocial behaviour is behaviour that benefits another person or has positive social consequences.
Prospective studies is a type of longitudinal research that observes a characteristic or trait in individuals and then studies them for
a long period of time. For example, they note a certain communication style in high school and then see how this will affect later
marital success.
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Retrospective studies attempt to “reconstruct” the events that lead up to current behaviour, for example, looking back to see why a
marriage has not worked out. This type of research is open to memory distortion and social desirability effect.
Self-disclosure is the sharing of facts about one’s life with a loved one, as well as inner thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Violence refers to an aggressive act in which the actor or perpetrator abuses an individual directly or indirectly with the intention of
causing either physical or psychological harm.

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

General learning outcomes
The general learning outcomes may be integrated with any of the learning outcomes in this option. That means that you could be
asked a question such as “To what extent do biological factors influence attraction”, “Discuss how sociocultural factors may influence
violence”, or “Evaluate one theory related to the study of prosocial behaviour”.

Distinguish between altruism and prosocial behaviour

This question asks you to show the difference between the two terms. Prosocial behaviour may clearly have a benefit to the helper
and does not always come with costs to the helper. All altruism is prosocial behaviour, but not all prosocial behaviour is altruistic.

Contrast two theories explaining altruism in humans

You may use two of the following theories to answer this question
• Kin selection theory.
• Trivers: Reciprocal altruism theory.
• Batson et al: The empathy–altruism model.
In discussing the theories you may want to describe and evaluate research that supports the theory, discuss the limitations of the
theories and also look at how the biological theories are more difficult to support through hypothesis testing than the cognitive
theories.
If the question asks you to compare or contrast two theories a successful approach requires you identify the main points –
similarities/differences in relation to cultural issues, type of research evidence or possibility of application. Don’t write too much
description. On paper 2 all questions are essay-type questions and require evidence of critical thinking skills.

Using one or more research studies, explain cross-cultural differences in prosocial behaviour
Relevant studies include the following.
• Whiting (1979) on helping behaviour in six different countries. Looked at the individualistic–collectivistic dimension.
• Katz (1981) and Bond and Leung (1989) on the role of social identity theory and in-group bias.
• Levine’s (1990) series of studies to look at the role of urban environment on helping behaviour.
This learning outcome asks that you explain the differences between cultures. This may be done by the studies above. However, you
may also consider the limitations of cross-cultural research on this topic. Consider its ecological validity, the difficulty of “measuring”
helping behaviour and the problems of adopting an etic approach to the topic. It is not enough to describe cross-cultural differences;
you have to explain them also. This means you have to give reasons why these differences exist.

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Examine factors that influence bystanderism

There are many factors that may affect one’s willingness to help or be a bystander. These include the following.
• Latané and Darley (1968): Diffusion of responsibility.
• Latané and Darley (1969): Pluralistic ignorance.
• Brickman: Good deed in, good deed out principle.
• Latané and Darley : Social impact theory.
• Piliavin : The arousal: cost-reward model.
• Bateson and Darley’s Good Samaritan study: The role of dispositional versus situational factors.
• Oliner and Oliner: Social norms.
When examining factors you should support your argument with research, but you should also discuss to what extent we can
trust the findings of these studies. It may well be that it is the interaction of several of these factors and not one factor alone that
influences bystanderism. You should discuss a few of the theories above and not overload your essay with as many theories as
possible. An in-depth argument is much better than a superficial description of many different factors.

Examine biological, psychological and social origins of attraction

You should be able to discuss two examples for each of the levels of analysis. Examples appear below.
• Biological: the role of neurotransmitters like noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin (Fisher); evolutionary argument regarding
facial symmetry or complexion as a sign of health and low parasite loads (Low); evolutionary arguments regarding scent for
maximizing immunity levels (Wedekind); the role of lower serotonin levels in falling in love (Marazziti); or the role of hormones
like oxytocin (Demasio) or vasopressin (Winslow).
• Cognitive: the role of self-esteem (Kiesler and Baral); reciprocation (Markley); matching our self-perception (Hatfield); exchange
theory (Thibaut and Kelley).
• Sociocultural: Cultural norms (see below); proximity (Festinger); the mere exposure effect (Zajonc).
When examining the origins of attraction, it is important to consider the way in which the studies were carried out, on whom, and
how long ago. In addition, you may want to address the question of reductionism when examining the origins of relationships.

Discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships

Research to consider includes the following.
• Tannen: Gender-based communication styles.
• Altman and Taylor: Social penetration theory on the importance of self-disclosure.
• Mills and Clark on exchange relationships versus communal relationships.
• Bradbury and Fincham: The role of attribution of partner’s behaviour.
• Gottman: The role of micro-expressions.
• Hewitt: The role of congruence and authenticity.
There are several points you could address when looking at the research. One is the cultural biases of some of the research. In
addition, you could also discuss the difficulties of carrying out such research, including the retrospective nature of many of the
studies, that is, the difficulties in communication are understood only because of the negative outcome of the relationship. Also,
much of the research is correlational, so cause and effect relationships cannot be easily established.

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Explain the role that culture plays in the formation and maintenance of relationships
Culture plays a key role in determining not only what attracts us to a partner, but also how we maintain a relationship. Points to
consider include the following.
• The role of the individualistic–collectivistic dimension. This includes: research by Gupta and Singh (1992) on the role of passionate
love in Indian relationships; the level of satisfaction in arranged marriages (Yelsma and Athappilly); Levine’s (1995) survey of what
people look for in a partner; Buss’s (1994) study of the role of love in a relationships.
• Hsu’s research on continuous versus discontinous cultures. Continuous societies show a concern for heritage and tradition,
whereas discontinuous cultures focus on youth and progress, and change is seen as important and inevitable.
This chart may prove helpful in organizing the key differences in relationships based on dimensions.

Individualistic and discontinuous Collectivistic and continuous

• A focus on romantic love • Stress on obligation to family and social norms

• Emphasis on individual choice • A higher frequency of polygamous relationships
• Monogamy as a cultural norm • Rules of relationships strictly followed and divorce less
frequent
• Increased rates of divorce
• Emphasis on family choice

Analyse why relationships may change or end

As we have already noted, communication can play a key role in the dissolution of a relationship when self-disclosure between
partners breaks down. You may also want to consider the following theories.
• Baron and Byrne (1997) argue that relationships end as a result of a lack of social skills and coping strategies.
• Walster: Equity theory.
• Rusbult: Constructive accommodation versus destructive accommodation.
• Situational factors: change in job or location, boredom, stress.
• Felmlee: Fatal attraction theory.
• Simpson (1997) on attachment styles.

Evaluate sociocultural explanations of the origins of violence

Although the sociocultural explanations of violence are singled out here, remember that you may also be asked about biological and
cognitive explanations as stated in the general learning outcomes. Also, one way of evaluating the sociocultural explanation is by
comparing and contrasting it to an alternative explanation.
• Biological: the role of testosterone (Sapolsky); the role of Serotonin (Brown et al); frontal lobe lesioning (Grafman et al or Raine et al).
• Cognitive: the theory of threatened egotism (Baumeister and Bushman); cultivation theory (Gerbner et al); perceived hostility (Dodge).
• Sociocultural: cycle of violence with authoritarian parents who use corporal punishment (Eron); deindividuation (Zimbardo);
social identity theory (Maass); social norm conformity theory (Marsh).
When discussing the different levels of analysis, remember the following points.
• It is difficult to carry out experimental research.
• Cultural differences are not easily explained by biological arguments.
• Much research is based on self-reporting data.
• Many studies are retrospective. More prospective studies are necessary.

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• Although social identity theory may appear to explain some violence, we belong to many different groups and it is difficult to
predict which group identity will trigger behaviour.
• Violent behaviour is most probably the result of the interactivity of all three levels of analysis.

Discuss the relative effectiveness of two strategies for reducing violence

For this learning outcome you must first identify strategies. Here is a short list.
• Olweus: Community approaches.
• Zero tolerance approaches.
• Public health campaign models.
• Jigsaw classrooms against bullying.
• Staub’s empathy training or Thompson’s bystander training.
When discussing two of these strategies, you may want to consider the following.
• Studies that support the model.
• The difficulty of measuring progress.
• The idea that labels of victim and perpetrator can be unclear.
• The problem of defining violence.
• Reliance on self-reported data and the problem of social desirability effect.
• The question of generalizability of findings from studies and the need to make sure that the case studies are transferable.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long-term exposure to violence

Consider the following list of effects when developing your essay on this issue.
• Short-term: anger, depression, higher rate of illness, lower performance at school or work, suicidal thoughts (Olweus).
• Long-term: correlation with low self-esteem (Olweus); cortisol depletion leading to chronic fatigue, chronic pain, PTSD (Delville).
As part of your response it is appropriate to discuss that the effects of violence may be mediated by cognitive behavioural therapy
(Kliewer et al); social skills training; downward comparison (Greenback and Ruback) or social support from family and peers. One
possible approach to the question is to discuss the idea that the effects of exposure to violence listed above are not inevitable.

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Discuss the influence of biological factors on human relationships. [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 2, both levels, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

First, read the question carefully and highlight all the relevant phrases. The question asks you to discuss the influence of
biological factors. This means that you have to offer a review of more than one biological factor. The term human relationships
can be interpreted in many different ways. Choose the type of relationship that you have studied the most to discuss – this
could be romantic relationships, friendships, familial relationships or antagonistic relationships.
There are a number of biological factors influencing human relationships, including biochemical influences, brain activity and
factors related to evolutionary explanations.
When writing your essay try to choose two or three factors, the ones you really know the best. This will give you enough time
to provide an in-depth discussion on the influence of these factors.
Briefly describe the factors you have chosen but don’t forget you need enough time to discuss their influence on human
relationships and provide studies and theories that clearly reflect this influence. As part of your response you can decide to
evaluate the theories and studies you have outlined. Don’t do this in a general way. Your answer will be much stronger if you
try to comment on whether these theories and studies show an influence of biological factors on human relationships. In
addition you can decide to evaluate research studies by discussing methodological issues of these studies.
Don’t forget that human relationships are influenced by many different factors that are usually not isolated. Whenever
possible try to demonstrate that biological factors are intertwined with other (cognitive and sociocultural) factors that relate to
human relationships.

This answer achieved 13/22

A very significant part of the human experience is the formation and maintenance of relationships. These
The student starts off with a good introduction. can be friendships, romantic relationships and so forth and are impacted by multiple factors, such as the
Main terms are described and the question is
norms of a society or the cognition of the individual. This essay will focus on the biological factors affecting
clearly addressed.
human romantic relationships, and in particular on the role of our internal biochemistry and genetic makeup.
The evolutionary aspect of psychology argues that the goal of a romantic relationship is successful procreation.
The link between the study and evolutionary The process of mate selection therefore – which is the first step in relationship formation – is based on the
theory is fairly well presented here. need to find healthy partners who will offer the best survival chances to the offspring. This has been exhibited
in Wedekind’s (1990) study on the effect of the MHC gene in attraction. The MHC gene is related to the
immune system and one of its characteristics is that offspring get one set of MHC genes from their mother
and one set from their father. Consequently parents with a wide range of MHC genes will produce offspring
with a stronger immune system. Wedekind (1990) conducted an experiment to determine whether a
E volutionary theory of attraction is outlined mechanism has been developed which would allow people to find partners with different MHC genes. The
but needs a bit more detail. Empirical men were given a clean t-shirt and were instructed to wear it for two nights in a row. To ensure that their
support is provided by presenting a relevant odor would be strong on the shirt, participants received odor-free soap and after-shave. They were also
experimental study.
instructed to avoid spicy food. Afterwards the t-shirts were taken and placed in plastic rimmed cardboard
boxes with a sniffing hole on top. Female participants – who had been instructed to return in the middle of
Some evaluation of the study would reflect their menstrual cycle when sense of smell is strongest – were each presented with a set of seven boxes. Out of
more in-depth knowledge and understanding these, three contained t-shirts of men with different MHC genes, three contained t-shirts of men with
of the topic. similar MHC genes and one had an unknown shirt (control). The women were asked to rate the smell as
pleasant or unpleasant. The results showed that women tended to prefer the scent of men with different
MHC genes thus showing that genetic factors play a role in mate selection.

