Exam Techniques Psych PDF

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How to answer all OCR Psychology questions with examples...

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EXAM TECHNIQUES Psychology

CIRENCESTER COLLEGE [email protected]

Component 1 – Monday 4th June 2018      

Time allowed: 2 hours 13:00 – 15:00 Total marks: 90 Section A: Multiple choice Section B: Research design and response Section C: Data analysis and interpretation

Component 2 – Friday 8th June 2018      

Time allowed: 2 hours 09:00 – 11:00 Total marks: 105 Section A: Core studies short answer questions Section B: Areas, perspectives and debates Section C: Practical applications

Component 3 – Thursday 14th June 2018     

Time allowed: 2 hours 09:00 – 11:00 Total marks: 105 Section A: Issues in mental health Section B: Criminal and Environment

P - Point E - Evidence E - Explain H - However E - Evidence E - Explain

S - State S - Show S - Show E - Explain

Centre Number – 57010 Candidate Number – 1557

Key Exam Techniques

Component 1: 3 / 4 / 6 mark evaluation questions Point - what is the strength or weakness? Example - give an example from the context you are given Explain - why is this good or bad? Link to your context

Example question: Describe one strength and one weakness of self-selected sampling One strength of self-selected sampling is that it is relatively easy to collect samples by putting flyers around different places, so it is quite easy to collect participants. But, the problem is that you may not have a lot of people volunteer or you may have a lot of people volunteer or you may have more people volunteer for one factor than the other, so the samples would be uneven. [4/4]

15 mark questions What - what are you doing? How - how you are doing it (in context) Why - justify your choice (strengths / weaknesses)

Example question: Explain how you would carry out an observation to investigate the differences in the use of personal spaces between rural and urban environments. Justify your decisions as part of your explanation. You must refer to:    

Structured or unstructured observations Participant or non-participant observations Time or event sampling Collection of data

The study would be conducted on a Wednesday in summer (middle of July), in two different locations: Manchester city centre and the village of Lymm in Cheshire. There would be two different researchers, with one for the city location and one for the village. A structured observation would be conducted using the predetermined behavioural categories which would be: avoids eye contact; stood more than ½ metre apart; stood less than ½ metre apart; moves closer; moves further away. These would be measured in an urban area and a city centre. This would allow easy recording of personal space behaviours with a simple tally created of the number of times each behaviour occurred in both urban and city areas. It would also increase the reliability of the data collection process by using the same behavioural checklist in both urban and city areas. The advantage of efficient recording of data that the use of a structured observation allows was evident when using this technique to study students’ use of mobile phones in college. It also increased inter-rater reliability by standardizing the types of mobile phone behaviour for each different observer to look out for. This would be a non-participant observation, with the researcher covertly recording peoples’ behaviour whilst sat on a bench pretending to read a newspaper. This would allow data to be recorded unobtrusively, although it may be difficult at times to be certain about what personal space behaviours are engaged in if sat too far away or if passers-by obstruct the researchers view. This was evident in my own study of students use of mobile phones where my view of students was sometimes obscured by people standing in front of me. Time sampling would be used with observations occurring every half-hour, for two minutes each time between 8am and 6pm. This would allow a more representative collection of data of peoples’ personal space behaviour covering many different parts of the day. For example, it may show that personal space is influenced by factors such as whether people are in a rush to get to work in the morning, and this may be different for urban dwellers compared to city workers etc. This should increase the overall validity of the data by not just focusing on one particular time period. However, by only recording behaviour each half hour, there may be lots of examples of personal space behaviours that do not get recorded. This was the technique I used in my own observation of students use of mobile phone usage in college and allowed for a greater representation of how different types of students use their phone at different times of the day.

3 mark - choose an appropriate statistical test Identify the level of data (nominal / ordinal / ratio) Identify the experimental design (independent / repeated / correlational) Name the test you would use

Example question: Identify the appropriate inferential test to use in this study to analyse the data obtained from the question asking about whether people laugh with their mouth open or not. Give reasons for your answer Because it is repeated measures as the same people are answering the questions, and it is collecting nominal data. This means that you want to use the Binominal Sign Test.

Component 2: Section A questions Questions can include things      

Linking studies to key theme Linking studies to the area Describing why studies use a research method, sampling technique or how they collect a certain type of data Giving strengths and weaknesses of studies or aspects of the studies Outlining how the study helps our understanding of key themes Information about the background

4 mark similarities / differences questions State - say what the similarity of difference is Show - give an example from study 1 Show - give an example from study 2 Meaning - outline the implication

Example question: Outline one way Sperry’s study into hemisphere deconnection is similar to Casey’s study of delay of gratification Both studies have the same research method. Sperry used a quasi-experiment because it took part in a lab and the IV (which was the split brain) was naturally occurring as they already had this. Casey was also a quasi-experiment because some of it took place in a lab and also, the IV (high or low delayer) was a naturally occurring IV that could not be controlled or changed. This makes it easier to compare the two studies.

