RM2 exam paper 2

Question 1

A psychologist used a set of negative images to assess attitudes to smoking before and after participants took part in a 30-minute covert sensitisation session. In a repeated measures design, 15 participants were tested before and after the session using a single set of images.
Explain how two sets of images could be used in this study and why this would be an improvement.

Answer 1

 the researcher should use a different set of images for the before and after test
*  the two sets would need to be matched for negative content, eg same level of violence/graphic imagery OR counterbalance the two sets of images, eg half the participants see A first followed by B, the other half see B first followed by A
*  this would reduce effects of demand characteristics/the problem of order effects
*  participants might guess the purpose of the study and therefore respond according to expectations/ participants might be affected by boredom/practice.

Question 2

Each participant had a different total score in the before condition, where the maximum score was 40 and the median score was 23.
How many of the participants had a score < the median in the before condition?
Explain your answer.

Answer 2

1 mark: 7
1 mark: lower/less than
1 mark: we are told that all 15 scores are different
4th mark: for any one of the following;
*  this means that, when they are ordered from lowest to highest, the median would be the 8th score/middle/centre score
*  the above represented pictorially
*  stating 7 would be below and 7 would be above the middle value of 23
*  a valid formula-based answer.

Question 3

Briefly discuss one way in which a covert observation of children might be more beneficial than an overt observation.

Answer 3

compared to an overt observation if the researcher is covert then the children are completely unaware that they are being monitored and this increases the likelihood of the behaviour that is produced being spontaneous and natural
*  
the researcher can also be more certain that covertly collected data are more likely to be valid measurements of behaviour and / or that these behaviours might therefore indicate possible cause and effect relationships.

Question 4

Possible improvements: how the experiment could be improved (this might include why this would be an improvement).

Answer 4

improving the sample / sampling method / target population – details of alternative method, e.g. stratified
*  changing the design – use of an alternative design (repeated measures, matched pairs) and brief details of how this would be implemented
*  changing the nature of the tasks – suggestions for tasks that are more reflective of real-life behaviour, e.g. reading e-mails whilst talking on the phone, etc
*  changing the type of experiment – suggestions for alternative, e.g. field study – carry out the research in a more natural setting, e.g. an office environment or a classroom
*  participants should be randomly allocated to each experimental condition; brief explanation of how this would be done.

Question 5

Outline one benefit of allocating the students randomly to the different numbers of online hours and classroom hours as seen in Table 1.

Answer 5

 removal of researcher bias in determining which participant has the most to least number of online hours
*  increased validity as the researcher will not be biased in how students are allocated
*  removal of participant bias as each participant has the same chance of having a particular number of online hours as any other participant.

Question 6

The sample used in this pilot study was an opportunity sample. Briefly explain how using a stratified sample when the final study is conducted might be an improvement to the design.

Answer 6

stratified sampling ensures each identified sub group of the whole target population of possible participants is represented in the sample so generalisation of the results to the target population is more valid than if the participants were just available at the time of asking
*  stratified sampling is an improvement because people who are identified by opportunity are likely to be present at same time, doing similar things, possibly of similar personality types etc which may limit representativeness of sample.

Question 7

Briefly explain one problem the researcher might have in analysing the qualitative data collected from the questionnaires.

Answer 7

analysis of qualitative data relies on interpretation by the researcher which could be inaccurate / biased / subjective

Question 8

Investigator effects may influence this study. Explain how the investigation might be modified to reduce these effects. About eyewitness testimony

Answer 8

use open-ended questions so that the interviewees were able to give a more detailed and accurate version of what they saw
*  use questionnaire (or other means) to collect data without face to face interaction.

Question 9

To assess the questionnaire’s validity, the researcher gave it to 30 participants and recorded the results. He then gave the same 30 participants an established questionnaire measuring locus of control. The researcher found a weak positive correlation between the two sets of results, suggesting that his questionnaire had low validity.

Explain how the validity of the researcher’s questionnaire could be improved.
 the researcher could compare the two questionnaires and note any differences

Answer 9

 the researcher could (identify and) remove/deselect any items on his questionnaire that are problematic
*  items might be problematic because they are leading, ambiguous, too complex, double-barrelled etc
*  the researcher could incorporate a lie scale, so respondents are less aware that locus of control is being tested.

Question 10

Validity was still a concern because the researcher knew which participants were in each experimental group.
Explain how this could have affected the validity of the study.