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Again from the evolutionary aspect of psychology, comes an explanation of the feeling of jealousy
Additional information provided, an outline of
evolutionary explanation of jealousy is given,
experienced by women. According to Buss (1970) jealousy is a result of a woman’s anxiety that she will lose
but lacks clarity. her partner and will thus be unable to procreate or that her offspring will lose their protector and will
consequently be more vulnerable. Buss hypothesizes that according to estrogen levels the type of jealousy
experienced by women varies. During menstruation, when estrogen levels are low, a female is sexually
The relationship between estrogen and jealous as she fears that her mate will abandon her because she is not able to produce offspring. During
jealousy in particular isn’t clearly presented.
ovulation, when estrogen levels are high, females become emotionally jealous as they are concerned that the
male will abandon them and leave the offspring she is able to give, unprotected.

Disadvantages of evolutionary explanations are As all evolutionary theories these present the drawback of being hard to test on humans and also liable to
outlined but need more elaboration. Why is it researcher bias during result interpretation. However, support from studies indicates that MHC genes and
difficult to test the existence of evolutionary estrogen levels play a role in formation and maintenance of romantic relationships.
explanations of human behaviour? What is
researcher bias and how can it affect findings in
One of the characteristics of romantic love among humans is that people become obsessed with their item of
these specific studies? desire and consume large amounts of time thinking about him/her. According to Fischer (2004) this is a
result of a “biochemical cocktail”. The symptoms exhibited during the early stages of love indicate, claims
Fischer, that serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine all play a role. Adrenaline is a stress hormone and is
The student outlines how a “cocktail of responsible for a reduced need for sleep and food, faster heart rates and sweat. Increased adrenaline levels
hormones” underlies attraction. allow people to be more focused on their potential mate.
The effect of serotonin on love obsession has been examined my Marazziti (1999). Marazziti conducted a
Empirical evidence provided. study on 20 people in the early stages of love and 20 people suffering from untreated obsessive compulsive
disorder (OCD). She tested serotonin levels in blood samples she took and found that people in love and
people suffering from OCD all had higher serotonin levels, while none of the controls of the study did.
Limitations of these studies should be
Fischer however criticized the study by saying that serotonin levels in the blood are not enough proof to
more thoroughly addressed, especially suggest causality and more research on serotonin levels in the brain should be carried out. Nevertheless this
the issue of cause and effect relationship. study does indicate that serotonin is somehow related to feelings of obsession exhibited during early stages of
What is the method in the study? Are there any romantic love.
possible confounding variables and alternative
explanations?
Lastly, Fischer (2001) conducted a study using functioning magnetic resonance imaging technology (FMRI)
to examine the impact of the brain in romantic love. A large sample of young couples was tested, with each
Some inaccuracies are present.
person entering the scanner and being shown a picture of their beloved person and a picture of a neutral
acquaintance at 6 second intervals. The FMRI scanner showed what Fischer called “a beautiful picture of the
An outline of a relevant fMRI study is provided brain in love”. The brain’s reward system was activated when people viewed the picture of their loved one
and findings are explained. while no activity was observed while they were viewing the control. In addition, participants had priorly
filled in a Passionate Love Scale questionnaire and control of the results showed that the more passionate
people were, the more active was the brain’s reward system.
An in-depth analysis of the study is necessary.
In conclusion, it appears that our genes, brain, hormones and neurotransmitters all affect our relationships at
their early stages (attraction) as well as later on. However it is important to note that numerous cognitive
and social factors play a major role in interpersonal relationships which should be examined for a
well-rounded view of relationships to be achieved.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: This answer reflects basic knowledge of theories and studies on the influence of biological factors on
human relationships. (6/9)
Critical thinking: Appropriate but limited discussion is provided. More in-depth discussion is necessary focusing on the link between
biological factors and attraction. A lot of relevant points should be discussed in greater depth. (5/9)
Organization: This answer is well organized, focused, and clear in places but this is not sustained throughout the answer. The
command term is at times ignored and an overly descriptive account is provided. (2/4)

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 15. Sport psychology
15. Sport psychology

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this option are given below. They state what you should be
able to do after studying this option.

General learning outcomes

• Discuss to what extent biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence
behaviour in sport.
• Evaluate psychological research (that is, theories and/or studies) relevant to the study
of sport psychology.

Emotion and motivation

• Evaluate theories of motivation in sport.
• Use one or more research studies to explain the role of goal-setting in the motivation
of individuals.
• Discuss theories relating arousal and anxiety to performance.

Skill development and performance

• Evaluate techniques for skill development used in sport.
• Discuss to what extent the role of coaches affects individual or team behaviour in
sport.
• Explain relationships between team cohesion and performance.
• Describe aids and barriers to team cohesion.

Problems in sports
• Discuss athlete response to stress and chronic injury.
• Examine reasons for using drugs in sport.
• Discuss effects of drug use in sport.
• Compare models of causes and prevention of burnout.

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Essential definitions
Arousal is a general physiological and psychological activation that leads one to perform.
Anxiety is sometimes also called “competitive stress”. Anxiety is a temporary emotional condition characterized by apprehension
and tension about a particular activity. State anxiety is usually accompanied by physiological arousal and observable behavioural
indicators.
Burnout is a psychological, emotional and sometimes physical withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable activity in response to
excessive stress or dissatisfaction over time.
Goal-setting is a process through which we recognize our short-term and long-term aims and targets.
Motivation is the direction and the intensity of one’s effort. It may be intrinsic, coming from inside the individual, or extrinsic,
responding to external rewards.
Outcome goals are goals that focus on the result of a competition, for example, you want to defeat the football team from your rival
school.
Overtraining occurs when the intensity and frequency of exercise exceeds the body’s recovery capacity. The experience of
overtraining often leads to a decline in motivation and a related drop in confidence. Recovery may take from several weeks to a
couple of months.
Performance goals are goals that are based on personal objectives, for example, improving your personal time for the 100 metre
hurdles.
Process goals are goals that are used to improve the execution of a skill, for example, increasing the number of serves taken in order
to improve your overhand serve.
Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his or her own abilities.
Team cohesion is the extent to which a team remains united in the pursuit of its goals and objectives.

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

General learning outcomes
The general learning outcomes may be integrated with any of the learning outcomes in this option. That means that you could
be asked a question such as “To what extent do biological factors influence motivation”, “Discuss how sociocultural factors may
influence burnout”, or “Evaluate one theory related to the study of the effects of arousal and anxiety on performance”.

Evaluate theories of motivation in sport

Theories of motivation attempt to explain both the origins of motivation and how motivation works in a sports setting. The following
theories are relevant for this learning objective: need achievement theory (McClelland and Atkinson), cognitive evaluation theory
(Deci), sporting achievement motivation (Marten), flow (Csikszentmihalyi), the role of attributional styles (Weiner); the role of self-
efficacy (Bandura) or reversal theory (Smith and Apter). You may also want to discuss research on the role of intrinsic versus extrinsic
motivational factors.
There are several ways in which you may address strengths and limitations of these theories. One of the primary criticisms is that
these theories do not reliably predict performance. It appears that there are many interactive factors that motivate athletes. In
addition, you should note the way in which data is collected; often researchers have to rely on self-reported data. You may also
evaluate specific studies but remember that the overall goal is to evaluate the theories. It would be appropriate here to discuss
arguments about the cultural bias of these theories.

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Using one or more research studies, explain the role of goal-setting in the motivation of individuals
Clarifying that there are different types of goals is an important part of this question. In addition to the types of goals defined in the
“Essential definitions” section of this chapter, remember that there are also task-oriented goals and ego-oriented goals, that is, goals
related to social comparison.
When explaining the role of goal-setting in motivation, you need to be able to establish a clear link between the two. What is it about
goal-setting that influences motivation? Points to consider are: the interaction between achievement goals, perceived ability and
achievement behaviour (Duda and Hall), the role of mindset (Dweck), the resonance performance model (Newburg) or Smith’s criteria
for effective goal-setting. It will be important to use research that demonstrates the effect that goal-setting has on motivation and
performance.

Discuss theories relating arousal and anxiety to performance

When looking at theories you may consider drive theory (Hull), optimal arousal theory (Yerkes and Dodson), the catastrophe model
(Fazey and Hardy) or the explicit monitoring theory (Baumeister). It is important that you discuss both the positive and the negative
effects of arousal and anxiety in order to have a balanced approach to your essay. It is important to also understand the strengths
and limitations of such theories. One of the most important considerations is that there appear to be several factors that influence
the effectiveness of the theories, such as the personal and physical traits of the athlete, the role of cognitive factors and the type of
sport. The variation in the types of sport and exercise is a constant confounding variable in research in sport psychology. In addition,
it should also be considered that it is difficult to get accurate measures of arousal and anxiety during actual competition. Though
there are some physiological measures that can be taken, the interpretation of these physiological changes can only be measured by
self-reporting.

Evaluate techniques for skill development used in sport

The most common skill development technique is repetition. However, more and more sport psychologists are stressing the role
that cognition plays in skill development. Two of the most commonly used techniques are mental imagery (visualization) and
concentration (attention) training which includes self-talk.
In discussing the techniques, be sure to use research to support your claims. For example, for mental imagery research has been
carried out by Rushall (1970), Baroga (1973) and Isaac (1992); research on self-talk has been done by Martin et al (1995), Landin and
Hebert (1999), and Araki et al (2006).
Addressing the strengths and limitations of these techniques means not just evaluating the research studies, but also looking at the
technique as a whole. For example, it is difficult to isolate self-talk as a variable in athlete performance as it is difficult to measure
and thus guarantee the use of imagery.

Discuss to what extent the role of coaches affects individual or team behaviour in sport
When discussing the role of the coach on athletic performance, it is important to consider the following factors: the coach’s self-
efficacy, expectations of the players and feedback to the players. It is important to realize that a coach can have both a positive and a
negative effect on individual or team performance.
Several studies of coaching have been carried out. These include Garcia-Bengoechea (2003), Slavin (1995), Wild and Enzle (2002) and
Solomon et al (1996). It is important to recognize the difficulties of researching the role of coaches in an ecologically valid way. Also
research on the role of coaches relies on subjective accounts. It is expected that if an athlete or team is successful then the coach will
be viewed in a positive way. But as with much research in sport psychology, it is difficult to isolate the coach as a variable in team
performance. The individual traits of the athletes as well as the interaction with their peers may also play a key role in behaviour,
regardless of the coach’s behaviour.

