Past Paper Questions

Question 1

A teacher was absent and left work for students to complete during the lesson. Some
students in the class did not do the work their teacher had left for them.
Use one possible explanation of resistance to social influence to explain why this
happened.

Answer 1

Social support:
- this would have given others more confidence to ignore the teacher’s instructions
- more people who disobey the less
severe the consequences are likely to be
- credit use of evidence to support explanation/application, eg Milgram – two confederates-one naïve
participant variation.

Question 2

Outline one limitation of systematic desensitisation as a treatment for phobias.

Answer 2

• SD is time-consuming, when compared to alternatives such as flooding, as the person with the phobia needs to be trained in relaxation techniques and gradual exposure can take many sessions.

Question 3

Describe psychosexual stages as outlined in the psychodynamic approach

Answer 3

oral (0–1yr) – focus of pleasure is the mouth
anal (1–3yrs) – focus of pleasure is the anus
phallic (3–5yrs) – focus of pleasure is genitals
latency (6–12yrs) – previous conflicts are resolved/repressed and early years are largely forgotten
genital (12yrs/puberty-adulthood) – sexual desires become conscious

Question 4

Self Actualisation

Answer 4

self-actualisation concerns psychological growth, fulfilment and satisfaction in life and is the final stage
in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Question 5

Conditions of worth

Answer 5

constraints
an individual believes are put upon them by significant others that they deem necessary to gain positive regard

Question 7

How do you ensure a matched pair experiment?

Answer 7

The researcher needs to ensure that the two groups are matched for key
variables.
All participants should be pre-tested for key variable
For each person in one condition, the researcher should assign a ‘matched’
person in the other condition.

Question 8

What is an advantage of Independent Groups?

Answer 8

One advantage is that demand characteristics are less likely as participants are only aware of their own conditions

Question 9

Suggest one way to reduce extraneous variables.

Answer 9

Ensuring all participants are tested by the same researcher

Question 10

How could a psychologist use random allocation?

Answer 10

Allocate numbers for each participant and put them in a hat