Answer 10

knowing which experimental group each participant was in could lead to investigator effects/researcher bias
*  the researcher may have unconsciously/consciously influenced responses given by the participants
eg by smiling more/less or using a more/less pleasant tone/etc. to the participants assigned to one of the groups whilst they were completing their happiness questionnaire
*  this would have made them more/less likely to rate themselves as happier
*  the increased happiness in the team sports group may therefore be due to investigator effects/researcher bias as opposed to the change in the IV (effect of team sports over independent exercise) invalidating the results of the study.

Question 11

Explain what it means for a test to have high concurrent validity.

Answer 11

high concurrent validity is where there is close agreement between the data produced by the new test compared to the established test. Close agreement is indicated if the correlation between the two sets of data produced by the two tests exceeds +0.8.

Question 12

Give one reason why it is important for scientific reports to include a referencing section?

Answer 12

*  enables readers to track down the sources used
*  to give credit to other researchers/acknowledge their ideas
*  can avoid plagiarism.

Question 13

Explain one strength of using a matched-pairs design rather than a repeated-measures design.

Answer 13

in a matched pairs design participants only take part in a single condition so order effects are less of a problem than in a repeated measures design, improving the validity of the results
in a matched pairs design participants only take part in a single condition so demand characteristics are less of a problem than in a repeated measures design as they are less likely to guess the aims of the study.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a role of peer review in the scientific process?

Answer 14

To ensure only significant results are published

Question 15

A researcher wanted to investigate agoraphobia by studying Patient X. The researcher designed a questionnaire to find out about Patient X’s experiences. However, a colleague suggested that the researcher might do better to conduct a case study.
Explain one or more reasons why it might be better to conduct a case study than a questionnaire.

Answer 15

 case studies can be longitudinal and so changes (in Patient X’s experience) can be observed over time whereas questionnaires tend to provide just a ‘snapshot’ of experience
*  case studies usually involve several methods (observation, interviews, etc.), enabling checks for consistency/reliability/validity whereas a questionnaire is a single method of data collection
*  case studies produce rich, detailed qualitative data, whereas questionnaires tend to produce less detailed information.

Question 16

Explain the benefit of using randomisation to produce the word lists for this study.

Answer 16

 eliminates investigator effect/bias − one word list could not be made to be easier or harder than the other when the lists are constructed
*  this is because the investigator has no control/choice over which words appear on which list.

Question 17

 What is a matched pairs design?

Answer 17

participants are matched/paired according to key variables
*  each person from a pair goes into a different condition.

Question 18

Explain how the study might have been improved by using a random sample of students from Year 12.

Answer 18

 this reduces the likelihood of investigator effects/research bias
*  this would mean that she is more likely to get a range of students in her sample, not just psychology students
*  the likelihood of demand characteristics might be reduced, improving internal validity
*  her sample would be more representative of the student population and allow her to make a wider conclusion about the effectiveness of the cognitive interview.
*  the teacher would select a random sample using either a hat/lottery/computer method and a list of all the Year 12 students.

Question 19

The student who carried out the study selected the two pictures. He decided himself which picture showed unkind behaviours and which picture showed kind behaviours.

Explain how the study could be improved by selecting the pictures another way.

Answer 19

have an independent person/researcher who does not know the purpose of the study select the pictures; use a panel of raters who have nothing to do with the study.

Question 20

Researchers discovered a strong positive correlation between the number of therapy sessions attended by people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their well-being ratings.

Explain why it would not be appropriate to conclude that therapy increases well-being ratings.

Answer 20

 there was no manipulation of an IV, therefore cause and effect between therapy and well-being cannot be inferred
*  a third, untested variable may be causing the positive relationship between therapy and well-being.

Question 21

In which section(s) of a scientific report would you expect to find reference to the results/findings of the investigation?

Answer 21

The abstract, the discussion and the results sections only

Question 22

State one advantage of an independent groups design.

Answer 22

removes order effects/effects of practise/fatigue etc
*  participants are less likely to work out the aim and change their behaviour/less influenced by demand characteristics.

Question 23

Explain one way in which using open questions, in addition to closed questions, might improve the questionnaire.

Answer 23

open questions might give the researcher detailed insight into reasons for behaviour
*  open questions could lead to ideas for further investigation
*  respondents find open questions less frustrating than forced choice

Question 24

What are behavioural categories? Explain why it was important to use behavioural categories in this observation.

Answer 24

Possible content:
*  a system of behavioural categories is a list/tally chart examples of behaviour likely to occur during an observation
*  these should be observable/objectively defined/operationalised/unambiguous.
Possible explanation:
*  using a set of behavioural categories should enable the recordings of friendly behaviour made by the two students to be consistent (can help to establish inter-observer reliability)
*  this means that the observations can be carried out reliably/be less subjective interpretations of what is friendly and what is not.