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Explain relationships between team cohesion and performance

When explaining the relationship between team cohesion and performance, it is important that you take a balanced approach. For
example, positive effects may include an increase in cooperation among the team members as well as an increased motivation to
do well; negative effects may include conformity effects that are more social than task-oriented, the development of cliques, social
loafing or a self-deception that denies the weakness of the team. Research on the role of cohesion includes Carron (1982), Arnold and
Straub (1972), Gould et al (1999), Slater and Sewell (1994) and Boone et al (1997).
It is also important to consider that the relationship between team cohesion and performance is bidirectional, that is, although team
cohesion may affect performance, performance may also affect team cohesion. Studies include Ruder and Gill (1981) and Hacker and
Williams (1981).

Describe aids and barriers to team cohesion

There are many factors that influence the level of team cohesion. These include: the size and stability of the group, team satisfaction,
similarity of the members, clarity of roles, common goal-setting, level of communication and team leadership. There also appear
to be cultural differences in approaches to team cohesion. Each of these factors may serve as either an aid or a barrier to team
cohesion.
There are several studies you may use: Weinberg et al (1991) on the importance of goal-setting; Sullivan (1993) or Beauchamp et al
(2005) on the importance of communication; or Bray et al (2005) on role ambiguity.
In describing the aids and barriers to team cohesion, it is important to give empirical support as well as to discuss what effects these
factors have on an individual, for example, how goal-setting may affect the sense of self-efficacy of the team.

Discuss athlete response to stress and chronic injury

This learning outcome requires you to look at two different variables – stress and chronic injury. The two, however, are related. Any
cognitive appraisal that leads to a stress response puts the athlete in danger of injury. Thus it is important to look at factors that
may lead to a stress reaction that leads to injury. These factors may include the personality of the athlete, a history of stressors, the
athlete’s coping resources and potential interventions.
As part of your response you may want to discuss the connection between stress and injury. Examples of studies you could refer to
include the role of self-esteem on rate of injury (Ford et al 2000), the effect of stress on concentration (Williams et al 1991) or muscle
tension (Smith et al 2000).
It may also be considered how stress affects the recovery process. Cramer et al (2000) examined the effect of stress on the body’s
healing process. Shuer and Dietrich (1997) have found many PTSD-related symptoms among athletes who have experienced chronic
injury. As part of this response it would be appropriate to discuss the two key models for responding to chronic injury: the grief
response model (Hardy and Grace 1990) and cognitive appraisal models (Udry et al 1997).

Examine reasons for using drugs in sport

This learning objective asks you to go beyond simply describing reasons why athletes may use performance-enhancing drugs, but to
judge the relative importance of the different reasons and discuss their interaction.
Reasons for using drugs in sport include physical, psychological and social motivations. Physical motivations include increasing
muscle tone, changing weight or decreasing fatigue. Psychological reasons include coping with stress and increasing self-esteem. In
discussing social reasons, you may want to consider the importance of social learning theory (Anshel 1998), the role of conformity
effects (Newman and Newman 1991) or the role of game theory (Axelrod 1984) in explaining the choice to use drugs.

Discuss effects of drug use in sport

As mentioned in the previous learning objective, there are several physical reasons why an athlete may take a drug, for example, to
reduce anxiety, lose weight, enhance oxygen transfer or mask pain. This learning objective asks you to go a step further and look at
the effects of drug use on the athlete. It is important in your response to recognize that there are differences between the short-term
and the long-term use of the drug, and that the effects are both physical and psychological.

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Physical effects include “gender-based effects” where men get more feminine traits and women more masculine traits. Other effects
include liver damage, muscle damage or heart attack.
Psychological effects include increased rates of aggression (Yates et al 1992) and increased rates of mental illness, including bipolar
disorder and schizophrenia (Pope and Katz 1998). Addiction is also apparent in some cases (Brower et al 1991).
Other effects include the danger of being stripped of medals, loss of commercial opportunities, school failure or tendency to poor
judgment which may put the athlete at risk for accidents, violence or suicide.
Of course, there is a difficulty in studying this area of sport psychology. It would not be ethically possible to give professional athletes
steroids, and athletes on steroids will not reveal that they are breaking the rules. Most studies are retrospective, meaning that the
health of the individual before taking the drug may not be well documented.

Compare models of causes and prevention of burnout

This learning outcome requires you to know two models for both the causes of burnout and the prevention of burnout. If the
question asks you to compare two models a successful approach requires that you identify the main points – similarities in research
evidence, possibility of application to different sports and/or possible culture or gender differences. Don’t write too much description
– in paper 2 all questions are essay-type questions and require evidence of critical thinking skills.
Burnout may be caused by environmental causes such as overtraining and injury, an unrewarding environment, excessive stress or
monotonous training. Personal factors may also play a role, such as perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, poor coping strategies
for stress or poor social skills with team members.
Two models of the causes of burnout are the cognitive–affective stress model by Smith (1986) that looks at the interaction between
situational demands, cognitive appraisal and physiological response, and Clough and Earle’s (2001) proposed mental toughness
model which looks at the role of individual factors in determining the response to situational demands. Studies that may be
considered are Coakley (1992), Hendrix et al (2000) and Kobasa (1996). In addition, more humanistic models of burnout can be
considered, for example, Raedeke’s (1997) self-determination theory or Roger’s concept of incongruence and conditions of worth.
For the prevention of burnout, part of your response may focus on the difficulties of measuring and predicting burnout in athletes.
However, the focus of the response should be on prevention strategies. Two potential strategies are cognitive–affective stress
management (Smith 1980) and stress inoculation theory (Meichenbaum 1985). When looking at stress management as a means of
preventing burnout, some of the considerations would be a description of the steps in each of the models, research that supports
the use of the model, and limitations of research with regard to the model, for example, the role that dispositional and situational
factors may play on one’s ability to cope with the stressor.

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To what extent does the role of the coach affect team behaviour in sport. [22 marks]
[Taken from paper 2, both levels, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

Read the question carefully and highlight all relevant parts. The command term to what extent asks you to discuss the validity
of an argument. You should give both sides of the argument and provide some kind of judgment at the end.
Your first step is to determine in which ways the coach affects team behaviour and performance. Why is his/her role
important? Is his/her role relevant for some sports but not for others? Is the relevance of his/her role culturally specific or
gender specific? Your opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate psychological
research.
Whenever you answer a “to what extent” question, you should consider both sides of the argument. Is the role of the coach
the only variable that affects team behaviour in sport? Are there other factors that also affect team behaviour in sport? Don’t
forget to support these sides of the argument with relevant psychological research.
When describing studies, it is important that each one is linked to the impact that the coach has on team behavior, and not on
general types of coaching.
Remember that for essays it is essential to demonstrate critical thinking. When evaluating, don’t forget that a significant part
of evaluation should be related to the question of the role of the coach in sport, and not simply a general evaluation of each
study or theory. In your answer you can also apply your knowledge of the role of the coach to different sports. Is the role of
the coach equally relevant in all sports?

This answer achieved 15/22

The student wrote a good introduction where

Every sports team has a coach which leads the team through a season. Although some think that the coach is
some of the main issues are highlighted. There only a teacher that shows techniques to lead them to success, sport psychologists think they have a bigger role.
is a recognition that although the coach is Coaches also have the duty of regulating the motivation and general behavior in sport, in order to keep it
relevant this is not the only factor that determines positive. A positive behavior in a team often means a better performance. However, even if the coach’s task
team behaviour. This sentence is very useful is to influence the behavior in the team, set the rules and show them the most efficient way to succeed, his
because it signals that within the essay the student role cannot completely determine the behavior of the team because there are countless of other factors that
will try to approach the question by addressing the could affect the behavior.
“to what extent” command term.
Because of their important role, coaches can affect the performance and the intrinsic motivation of their
team. Horn et al. explain with their expectation-performance model that the expectations of the coach can
The student describes the effect of the coach affect the behavior of individual team members. In the first step of this model, the coach develops an
on intrinsic motivation by referring to the expectation for a specific team member. This expectation then affects the learning, development, motivation
expectation–performance model. and goals of the athlete. When this happens, the athlete conforms to the expectations, which are then assured.
This means that the coach expects that the team and/or specific team members can change the behavior and
even the performance of the team. Duda and Pensgaard argued that one task of coaches is to set intrinsic
motivation directly and not only through expectations. To do this, a coach needs to show the correlation
between technique and success, show that athletes are allowed to make a mistake, give positive and useful
Additional information provided and feedback and make sure that all team members are equal. Jowett studied the relationship between Olympic
supported with empirical evidence.
swimmers and their coach. He found out that the closer the athletes were to the coach they showed more
motivation and better performance. This shows that the coach’s role can affect the motivation and
performance of a team through his expectations and attitude towards the athletes.

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 15. Sport psychology
Theory of social contagion outlined. As said before, the coach is meant to have a good attitude to keep a good attitude in the team. Wild developed
a theory of “social contagion” which states that attitudes in the team will be spread. In another words
attitudes are “contagious”. This means that the good attitude of a coach will pass to the athletes. With a good
attitude, the athletes will be more motivated and perform better. However, a negative attitude will result with
A bit more information would improve the the contrary. Although the coach is the controlling figure, he is not the only one that can spread this attitude.
answer. Wild’s theory of social contagion also works within members. This shows that the coach is not the only one
that can determine the attitudes within the team.
This part of the answer addresses the “to what Team cohesion is the expression used for describing the positive dynamics in a team. These dynamics can
extent” command term. It is relevant as it affect the behavior of the team and even their performance. Carron described two kinds of team cohesion:
provides some evidence of critical thinking. task cohesion and social cohesion. When the team can complete tasks together, it is referred as the task
cohesion. And when the team gets along with each other it is called social cohesion. Grieve carried out a
study with volunteers. He made basketball teams of 3 men in a team cohesion , a control and a bad team
A bit more information would be valuable
cohesion condition. When they competed, researchers noticed that those who had a better team cohesion also
here, such as a short outline of how team
members may affect performance.
had a better performance and enjoyed the task more that the bad team cohesion condition. The study shows
how team cohesion can set the attitude of the team. However, one must keep in mind that this study might
not be reliable because team cohesion is abstract and hard to measure. However, this shows that maintaining
Good and clear definition provided. Types of team cohesion will make the sport more enjoyable and this may lead to better results.
cohesion outlined.
But in order to state that team cohesion has an effect with the behavior of the team, one must look at the factors
that may influence team cohesion. Slater carried out a study on 3 men and 3 women hockey teams throughout the
 sentence linking team cohesion to the
A season. He found out that early team cohesion affected later performance. He also found that the performance
original question – the role of the coach on also affected team cohesion. This shows that the relationship between team performance and team cohesion is
team behavior – would make this part of the bidirectional, meaning that performance can affect team cohesion and team cohesion can affect performance.
answer more valuable.
Performance can be affected by several factors, including the role of coaches. Kenow carried out a study on
Australian football teams and compared them to American teams. They found that coaches in Australia
break cliques, encourage cooperation and get to know the players better to enhance team cohesion. On the
The student provides further clarification by
suggesting that the relation between team other hand, American coaches make the team do drills to enhance team cohesion. This shows that culture is
cohesion and performance is bidirectional. also an important factor. However, what the two studies show is that coaches also can establish team
cohesion, showing that there is not a main factor in team behavior and that all factors work together.
Since coaches are the authority figure in teams, their role can affect the behavior in teams. According to
T he student again addresses the “to what Worn, their expectations can affect their performance and Duda and Pensgaard argued that they can also
extent” command term by indicating that affect intrinsic motivation. Wild shows how the attitude of the coach can be contagious. However also
there may be a cultural norm of behaviour for attitudes of team members can be contagious. Corron and Grieve showed how team cohesion can be affected
developing team cohesion.
by many factors, including coaches. This shows that although coaches can influence team behavior there are
too many factors that can influence it and they all influence each other.
 good conclusion is provided summarizing
A
that although a coach is an important factor C lear outline of a relevant study investigating the relation
that influences team behaviour, it is not the between team cohesion and performance. There is also
only factor. some evidence of critical thinking but it is rather basic.

Examiner report
Knowledge and comprehension: This answer demonstrates good knowledge of specific issues relevant for the specific question. The
response provides relevant psychological research. At times more accuracy and detail is necessary. (7/9)
Critical thinking: There is appropriate but limited evidence of critical thinking. At times critical thinking is applied but in a general
manner. (5/9)
Organization: The answer is well organized, focused, and clear. At times the information provided in the answer is not clearly linked to
the specific question. (3/4)
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16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology

16. Paper 3: Qualitative research

methodology

Qualitative research makes up a good part of psychological study today. Early psychologists were heavily dependent on a positivistic
approach, that is, they felt that the scientific method was the only valid approach to studying behaviour and that universal cause
and effect relationships could be determined. However, there were many shortcomings with experimental research. Experimental
research can be artificial in nature, lend itself to demand characteristics and may objectify the participants that are being studied.
Maybe most importantly, experimental research focuses on very few variables in behaviour. By looking at only the effect of an
independent variable on a dependent variable, the researcher adopts a reductionist approach to understanding behaviour.
Qualitative research tends to take a more holistic approach. A significant part of qualitative research is that it addresses how
people give meaning to their own experiences. It is often problem-focused, that is, it looks at behaviours within a smaller group or
community, without the goal of discovering universal patterns of behaviour.
Paper 3 is an assessment of your understanding of qualitative research. Specifically, it tests your understanding of observations,
interviews, and case studies.

Learning outcomes
Theory and practice in qualitative research
• Distinguish between qualitative data and quantitative data.
• Explain strengths and limitations of a qualitative approach to research.
• Discuss to what extent findings can be generalized from qualitative studies.
• Discuss ethical considerations in qualitative research.
• Discuss sampling techniques appropriate to qualitative research, for example, purposive sampling, snowball sampling, quota
sampling.
• Explain effects of participant expectations and researcher bias in qualitative research.
• Explain the importance of credibility in qualitative research.
• Explain the effect of triangulation on the credibility/trustworthiness of qualitative research.
• Explain reflexivity in qualitative research.

Interviews
• Evaluate semi-structured, focus group and narrative interviews.
• Discuss considerations involved before, during and after an interview, for example: sampling method, data recording,
transcription, ethics, debriefing.
• Explain how researchers use inductive content analysis (thematic analysis) on interview transcripts.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
Observations
• Evaluate participant, non-participant, naturalistic, overt and covert observations.
• Discuss considerations involved in setting up and carrying out an observation, for example, audience effect, data recording, ethics,
debriefing.
• Discuss how researchers analyse data obtained in observational research.

Case studies
• Evaluate the use of case studies in research.
• Explain how a case study could be used to investigate a problem in an organization or group, for example, a football team, school
or family.
• Discuss the extent to which findings can be generalized from a single case study.

Essential definitions
Case study refers to an in-depth and holistic investigation of the behaviour of either an individual or group.
Covert observation means that the observed group may or may not be aware of the presence of the researcher and they are not
made aware that their behaviour is being observed.
Credibility is similar to validity, when the findings of the research reflect the meanings as they are described by the participants.
Often interpretations of interviews are presented to the interviewee to make sure that he or she agrees with the interpretation. This
establishes credibility.
Focus group is a group interview.
Inductive content analysis is an analysis of qualitative data in which theory and hypotheses are derived from the data rather than
established before the data is gathered.
Interviewer effects occur when the way the interviewer carries out the interview affects the behaviour of the interviewee. This may
be the result of body language, gender, tone or the way that the interviewer responds to comments made by the interviewee.
Narrative interviews are used to obtain the stories people employ to interpret their lives and the world around them. It is the ways
that people organize and make connections between events that are of interest to the narrative interviewer.
Naturalistic observation is an observation in which the researcher observes behaviour that naturally occurs.
Non-participant observation is where the observer is not part of the situation being studied.
Overt observation means that the observed group is aware of the presence of the researcher and that their behaviour is being
observed.
Participant observation means that the observer takes part in the situation being studied while carrying out the research.
Post-modern transcription is a method of transcribing recorded interviews that goes beyond traditional transcription by including
notes on the words, volume, pitch, speed, pauses, facial expressions, gestures and other non-verbal communication.
Purposive sampling is where participants are chosen based on specific characteristics, for example, they are all smokers, drivers or
homosexual men over 40.
Reactivity refers to when a participant behaves differently than normal because he or she is being observed.
Quota sampling is like stratified sampling in quantitative research. The participants are reflective of the group from which they are
drawn. That is, the participants reflect the diversity of the target population.
Reflexivity involves the researcher documenting his or her beliefs, attitudes, values, theoretical position and reactions to the object
of study and assessing the likely impact of these on the collection and analysis of data.

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Semi-structured interview is a form of interview in which the interviewer asks questions from a pre-decided list of questions.
Although the researcher may obtain other information, the key goal is to obtain responses to the interview guide.
Snowball sampling is a sampling method also called network sampling. The researcher asks participants if they could recommend
other participants. This is often used with hidden populations, for example, illegal drug users, homeless people or refugees who
endured torture in their homeland.
Traditional transcription is a method of transcribing recorded interviews by simply writing down what the participant said, word
for word.
Transference is documenting the conditions under which a study was conducted so that it can be determined to what extent the
research findings can be generalized. The extent to which generalization may happen is the level of transference.
Triangulation is collecting information through the use of different perspectives, methods and sources to check if the interpretation
of data can be supported.

Suggestions for addressing the learning outcomes

Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data
The key to this learning outcome is to recognize that qualitative data goes beyond simple numerical data. Qualitative data is
more descriptive and more holistic than quantitative data. Qualitative research often does not begin with a hypothesis, but rather
generates a hypothesis based on its findings. It may also be noted that qualitative data is often quantified in order to come up with
meaningful statistics at the end of a qualitative study.

Explain strengths and limitations of a qualitative approach to research

Strengths
• More holistic approach to understanding an individual or group’s behaviour.
• Less open to researcher bias as it is not driven by a hypothesis.
• Provides rich data.
• Useful for understanding more complex human behaviours such as relationships, group processes and mental health.
• People are studied in their own environments which increases validity.
Limitations
• Time consuming. The research generates a lot of data that may be difficult to analyse.
• Interpretation of data may be highly subjective.

To what extent can findings be generalized from qualitative research?

The key to generalization is the transferability of the data. It is important for the researchers to record the demographics of the
study. For example, if there is a case study of a school, is it urban, rural or international? What is the socio-economic diversity of the
school? What is the size of the school and of classes? What percentage is bilingual? How many go on to study at university? The more
similar a school is to the school in the original study, the more likely that the findings of the study may be generalized, or transferred,
to that school.

Discuss ethical considerations in qualitative research

Many examples of ethical considerations are similar to what we see in quantitative research methods. Here are some points to
consider.
• The issue of informed consent in observational research.
• The difficulty of maintaining confidentiality in a focus group.
• The importance of not pressuring interviewees to answer sensitive or embarrassing questions.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
• The importance of confidentiality in the publication of case studies.
• The need to keep a professional relationship with the participant. This is especially true in longitudinal case studies where a bond
may form between the participant and the researcher.
• The right to withdraw information. In interviews, participants may say things that they later regret revealing. This must be
removed from the data upon request.
• Debriefing is required for all research. Interpretations should be shared and the plan for the use of the data should be revealed.
The rights of the participant should be clear with regard to confidentiality and withdrawal of data.

Discuss sampling techniques appropriate to qualitative research

It is important to realize that there is a distinct difference between qualitative and quantitative sampling methods. Random sampling
is not used in qualitative research, since the goal is not to determine the universality of behaviour. Opportunity samples may be
used, but because of the problem-focused nature of much qualitative research, not just any available sample will do. Purposive,
snowballing, and quota sampling are the three most common means of gathering a sample.
Both purposive sampling and snowballing have the danger of bias. Snowballing adds the problem that all members of that
group may have more in common than simply the trait that is being studied since all of the participants know each other. For
example, although they are all homosexual men, they may all be intelligent homosexual men who are engaged in the local theatre
community. This does not allow for a more diverse and representative group of homosexual men to be studied. However, if the
first participant to be interviewed feels that the researcher was professional, empathetic, and trustworthy, the fact that he or she
recommends the study to friends in a snowball sample, means that a rapport is established more quickly.

Explain effects of participant expectations and researcher bias in qualitative research

As with quantitative research, demand characteristics may affect the behaviour of the participants. One specific example is the
social desirability effect, where the participant feels that they have to respond to questions or behave in a way that meets societal
norms. In this case, they may be less honest about their sexual practices, drug use or attitudes towards family so that they do not
feel socially unacceptable. Participants may also try to “help out” the researcher by providing information that they feel is “what the
researcher is looking for” rather than an honest and authentic response to questions.
Researcher bias is when the researcher fails to maintain objectivity and so his or her beliefs affect the outcome of the study. This may
be especially true in inductive content analysis where the researcher is to note “emerging themes” in the transcript of an observation
or interview. The researcher may be prone to note the themes that confirm his or her own beliefs about the behaviour being studied.
Researcher bias may also influence the manner in which an interviewer facilitates a focus group or one-on-one interview.

Explain the importance of credibility in qualitative research

Since much of the interpretation of data is subjective in qualitative research, it is important for the researcher to verify his or her
interpretation with the participant(s). In the case of an interview, credibility is checked by giving the transcript or interpretation to
the participant for verification. For example, the researcher might feel that the interviewee was very sarcastic about many of his co-
workers at his job; the interviewee, upon reading the interpretation, might respond that he was not trying to be sarcastic, but rather
that his comments were honest and heartfelt. It is important for the researcher to be able to confirm that what he believes was the
main point of the interview was in fact what the interviewee meant to communicate.

Explain the effect of triangulation on the credibility/trustworthiness of qualitative research

There are two forms of triangulation that are particularly important to qualitative research.
• Method triangulation: comparing data that comes from different methods. This shows that the results are credible, that is, they
are not simply due to the choice of method.
• Researcher triangulation: comparing data from various observers, interviewers, or researchers. Having more than one observer,
researchers should be able to establish inter-rater reliability. In the case of content analysis, researchers establish inter-coder
reliability. This means that the results are consistent for all members of the team, therefore, the results are not due simply to the
biases of the single observer or interviewer.