Question 25

Psychology students sometimes propose hypotheses that are untestable.

Which one of the following is essential for a testable hypothesis?

Answer 25

The hypothesis should include fully operationalised variables.

Question 26

Discuss features of science. Refer to one or more examples of psychological research in your answer.

Answer 26

Possible content:
*  objectivity and the empirical method
*  replicability and falsifiability
*  theory construction and hypothesis testing
*  paradigms and paradigm shifts.
Possible application/discussion:
*  use of research studies/theories/approaches to discuss the features of science
*  comparison of approaches to discuss features of science, eg Freud’s psychodynamic approach is unfalsifiable
*  difficulties of the subjective nature of psychological investigations
*  prevalent paradigms, eg behaviourism in 1920s onwards, 1970s paradigm shift – the cognitive revolution.

Question 27

Explain what is meant by a Type II error in the context of this study.

Answer 27

 when the researcher believes the relationship between the number of hours slept and how well rested they felt is not significant when it is (false negative).

Question 28

Distinguish between a Type I error and a Type II error.

Answer 28

A Type I error occurs when a researcher claims support for the research hypothesis with a significant result when the results were caused by random variables
*A Type II error occurs when the effect the researcher was attempting to demonstrate does exist but the researcher claims there was no significance in the results/erroneously accepts the null hypothesis
*The difference is that in a Type I error the null hypothesis is rejected when it is true and in a Type II error it is retained when it is false.

Question 29

What is a type 1 error?

Answer 29

A Type I error occurs when a researcher claims support for the research hypothesis with a significant result when the results were caused by random variables

Question 30

What is a type 2 error?

Answer 30

A Type II error occurs when the effect the researcher was attempting to demonstrate does exist but the researcher claims there was no significance in the results/erroneously accepts the null hypothesis

Question 31

The psychologist wanted to randomly allocate the 20 people in her stratified sample to the two conditions. She needed an equal number of males in each condition and an equal number of females in each condition. Explain how she would have done this.

Answer 31

give each man a number 1 – 12 (1 mark)
*put 12 numbers in a hat (1 mark)
*assign first six numbers drawn to Condition A with the remainder for Condition B (1 mark)
*repeat process for women – eight numbers in the hat and draw four for Condition A and remaining four go to Condition B (1 mark).

Question 32

Identify a suitable graphical display for the data in the table and briefly explain why this display would be appropriate. Why use a scatter graph?

Answer 32

‘1 mark for stating scattergraph or scattergram.
Plus
1 mark for explanation – because it shows a relationship between two variables.

Question 33

Briefly outline one problem of using a single trained observer to rate the participants’ driving skills in the practical task. Briefly discuss how this data collection method could be modified to improve the reliability of the data collected

Answer 33

Possible problems:
*Researcher bias – using one observer means objectivity/reliability/validity cannot be checked
Possible modifications:
*Increasing the number of observers of the driving task because then the data is less subject to individual bias – the observations could then be correlated
*Recording the driver performance so that the data is not lost but can be reviewed as often as required.

Question 34

Explain one limitation of a self-report technique.

Answer 34

questionable validity; lack objectivity (questions about self).

Question 35

Some ways of establishing validity involve the use of a statistical test.
Outline how these researchers could have used a statistical test to establish concurrent validity of the mathematical reasoning ability test.

Answer 35

concurrent validity would involve correlating the results on the maths test with results for the same group of people on an established maths reasoning test
*A Spearman’s rho or Pearson’s r test should be used for the two sets of test results
*if the mathematical ability test is valid then there should be a significant positive correlation between the two sets of test scores at the 0.05 level.

Question 36

Explain why statistical testing is used in psychological research.

Answer 36

researchers use statistical tests to determine the likelihood that the effect/difference/relationship they have found has occurred due to chance.

The sleep questionnaire used by the researchers had not been checked to see whether or not it was a reliable measure of sleep quality.

Question 37

Explain how this study could be modified by checking the sleep questionnaire for test-retest reliability.

Answer 37

the same participants would complete the sleep questionnaire on more than one occasion
*each participants’ scores from the first occasion should be correlated with his / her results from the later occasion to be shown on a scattergraph to describe the correlation, with scores from the first test plotted on one axis and the scores from the second test plotted on the other axis
*the strength of the correlation should then be assessed using either a Spearman’s rho test (or a Pearson’s r test)
*the degree of reliability is then determined by comparing the correlation with the statistical table to determine the extent of correlation – there should be a (strong) positive correlation between the two sets of scores.