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Explain reflexivity in qualitative research

Reflexivity is a relatively new concept in psychology in which the researchers reflect on how their values, beliefs, experiences,
interests and political orientation may affect their research. For example, is it possible that gender bias may have played a role?
Could it be that the attractiveness of some of the interviewees affected behaviour during the interview? Or that negative feelings
about a participant’s behaviour may have been detected and influenced a case study? The personal reflections of the researcher help
the reader of the study to better understand the context of the study.

Evaluate semi-structured, focus group and narrative interviews

Semi-structured interviews

Strengths Limitations

• Standardization of procedure • A rather artificial conversation, lacks ecological validity

• Easy to train researchers to carry out interviews • Data analysis is time consuming
• May be carried out on many participants and obtain similar • Questions, if not piloted, may be difficult to understand or
data lead the participant to respond in a specific manner
• Allows for elaboration of responses
• Less biased by the researcher

Focus group interviews

Strengths Limitations

• A convenient way to gather a lot of information quickly • Conformity effects may influence results
• A natural setting for conversations • Cultural and gender norms may influence how the group
behaves
• Individuals may spark ideas for other participants, resulting
in a richer response • Not appropriate for sensitive questions
• Confidentiality of responses is difficult to guarantee

Narrative interviews

Strengths Limitations

• A very holistic approach for an individual, leads to in-depth • Leads to an enormous amount of data that may be difficult
data to analyse
• A very naturalistic and supportive means of sharing • Since many narrative interviews ask participants to share
information past experience, it may be highly susceptible to the effects
of reconstructive memory

Discuss considerations involved before, during and after an interview

Some considerations before an interview include: training of the interviewer to avoid interviewer effects; choice of the interviewer;
developing an interview guide, generating and piloting the questions; deciding on how data will be recorded and transcribed; ethical
considerations.

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Some considerations during an interview include: ethical considerations; establishing a rapport with the interviewee; facilitating a
focus group; active listening techniques.
Some considerations after an interview include: carrying out data analysis; debriefing the participants; establishing credibility of the
interpretation.

Explain how researchers use inductive content analysis on interview transcripts

An inductive content analysis does not begin with a hypothesis. Instead, the researcher reads through the data looking for “emergent
themes” which “jump out” at him.To do this, the research team will often reread the texts several times. After reading through the
text and noting things of interest, the researcher will try to group this data into “higher level themes.” Based on these higher level
themes and the quotes from the interviews that support them, the researcher then writes an interpretation of the data. As part
of that interpretation, the researcher may apply reflexivity, reflecting on how he or she may have influenced the outcome of the
interview. Finally, the interpretation is taken back to the interviewee in order to establish credibility.

Evaluate participant, non-participant, naturalistic, overt and covert observations

Strengths Limitations

Participant • An emic approach • Difficult to record data

• Avoids researcher bias • Time consuming
• A holistic approach. • Risk of losing objectivity

Non-participant • Objective • Reactivity

• Easy to record data • Ethical concerns
• Researcher does not interfere with behaviour. • Etic approach, open to researcher bias

Naturalistic • High ecological validity • Reactivity

• Allows study of a large range behaviours • No control over variables
• Difficult to establish inter-observer reliability

Overt • Informed consent is obtained • Reactivity

Covert • Prevents reactivity • Deceives participants

• Allows study of behaviours that otherwise might • Consent is not obtained
not be studied
• Violates trust
• Difficult to record data
• Can be often dangerous for researchers

Discuss considerations involved in setting up and carrying out an observation

Some considerations in setting up an observation include: choosing which type of observation is appropriate; sampling; data
recording; ethics; consider how the researcher’s role may affect the behaviour of the participants.
Some considerations in carrying out an observation include: establishing a rapport with the participants; ethics; maintaining
objectivity; recording data; carrying out post-observation interviews in order to clarify observations.

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Discuss how researchers analyse data obtained in observational research

The aim of analysis is to summarize the data and provide meaningful, manageable descriptions of behaviour. Notes written by the
observer are transcribed and an inductive content analysis may be carried out. Please see the notes above on how that technique is
applied.
In addition, because of the nature of observations, it is important that the researcher write a description of the observation. This
should include the context of the behaviour (for example, lunch recess), the environment in which it took place, a description of the
sample and the process by which the observation was carried out. This will also help with transferability to other similar situations.
Finally, in order to establish credibility, the “account” that is developed is then shared with other researchers and/or with the
participants to establish credibility. It may also be compared to current theories to see whether the interpretation supports current
research in the field.

Evaluate the use of case studies in research

Strengths Limitations

• Opportunity to investigate phenomena that could not be • Cannot be replicated

studied otherwise
• May lack objectivity because of the long-term nature of
• A holistic rather than a reductionist approach to research research
• Stimulates new research • Reliant on participant’s memory which is open to distortion
• Uses method of triangulation to establish credibility • Each case study is in some ways unique, there are questions
about the level of transferability

Explain how a case study could be used to investigate a problem in an organization or group
This learning outcome asks how you would set up a case study. F example, how would a researcher organize a case study for your
school? The researcher would have to define the “case”, that is, what will be studied and for which group? Then different methods
would be applied, for example, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, a survey, a classroom observation. Analysis of data would
follow each of the methods applied, and then the interpretations would be compared to establish credibility.
The final account of the case study would include a summary of the findings, as well as an in-depth description of the school so that
the level of transferability could be established by readers of the study. In addition, the researcher may include reflexivity in the
report to discuss how he or she may have influenced the outcome of the research.

Discuss the extent to which findings can be generalized from a single case study
In addition to the information above on transferability based on the demographics of a case study, it is also important to compare
a case study to similar studies. If other case studies or research support the findings of the case study, it is more likely that the case
study can be generalized to a wider population.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
This is an example of a stimulus material, presented in the May 2011 HL paper 3 examination. Use the information within this text to
answer all three questions.
Note that the information is basic and lacks detail, so for some questions you can include additional detail to add content to your
answer. It is fine to be creative and imaginative as long as the additional information does not contradict the stimulus material and
reflects knowledge of qualitative methods.

“Befriending” is a term for developing a friendly relationship

When reading the stimulus material it is always a between a volunteer and a “befriendee”, i.e. a person who is
good idea to highlight the aim of the study because
given the opportunity to have a friend. The purpose of such a
this is the general context that you need to use when
relationship is to benefit a person at potential risk: for example
answering all questions. In this case the aim is to
5 adolescents from minority groups. Befriending programmes
find out how personally satisfying the befriending
programme was for volunteers have been found to benefit the befriendees by protecting them
from loneliness and social isolation. One such befriending
programme in Scotland was concerned with social inclusion
This part gives information about participants – of young people from minority backgrounds by establishing
number, age and gender. This information can be 10 relationships between them and members of the majority
useful if there is a question about sampling method group.
or the possibility of generalization.
McVittie, Goodall and Barr (2009) conducted a qualitative
study on the befriending programme from Scotland mentioned
above. The aim of their study was to investigate the outcome
15 of befriending from the perspective of befrienders. The
Qualitative method used, outcome of the befriending scheme was very much dependent
on the motivation and involvement of the participants, i.e.
the befrienders. Therefore the researchers were particularly
interested in their view of the scheme and the befrienders’
This tells you how the information has been 20 relationships with the young people.
collected and transcribed. Also it gives some The ten participants in this study were five males and
indication of ethical considerations.
five females ranging in age from 25 to 36. The researchers
collected data with semi-structured interviews, which were
audio recorded and transcribed with the participants’ consent.
Data analysis method identified. 25 The researchers used inductive content analysis to analyse and
interpret the transcripts.
The findings of the study showed that the befrienders
suggested that they themselves received several benefits from
This part gives you some information about the befriending programme, for example appreciation of other
emergent themes. 30 cultures, being welcomed in the families of the young people,
and getting insight into the community-based difficulties that
minority cultures experience. Overall, the befrienders had
a positive view of the programme. Research on befriending
General findings of the study.
programmes has found that befriendees normally report
35 positive experiences. This qualitative study now confirms that
befrienders also benefit from such programmes.

In the left margin next to the stimulus material you will notice line numbers. You can use these line numbers when answering
the question. This is the easiest way to indicate the part of the text you are referring to when addressing the specific question.

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Explain possible effects of participant expectations on the findings of this study  [10 marks]
[Taken from paper 3, higher level, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

The first step is to identify what the question is asking from you. The command term explain asks you to give a detailed
account of participant expectations and the effect participant expectations might have on findings obtained in this qualitative
study.
First, give a clear and accurate definition of participant expectations – they are participants’ ideas of the aim and purpose of
the research. They tend to affect the behaviour of the participants because participants might want to please the researcher
by confirming his or her hypothesis. This part can be a general description of how participant expectations usually affect the
findings obtained in qualitative studies. Participant expectations will affect the value of the data in a negative way since the
data will not be trustworthy.
After this, you need to apply most of what you stated in the first part of your answer to the actual context of the study by using
the information presented in the stimulus material. It would be good to start off by stating that participant expectations will
affect the verbal report provided by the participant. For example, you could indicate that since the befriending programme
tends to be viewed by people as a socially desirable project participants might be tempted to report overly optimistic
feelings to present themselves as good and positive members of society. Also, you could focus on the information provided
in the stimulus material that states that “the befriending programme in Scotland was concerned with social inclusion of
young people from minority backgrounds by establishing relationships between them and members of the majority group”.
This part of the stimulus material tells you that the process of establishing relationships probably took quite a long time.
Since participants have invested a lot of time and energy in the programme it is very likely they will want to interpret the
experience as positive although, in reality, there might have been disappointments along the way. Many other consequences
of participant expectations may be explained and will be credited as long as you clearly present them and make a direct link
to some information in the stimulus material.

This answer achieved 4/10

If participant expectations affected the findings of this study, it would be considered biased.
This is a good opening statement but it should
Participant expectations are defined as the participant trying to please the researcher because he/she thinks
have been continued with some additional
that the researcher is expecting something out of them. In this example, the befrienders might not disclose any
explanation.
negative opinions of the program or exaggerate the benefits. They know that the befriendees report positive
experiences, which could be used against befrienders that did not share the same positive experience. They
This definition is basically correct but needs don’t want to hurt feelings, even if they are anonymous.
a bit more clarity. What exactly would the
researcher expect?
This part isn’t very clear. The link between
participant expectations and findings needs to
The student made some attempt to use
be more clearly explained.
the stimulus material when answering the
question.

Examiner report
The student partially understood the demands of the question and gave some explanation of the term “participant expectation”. The
effect it could have on the findings of this study is described but not very clearly. The student made some attempt to use the text when
answering the question.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
This answer achieved 8/10

Participant expectations are, in general, known to play a role in the findings of the vast majority of qualitative
Good general knowledge of participant expec-
as well as quantitative studies. These expectations can be related to something caused by the given researcher
tations is provided.
of the study or the participants own views on what the research is studying.
In this case the focus of the research by McVittie et al. was on a culturally and politically sensitive issue of
ethnic and cultural minorities, which in itself can increase the impact of participant expectation on the
Accurate and focused use of stimulus material.
findings of the study. That is to say, in a modern western society like the one described on the study (Scotland)
it is often the consensus of social norm that minorities should be treated with respect and that they are richness
to a country instead of something that takes away from it. What this means is that a participant of this study
Student links participant expectations to social might report a more positive experience in the befriending programme then what really was the case thanks to
desirability effect and clearly explains the the social desirability effect i.e. the participants answer what they expect to be socially acceptable in relation
affect these have on the findings. to the outcome of such a befriending programme, resulting in possibly more positive results. This reduces the
credibility of the study.
Another way in which participant expectation can influence the findings is caused by the researcher or in
This statement is correct but needs to be a bit
more clearly stated. What is credibility of a this case the interviewer in the interview situation. That is, a participant might e.g. sense that a certain
study? gesture or facial expression gives him/her support to move in a certain direction on his/her answer to the
question. Moreover, if the interviewer for example smiles or immediately jumps on, with a further question,
when the participant mentions something positive in relation to the outcome of the befriending programme,
Answer provides a link between participant the participant might feel that the researcher wants him/her to answer in that way. This affects the
expectancy and researcher bias within the credibility of the study, but can be reduced by training interviewers.
study.

This is a good answer. Information provided

by the student reflects understanding of
participant expectations and how they can
affect findings of the study. A bit more clarity and
detail when applying knowledge to the stimulus
material would have brought maximum marks.

Examiner report
The student understood the demands of the question and gave a good explanation of the term “participant expectation”. The effect it
could have on the findings of this study is well explained and the stimulus material is used in a clear and focused way. This response
demonstrates a critical understanding of qualitative research methodology. At times the response needs a bit more clarity.

107

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16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology

Discuss the use of semi-structured interviews in this study. [10 marks]

[Taken from paper 3, higher level, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

Read the question carefully. The command term discuss asks you to give a balanced view of the use of semi-structured
interviews in this specific example.
Briefly describe how a semi-structured interview would be conducted in this context by defining what a semi-structured
interview is and outlining its main characteristics. After that, discuss strengths and limitations of using semi-structured
interviews in this specific example. For example, you can state that using open-ended questions helps the researcher to
establish rapport resulting in richer data. Also semi-structured interviews allow participants to present their own ideas,
however, semi-structured interviews take a long time and are therefore expensive.
After stating these general strengths and limitations apply your knowledge to information provided in the stimulus material
or the general context of the study described. In your answer you could state that participants in semi-structured interviews
responded to open-ended questions and therefore expressed views that were surprising for the researcher, for example, that
they could not benefit from participating in the project due to age difference or language problems. You can be creative in
your interpretations as long as you provide clear and relevant knowledge related to the specific question and the stimulus
material.

This answer achieved 3/10

This definition is too broad and it doesn’t dif- A semi-structured interview is a one-to-one interview with the researcher. The researcher has a set of
ferentiate semi-structured interviews from questions to ask, but is willing to go more in depth into certain topics if more data can be obtained. The
structured or narrative interviews. strengths of semi-structured interviews are that because of the one-to-one chat, they feel they can disclose
information without conformity. However, this can backfire into participant expectations. It is also very time
consuming.
A description of semi-structured interviews is
given but there is no reference made to the
stimulus material.

These two statements lack clarity.

Examiner report
The student gave a very general answer reflecting some knowledge of semi-structured interviews but often lacking clarity and precision
in writing. The answer doesn’t make direct reference to the stimulus material.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
This answer achieved 7/10

A semi-structured interview involves the researcher going by a few wide questions which may be only a
This part of the answer talks about how
starting point if other relevant subjects would reveal themselves in the interview which the researcher had not
semi-structured interviews are different from
thought of. Yet, it is still more structured and research driven than a narrative interview.
structured interviews and narrative interviews.
The semi-structured interview is used here with benefits such as the participants have the opportunity to bring
up new relevant subjects, which is useful when studying such a wide subject and betters validity(6-7). This
First advantage presented and some will let the participants steer the interviews towards what they feel is relevant. Semi-structured interviews
explanation provided. also focuses the interview on the aim (9-10) which will not produce massive amounts of material such as
other formats of interviews might. This will also help the subsequent inductive content analysis(16-17) by
Additional advantage with some explanation directly focusing the interview. Picking out themes becomes easier in relation to a focused interview.
and link to stimulus material provided.
Negative aspects of using semi-structured interviews in this context is, for example, limiting the degree of
freedom for the participant to speak freely. There is room for researchers bias, when the researchers actually
F irst disadvantage is vaguely stated. How would steer the interview, perhaps the researchers have no idea what one could gain from being a befriender which
the use of semi-structured interviews in this might harm validity. Also, the semi-structured interviews was audio recorded, this means that the
study limit participants’ willingness to speak transcribers have no chance of registering body language of the participant throughout the interview.
freely? Additionally, interviews are always retrospective, which is difficult to fix without instead damaging the
ecological validity, however, it is worth remembering as another flaw of using semi-structured interviews in
Second and third disadvantage discussed with this context.
some link to the stimulus material.

This part of the response lacks clarity.

Examiner report
The student understood the demands of the question and gave a discussion of the use of semi-structured interviews in this study. The
answer includes a range of arguments. The student clearly indicates which part of the text is relevant for addressing the question but
the link to the stimulus material needs to be further elaborated upon.

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16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology

Explain how researchers could use inductive content analysis on the transcripts of the semi-structured interviews in this
study.  [10 marks]
[Taken from paper 3, higher level, May 2011]

How do I approach the question?

The command term explain asks you to give a detailed description of the process involved when conducting inductive content
analysis. When outlining each step of the process give reasons for this activity, state the purpose of that activity.
First, briefly define inductive content analysis. After that, describe the process of conducting an inductive content analysis
by stating that it involves a systematic search for themes in the transcript that show themselves after reading the transcripts
several times. Further reading and analysis will help the researcher to connect these themes in a meaningful way. Through
this process the researcher will see how these themes relate and try to construct hierarchies of themes. The researcher will
continue this process until there is no more information in the data. Inductive content analysis allows the researcher to gain
an insider’s approach of how each and every participant understands and makes sense of the world.
Don’t forget that you have to apply your knowledge and understanding of inductive content analysis to the presented
stimulus material. This means that you briefly outline some possible themes that might have emerged within the example
of the befriending programme. There are many different ways you can do this. As long as your examples of themes and their
connection make sense within the context of the study you will get marked positively for them.
Make sure you answer only the question in front of you. For this question, there is no need to state strengths and limitations
of inductive content analysis since this is not part of the question.

This answer achieved 4/10

Inductive content analysis (ICA) was used in this study to analyse the transcripts of the semi-structured
A definition of ICA is given but needs to be
interviews. ICA is when researchers analyse data many times without having a theory in order to reach a
more precise by indicating that the theory is
conclusion on a certain dimension. McVittie, Goodall and Barr’s 2009 study retrieved their raw data from
derived from the data gathered.
audio recordings and transcriptions. The first process of ICA is to go through all the raw data and categorize
data based on different content. Then researchers reach the encoding process where they derive meaning from
Answer reflects some knowledge of how ICA is the data, for example „appreciation of cultures“. After encoding the analysis is placed into tables that are
conducted but steps of ICA are vaguely stated based in different themes such as „culture“, „experiences“. Data saturation is reached when all the raw data
and lack detail. Student makes an attempt to has gone through this process and has no more analysis left. This is a time consuming method because there is
apply knowledge to the stimulus material but this much data per participant. And in this case they had to do ICA for all 10 participants. However this method
is not well developed. has strengths, for example, several different theories can be applied to see findings through different theories.

This part of the answer provides correct

information but is not necessary because the
question does not ask for an evaluation of ICA.

Examiner report
The student gave a limited answer that is partially relevant for the question stated. Some application to stimulus material is given but
is not well developed.

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 16. Paper 3: Qualitative research methodology
This answer achieved 7/10

Within the study, the research used inductive content analysis (ICA) on the transcripts of each interview.
A definition of ICA is given. Inductive content analysis is a process that involves deep analysis of all of the relevant information found
throughout the study. There are four major steps when using ICA to analyse information. The first is to
study the data piece by piece, so that all of the important information is found within each interview. The
second is to sort these pieces of qualitative data into emergent themes. This consolidates the major points that
were made in the interview. After the themes are found, they are considered again as a group in order to
Answer provides a good general explanation of
find an even larger “dimension”, that determines the overall idea of the information. The final step is to
the major stages involved in ICA.
review the data and make sure that all of the data is represented within the themes, as well as in the final
dimensions. This is a useful process, as it helps researchers reach data saturation, where all of the data found
within the interviews are fully analysed. This is important for the records because when dealing with
subjective and qualitative data, it can be easy to miss important aspects of the information, due to the
complexity of stated data. Data saturation also aids the researcher in finding anomalous data, or data that
does not follow the paths set out by the other interviews. This relates to the study done by McVittie, Goodall
Student uses information from the stimulus and Barr. It is possible that one of the ten participants were not happy with the “befriending” program and it
material in order to provide a possible example would be important to find these anomalies, as it puts an important perspective on the program, as well as
of anomalous data. possibly revealing more of its flaws.
The data taken from semi-structured interviews are completely subjective and the process of ICA is also
purely a subjective one. The subjectivity of the data reveals definite problems. When the researchers go
 nswer presents the possible effect of con-
A through the data using ICA, the interpretation of the data is completely up to the researcher, and is therefore
firmation bias on the way ICA is conducted; open to bias. A confirmation bias could occur, where the researcher gives extra weight to what they find
knowledge is applied appropriately to stimulus supports their own opinions – in this case, if the researcher is in support of the program, they would much
material. more readily accept data that supported their opinions. Also, culture could be an effect, as it adds to their bias
as well.

T his is a correct statement but needs

further elaboration. How could the cultural
background of the researcher bias the process
of ICA?

Examiner report
The student gave a good answer that reflects accurate knowledge and understanding. More explicit information related to the stimulus
text is necessary. When the student makes use of the stimulus material these parts need further elaboration.

111

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17. Are you ready?

17. Are you ready?

–2– N11/3/PSYCH/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX
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SECTION A
We hope that you enjoyed the book Below is a selection of questions from recent exam papers to which you may apply
your new skills. You–can
SECTION 2 –either N11/3/PSYCH/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX
A take these under exam conditions or work through them
andAnswer
that youall
willquestions
continue to
in use
thisitsection. Marks
referring backwill bebook;
to the awarded for isfocused
the choice yours. answers supported by relevant
knowledge.
throughout the year to help you to SECTION
Answer all questions in this section. Marks will be – A for focused
– 2awarded N11/3/PSYCH/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX
answers supported by relevant
prepare for your exams.
knowledge.
Biological
Answer all level of analysis
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SECTION A for focused answers supported by relevant
knowledge.
Biological level of analysis – 2 –behaviour. N11/3/PSYCH/BP1/ENG/TZ0/XX
1.
PaperExplain how two neurotransmitters affectSECTION
human A [8 marks]
Answer all1questions in this section. Marks will be awarded for focused answers supported by relevant
Biological
knowledge.
1. level
Explain howof two
analysis Section
neurotransmitters affectSECTION A
A for focused answers supported by[8relevant
human behaviour. marks]
Answer all questions in this section. Marks will be awarded
knowledge.
1. two
Explain
Cognitive
Biological
Answer how
alllevel
level of inneurotransmitters
of analysis
analysis
questions affect
this section. Marks human
will be awarded for focused answers supported by[8relevant
behaviour. marks]
knowledge.level
Cognitive
Biological level of
of analysis
analysis that define the cognitive level of analysis.
2.
1. Outline
Explain two
howprinciples
two neurotransmitters affect human behaviour. [8 marks]
Cognitive
Biological
2. level
level
Outline twoof analysis
ofprinciples
analysis that define the cognitive [8 marks]
1. Explain how two neurotransmitters affect humanlevel of analysis.
behaviour.
2.
1. Outline
Sociocultural
Explain
Cognitive twoofprinciples
level
how
level two that define the
of analysis
neurotransmitters
analysis cognitive
affect humanlevel of analysis.
behaviour. [8 marks]
Sociocultural
Cognitive levellevel of analysis
of analysis
3.
2. Describe
Outline twoone study relevant
principles to social
that define the learning
cognitivetheory.
level of analysis. [8 marks]
Sociocultural
Cognitive
3. Describe level
level one of analysis
ofprinciples
analysis
study relevant to social [8 marks]
2. Outline two that define the learning
cognitivetheory.
level of analysis.
3.
2. Describe
Outline two
Sociocultural oneprinciples
level study relevant
of analysis to social
that define the learning
cognitivetheory.
level of analysis. [8 marks]
SECTION B
Sociocultural level of analysis
3. Describe one study relevant to social learning SECTION theory.B [8 marks]
Answer one
Sociocultural question
level in this
of analysis section. Marks will be awarded for demonstration of knowledge and
3. Describe one study relevant to
understanding (including the use of relevant social learning theory.
psychological [8 marks]
research), evidence of critical thinking
Answer one question in this section. Marks SECTION B
will be Bawarded for demonstration of knowledge and
(e.g.
3. application,
Describe one analysis, synthesis, Section
evaluation), and organization of answers.
understanding study relevant
(including the useto ofsocial learning
relevant theory.
psychological research), evidence of critical[8thinking
marks]
Answer one question in this section. Marks
(e.g. application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), will
SECTION be awarded
B
and organization for demonstration
of answers. of knowledge and
4. Discuss how
understanding and whythe
(including particular
use of research
relevant methods are used
psychological at the biological
research), evidencelevel
of ofcritical thinking
(e.g. analysis, with
application, reference to one or SECTION
more studies. B [22 marks]
Answer
4. Discuss howanalysis,
one question and inwhy synthesis,
this
particularevaluation),
section. and be
Marks methods
research will organization
awarded
are ofthe
used atforanswers.
demonstration
biological levelofofknowledge and
understanding (including
analysis, with referencethetouse
one of relevant
or more psychological
studies.
SECTION B research), evidence of critical [22thinking
marks]
Answer
4. one question
Discuss how and in
whythis section. research
particular Marks will be are
methods awarded
used for
at thedemonstration
biological ofofknowledge and
level
(e.g. application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), and organization of answers.
understanding
5. (including
Outline schema
analysis, with thetouse
theory.
reference one of relevant
or more psychological research), evidence of critical
studies. [22thinking
marks]
Answer
(e.g. one question
application, in this
analysis, section.
synthesis, Marks
evaluation), will
and be awarded for
organization demonstration of knowledge
of answers. and
4. Discuss
understanding
5. how and
(including
Outline schema theory.why particular
the use of research
relevant methods are
psychological used at the
research),biological
evidencelevel
of of
critical thinking
Evaluate schema
analysis, with theory to
reference with
onereference
or more to studies.
studies. [22
[22 marks]
marks]
(e.g.
4. application,
Discuss howanalysis,
and whysynthesis,
particularevaluation), and organization
research methods are used atofthe
answers.
biological level of
5. Outline schema theory. [22
Evaluate schema
analysis, with theory to
reference with
onereference
or more to studies.
studies. [22 marks]
marks]
4. Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the biological level of
6.
5. Evaluate
analysis, socialreference
schema
with
Outline schema identity
theory theory
theory. with
to with reference
onereference
or more to to relevant studies.
studies.
studies. [22
[22 marks]
marks]
112 6.
5. Evaluate social identity
Outline schema theory. theory with reference to relevant studies. [22 marks]
Evaluate schema theory with reference to studies. [22 marks]
6.
5. Evaluate
Outline social identity theory with reference to relevant studies. [22 marks]
Evaluateschema
schematheory.
theory with reference to studies. [22 marks]
6.
288 17 Psychology 17.indd 112 Evaluate schema theory theory
social identity with reference to studies.
with reference to relevant studies. [22 marks]16/12/2011 10:28
 –2– N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
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17. Are you ready?

Answer two questions, each from a different option.
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Answer two questions, each from a different option.
Answer two questions, each from a different option.– 2 – N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
Each question is worth [22 marks]. Marks will – 2 be
– awarded for N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
demonstration of knowledge and
Answer two
Paper 2 questions, each from a different option.
Each question
understanding is worth
(including [22 marks].
the marks]. Marks
use of relevant will be awarded
psychological for demonstration
research), evidence ofof knowledge and
Each question
Answer is worth
two questions, [22
each from a different Marks will
option. be awarded for demonstration of critical thinking
knowledge and
understanding
(e.g.
Answerapplication,
two (including
analysis,
questions, each the use
synthesis,
from a ofevaluation),
relevant
different psychological
option.and organization research), evidence of critical thinking
of answers.
understanding (including the use of relevant psychological research),
Each question is worth [22 marks]. Marks will be awarded for demonstration of knowledge andevidence of critical thinking
(e.g. application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), and organization of answers.
(e.g.
Eachapplication,
understanding isanalysis,
question (including
worth [22synthesis,
use ofevaluation),
the marks]. relevant
Marks will andbe organization
psychological
awarded of answers.
research),
for evidence ofof critical
demonstration thinking
knowledge and
Abnormal
Each psychology
question is worth [22 marks]. Marks will be awarded for demonstration of knowledge and
(e.g. application,
understanding analysis, synthesis,
(including the use ofevaluation), and organization
relevant psychological of answers.
research), evidence of critical thinking
Abnormal psychology
understanding (including the use ofevaluation),
relevant psychological research), evidence of critical thinking
Abnormal
(e.g. psychology
application, analysis, synthesis, and organization of answers.
1.
(e.g. Compare and
application, contrastsynthesis,
analysis, individualevaluation),
and group approaches
and to treatment.
organization of answers.
Abnormal psychology
1. Compare and contrast individual and group approaches to treatment.
1. Compare
Abnormal and contrast individual and group approaches to treatment.
psychology
Abnormal
1. psychology
Compare and contrast individual and group approaches to treatment.
2.
1. Describe
Compare psychological research (theories
and contrast individual and groupand/or studies)torelevant
approaches to diagnosis.
treatment.
2.
1. Describe
Compare psychological
and contrast research (theories
individual and group and/or studies)torelevant
approaches to diagnosis.
treatment.
2. Describe psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to diagnosis.
Evaluate the psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to diagnosis that you
2. Describe psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to diagnosis.
Evaluate
have the psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to diagnosis that you
described.
2. Evaluate the psychological
Describe psychological research
research (theories(theories and/or relevant
and/or studies) studies) torelevant to diagnosis that you
diagnosis.
2. have described.
Describe psychological research (theories and/or studies)
have described.
Evaluate the psychological research (theories and/or relevant
studies) torelevant
diagnosis.
to diagnosis that you
have described.
Evaluate the psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to diagnosis that you
3. For one
Evaluate affective or eating research
the psychological
have described. disorder, (theories
discuss the relationship
and/or studies)between
relevantetiology and therapeutic
to diagnosis that you
3. For one
approach.
have affective or eating disorder, discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic
described.
3. For one affective or eating disorder, discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic
approach.
3. approach.
For one affective or eating disorder, discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic
3. approach.
For one affective or eating disorder, discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic
3. For one affective or eating disorder, discuss the relationship between etiology and therapeutic
approach.
Developmental
approach. psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
4. Evaluate two examples of psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to attachment.
Developmental psychology
4. Evaluate two examples of psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to attachment.
4. Evaluate two
Developmental examples of psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to attachment.
psychology
Developmental
4. Evaluate twopsychology
examples of psychological research (theories and/or studies) relevant to attachment.
5.
4. To what extent do sociocultural
Evaluate two examples factors influence
of psychological researchthe formation
(theories andstudies)
and/or development of to
relevant gender roles?
attachment.
5.
4. To what extent
Evaluate do sociocultural
two examples factors influence
of psychological researchthe formation
(theories andstudies)
and/or development of to
relevant gender roles?
attachment.
5. To what extent do sociocultural factors influence the formation and development of gender roles?
5. To what extent do sociocultural factors influence the formation and development of gender roles?
6.
5. To whatone
Outline theory
extent of cognitive factors
do sociocultural development.
influence the formation and development of gender roles?
6.
5. Outline
To what one theory
extent do of cognitive factors
sociocultural development.
influence the formation and development of gender roles?
6. Outline one theory of cognitive development.
Evaluate the theory of cognitive development that you have outlined.
6. Outline one theory of cognitive development.–– 33 –– N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
Evaluate the theory of cognitive development– that 3 – you have outlined.
N11/3/PSYCH/HP2/ENG/TZ0/XX
6. Evaluate thetheory
Outline one theoryof
of cognitive
cognitive development.
development that you have outlined.
6.
Health
Health Outline one
thetheory
psychology
Evaluate
psychology theoryof
of cognitive
cognitive development.
development that you have outlined.
Health psychology
Evaluate the theory of cognitive development that you have outlined.
7.
7. Evaluate the
Evaluate twotheory
two of cognitive
examples
examples of development
of psychological
psychological that you
research
research have outlined.
(theories
(theories and/or
and/or studies)
studies) related
related to
to physiological
physiological
7. Evaluate
and/or two examples
psychological of
aspectspsychological
of stress. research (theories and/or studies) related to physiological
and/or psychological aspects of stress.
and/or psychological aspects of stress.

8.
8. Discuss prevention
Discuss prevention strategies or treatments
strategies or treatments for
for addictive
addictive behaviour.
behaviour.
8. Discuss prevention strategies or treatments for addictive behaviour.

9.
9. “Lifestyle is
“Lifestyle is an
an important
important factor
factor in
in people’s
people’s health.”
health.”
9. “Lifestyle is an important factor in people’s health.”
With
With reference
reference toto this
this statement,
statement, discuss
discuss sociocultural
sociocultural factors
factors related
related to
to the
the development
development of
of obesity.
obesity.
With reference to this statement, discuss sociocultural factors related to the development of obesity.

8811-5704 113
Psychology
8811-5704
Psychology
8811-5704 of
of human
human relationships
relationships
Psychology of human relationships
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288 17 Psychology10.
17.indd Discuss
10. Discuss
113 factors
factors influencing
influencing bystanderism.
bystanderism. 16/12/2011 10:28
8811-5704
10. Discuss factors influencing bystanderism.
 9. “Lifestyle is an important factor in people’s health.”

17. Are you ready? With reference to this statement, discuss sociocultural factors related to the development of obesity.

Psychology of human relationships

10. Discuss factors influencing bystanderism.

11. Contrast one biological explanation of the origin of attraction with one psychological or
social explanation.

12. Evaluate psychological research (theories and/or studies) related to sociocultural explanations of the
origins of violence.

Sport psychology

13. Outline two techniques for skill development in sport.

Discuss the two techniques for skill development in sport that you have outlined.

14. Outline psychological research (theories and/or studies) in relation to athlete response to stress and
chronic injury.

Evaluate the psychological research (theories and/or studies) in relation to athlete response to stress
and chronic injury that you have outlined.

15. Evaluate two theories of motivation in sport.

8811-5704

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 17. Are you ready?
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ThePaper
stimulus3material
The stimulus – 2 – N11/3/PSYCH/HP3/ENG/TZ0/XX
material below below is is based
based on on aa research article that describes an observational study to
research article that describes an observational study to
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based a research article describes observational study
investigate
investigate thetheefficacy
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emotional andand
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behavioural
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suggests (EBD).that negative parenting, for example, inconsistent discipline and/or lack
Research suggests that negative parenting, for example, inconsistent discipline and/or lack
of
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reinforcement for
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example,
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and and/or
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Research
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suggests thatthat negative
negative parenting,
parenting, for example,
for example, inconsistent
inconsistent discipline
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and/or lack lack
difficulties
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appropriate Since such a disorder
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could contribute for children
to emotional and and parents,
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difficulties
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reinforcement
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for children.
appropriate Since such
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behavioural
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have in for
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appropriate
children. Since behaviour,
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a disorder
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contribute
belife,
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to emotional
psychologists
for children
psychologists haveand developed
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parents,
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difficulties
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children. Since
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be difficult forforchildren
children and andparents,
parents,
5 intervention
and may have programmes
devastating to teach parenting for
consequences skillstheto parents.
child’s life, psychologists have developed
5 intervention
andand may programmes
have
may programmes devastating
have devastating to teach parenting
consequences
consequences skills
for to
the parents.
child’s
for tothe life, psychologists
child’s life, psychologists have developed have developed
5 intervention to teach parenting skills parents.
5 5 intervention
intervention programmes
programmes to teach
to parenting
teach parenting skills to parents.
skills to parents.
A A group
group of of psychologists
psychologists working working at at aa centre
centre for for children
children with with behavioural
behavioural problemsproblems performedperformed
aA non-participant
group of psychologists overt observation
working at atocentre study for thechildren
effectiveness of a particular
with behavioural problems parent training
performed
A a non-participant
group
A groupof of overt observation
psychologists
psychologists working
working at ato
at astudy
centre
centre the
for effectiveness
children
for children with with ofbehavioural
a particular
behavioural problems parent
problems training
performed
performed
aprogramme.
non-participant
programme. The
The programme
overt observation
programme was
was aa group-based
to study theintervention
group-based effectiveness
intervention programme
of a particular
programme for
for five
five single
parent
single parents
training
parents
a non-participant
a non-participant overt overt observation
observation to study
to study thetheeffectiveness
effectiveness of a
of particular
a particular parent
parent training
training
who had children with behaviour problems. The parents
programme. The programme was a group-based intervention programme for five single parents were fully informed about the purpose
who
programme.had
programme. children
The The with
programme behaviour
programme was problems.
a
was group-based
a group-basedThe parents
intervention were
intervention fully
programme informed
programme for about
five
forstart the
single
five the purpose
single parents
parents
10
10 who of
of the
thehadobservational
children
observational with study
study and
and they
behaviour signed
signed an
theyproblems. informed
an The
informedparents consent
were form
consent fully
form before
informed
before the start of
theabout of thepurpose
study.
who who had hadchildren
children with withbehaviour
behaviour problems.
problems. The Theparents
parents werewere fully
fullyinformed
informed aboutabout thethe study.
purpose
the purpose
10 of the observational study and they signed an informed consent form before the start of the study.
10 10 of theof theobservational
observational study
studyandand they signed
they signed an an
informed
informed consent
consent formform before
before thethe start of the
start of thestudy.
study.
The
The aimaim ofof the
the study
study was was to to investigate
investigate how how parents
parents responded
responded to to the
the parent
parent training
training programme,
programme,
which consisted of teaching new parenting skills such as:
The aim of the study was to investigate how parents responded to the parent training programme,
which
TheThe aimconsisted
of the
aim of the ofstudy
study teaching
waswas to new parenting
investigate
torelationship
investigate how skills
how parentssuchresponded
parents as:
responded to the
to theparent
parent training
training programme,
programme,
•• how
which how to
to establish
consisted
establish aa positive
of teaching
positive new parentingwith
relationship skillsthe
with child
such
the childas: through
through play
play and
and child-centred
child-centred activities
activities
which consisted of teaching new parenting skills such as:as:
• which
how toconsisted
reward of
and teaching
encourage new
the parenting
child for skills
positive suchbehaviour
establish a positive relationship with the child through play and child-centred activities
• •how how to reward
establish
to establish and encourage
a positive
aand
positive the child for
relationship
relationship withpositive
thethe
childbehaviour
through play andand child-centred activities
15
15 ••• how how to
to set effective
reward
set and encourage
effective and consistent limits.
the child
consistent limits. forwith
positive child through
behaviour play child-centred activities
•how how to reward
to reward andand encourage
encourage thethechildchildforforpositive
positivebehaviour
behaviour
15 • how to set effective and consistent limits.
15 15 • •how how to set effective
to set effective andandconsistent
consistent limits.
limits.training twice a week over a period of three weeks.
TheThe parents
parents came
came to to aa centre
centre to to participate
participate in in training twice a week over a period of three weeks.
The parents
trainingcame consisted
to a centre of interactions
to participate between the parents
in training twice aand week a over
facilitator
a period whoof wasthreenot weeks.part
TheThe training
parents
parents consisted
came came aof
to atocentre interactions
centreto participate between
to participate the parents
in training
in training twice
twice aand
week a over
a week facilitator
overa period whoof was
a period three
of not
threeweeks.part
weeks.
of
Theof the
the research
training
research team.
consisted
team. All
of
All sessions
interactions
sessions were
were videotaped
between
videotaped the for
parents
for further
and
further analysis.
a facilitator
analysis. The
The session
who was
session typically
not
typicallypart
TheThe training
training consisted
consisted of of
interactions
interactions between
between thetheparents
parents andand a facilitator
a facilitator who whowaswas notnot part
started with theteam.
of the research parentsAllwatchingsessionsawere videovideotaped
showing one exampleanalysis.
for further of a parent–child
The session typicallypart
interaction.
started
of of thethe with
research the
research parents
team.team.All watching
sessions
All sessionsa video
were were showing
videotaped
videotaped one example
for further of
analysis.a parent–child
TheThe session interaction.
typically
20
20 Thestarted purpose
with of
theshowing
parents the videos
watching was
a videoto start onefor
group discussions
showing further
example with analysis.
of the facilitator,
a parent–child session typically
tointeraction.
encourage
The
started purpose
started withwithof
the showing
theparentsparentsthe videos
watching
watching was
a to
video
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video group
showing
showing discussions
one oneexample
example withof the
a
of facilitator,
parent–child
a parent–child to encourage
interaction.
interaction.
20 role
The play purpose and ofto showing
help parents share possible
the videos was to startsolutions
grouptodiscussions
the problemwith theythe had watched to
facilitator, onencourage
the video.
20 20 role
TheThe play
purpose and of
purpose to showing
help
of parents
showing share
the videos possible
waswas solutions
to start group todiscussions
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facilitator, onencourage
to theencourage
video.
At the
role playend andoftoeach
help parentsthe
session, the
sharevideos
parents
possible were to start
solutions group
encouragedto the discussions
to employthey
problem with the
the had
new facilitator,
techniques
watched on to at home.
the video.
At the
rolerole playend
playandof toeach
and help
to session,
help parents
parentsthe
share parents
sharepossible were
possible encouraged
solutions
solutions to the
to to employ
problem
the problem the
theytheynew
had techniques
watched
had watched on on atthe
the home.
video.
video.
In
At In the
the following
the end of eachsession,
following session,they
session, the would
they parentsdiscuss
would discuss the
were encouraged
the effectiveness
to employ
effectiveness of
of the
thetechniques
the new techniques
techniques with
with the other
at home.
the other
At At thetheendend of ofeach session, the parents were encouraged to employ the new techniques at home.
single
In the parents
following in each
the session,
group.
session, they thewouldparents
discusswerethe encouraged
effectiveness to employ
of the the new techniques
techniques with theatother home.
single
In In thetheparents
following in
following the group.
session, they would discuss the effectiveness of the techniques with the other
single parents in the session,
group. they would discuss the effectiveness of the techniques with the other
singlesingle parents
parents in the
inof group.
the group.
25
25 For the duration of the
For the duration programme the parents expressed increasing satisfaction with the
the programme the parents expressed increasing satisfaction with the
25 development
For the duration of
of their of relationship
the programme with
with their child.
child. They
the parents said
said they
expressed felt
felt more
increasing confident
confident and
moresatisfaction with securethe
25 25 development
ForFor thethe duration theirof relationship
thethe programme their
thethe parents They
expressed they
increasing satisfaction and
with securethe
development of their relationship with their child. They said they felt more confident and securethe
in their role duration
as parent. of The programme
overall findings were parents
that expressed
group increasing
interactions with satisfaction
a facilitator with
helped
in their
development role
development as
of parent.
their
of their The overall
relationship
relationship findings
with their were
child.
withrelationship
their that
child.They group
They said interactions
saidthey felt more
they felt withwith a facilitator
confident
moreaconfident and helped
secure
andtimessecure
parents
in their
parents to
to establish
role as parent.
establish aa different
The
different and
and better
overall findings
better were
relationship thatwith
group
with their child.
child. However,
interactions
their However, there
there were
facilitatorwerehelped
times
in their
in role
their as as
role parent.
parent. TheTheoverall
overallfindings
findings were werethatthat
groupgroup interactions
interactions withwith a facilitator
a facilitator helped
helped
when they found it difficult to be consistent in using the new
parents to establish a different and better relationship with their child. However, there were times techniques. They also expressed
when
parents they
parents found
to establish it adifficult
different toandbe better
consistent in usingwith
relationship the new
their techniques.
child. However, Theythere also expressed
were times
30
30 satisfaction
when
satisfactiontheytofoundestablish
with
with the a different
social
it difficult
the social to beand
support
support andbetter
consistent
and
relationship
understanding
in using from
understanding
with
the
from new their
other
other
child.
parents
techniques.
parents
However,
and
and the
They
the
there
facilitator.
also were
expressed
facilitator.
times
when when theytheyfoundfound it difficult
it difficultto tobe be
consistent
consistent – in3 –in
using
using thethenew new techniques. They
N11/3/PSYCH/HP3/ENG/TZ0/XX
techniques. They alsoalsoexpressed
expressed
30 satisfaction with the social support and understanding from other parents and the facilitator.
30 30 satisfaction
satisfaction with withthethe social support
social support andand understanding
understanding fromfrom other parents
other parents andand thethe facilitator.
facilitator.
Answer all of the following three questions.

1. Evaluate the use of non-participant overt observation in this study. [10 marks]

2. Explain ethical considerations relevant to this study. [10 marks]

3. Explain how reflexivity could have been used in this qualitative study. [10 marks]
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