4 mark link to key theme / area questions Define key theme or key principles of the area State the aim of the study State the results of the study Link results to key theme or key principle

Example question: Outline how Freud’s study links to its key theme of Understanding Disorders We need to look at understanding disorders in order to treat them. Hans was scared of white horses with black head masks on, which Freud linked to the Oedipus Complex by saying it represented his father. This shows him understanding his phobia as Freud linked it back to Hans’ father, who had a moustache, and where Hans was in the Oedipus Complex so was scared of his dad.

Section B questions (areas, perspectives and debates)

4 mark outline how a core study fits with an issue or debate Define the issue or debate Give features of the study that apply / relate to issue or debate using specific context

Example Question: Describe the differences between an individual explanation for behaviour and a situational explanation for behaviour An individual explanation for behaviour would hold that because every individual is unique due to their individual genetic composition, physiology, personality factors and experiences, one should expect everyone to behave differently whereas a situational explanation for behaviour would hold that factors in the environment such as the actual situation and other people who are present at the time of the event are major influences on how an individual behaves.

15 mark discuss question about issues and debates Introduction - outline issue or debate 2 x PEEHEE paragraphs using examples from core studies to support your point Conclusion - relate it back to the question

8 mark compare questions 2 x SSST paragraphs using supporting evidence from core studies

Component 3: Section A - Mental Health These questions will be a mix of short and long answers

6 mark application questions Identify the specific disorder Outline characteristics - name, describe the symptoms, how long it lasts, age of onset Do this in context

10 mark issues and debates questions Introduction - outline key issues or debate 1 x PEEHEE Conclusion - relate answer back to the question

Example Question: Discuss the nature/nurture debate in relation to the biological explanation of mental illness The nature nurture debate is one which psychologists have considered to try and explain behaviour. Psychologists who think behaviour is due to nature would consider that it had been inherited from parents and the child is born with that behaviour. This can be seen in the biological explanation of mental illness where genetic explanations for disorders such as schizophrenia can be seen. Gottesman’s research showed that children with two parents who had been admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were much more likely to be diagnosed themselves with schizophrenia and even bipolar, showing genetic similarities between these two disorders. This presents a problem of suggesting the nature side of the debate, as it could be seen as unethical if we then tried to prevent people from having babies if the parents had mental disorders. It is also a problem that it is very reductionist, in that if we say babies are born with a mental disorder due to inheritance, why is there not a 100% concordance rate between identical twins who have the same genetic makeup and the same environment, but don’t always both get the same disorder. This means that we have to adopt a nurture side of the debate, and this could be seen in things like the chemical imbalance of a person, which might be caused by the environment. People with schizophrenia have depleted levels of dopamine and this could be caused by stressors in their environment (stress diathesis theory). So it is the environment of nurture of the person that causes the schizophrenia. This has less ethical considerations as it suggests we can actually do something to help prevent the disorder, other than gene therapy, and means that we can make a difference. However, it does then put the onus on the person to help themselves, whereas the nature side might give someone the excuse “it’s not me it’s my genes”. The nurture side also adopts a more holistic explanation, as it suggests there are numerous factors in the environment which could affect the biological make up of a person suffering from a disorder such as schizophrenia. As you can see there are arguments for adopting a nature and nurture side of the debate in the biological explanation, and it is probably an interaction between genetic disposition and environmental factors which result in a person having a disorder, to the extreme that a person without a genetic disposition can still have a disorder due to environment and a person with a genetic disposition might not have any environmental factors and therefore will never show the disorder.

Section B - Criminal and Environment Part a) questions 10 marks 5 marks from A01 - knowledge based marks 5 marks from A02 - application based marks Structure   

Define the key theme Describe the research - aim, method, results and conclusion Link to the question

Example Question: Explain how the research by Hall and Player could be used to improve fingerprint identification The research by Hall and Player highlights possible emotional bias which could affect the process of identifying fingerprints. In the study they created an experiment where 70 experienced forensic scientists were asked to compare a smudged fingerprint on a £50 note with a reference set of prints. This is a very subjective decision and could possibly be influenced by many cognitive factors. The independent variable was the information that was included in a crime report supplied with the prints. Half were given a crime report describing fraud involving passing forged notes where the suspect fled the premises after the shop assistant spotted that the money was fake, this was the low emotional context condition. The other half were given the same information but at the end of the description it stated that the criminal fired two shots and killed the victim and then fled, this is the high emotional context condition. The reason for this was to see whether an emotional context influences the accuracy of the scientists. When comparing the conditions there was little difference in identification rates between the high emotional context condition and low emotional context condition. This suggests that the emotional context actually had little effect on the sample in terms of their identification of the fingerprint. However, the participants were asked at the end of the study if they had read the crime report which contained the details of the crime, and if they had, did they think it had affected their analysis. 50% of the high condition said it had affected their analysis, compared to 6% from the low condition. This result does suggest that emotional context can affect the fingerprint experts thinking, but maybe not to the extent of biasing their judgements in this artificial scenario. In the real world, emotional context may be more influential. To improve the future identification of fingerprints forensic experts should be “blind” to the details of the crime, being provided only with the fingerprints and no crime report. This would ensure that all finger print identifications would be carried out in exactly the same way with no bias affecting more or less violent crimes. Forensic scientists could be more objective in their analysis if they are unaware of the contextual details of a crime. This is known as de-biasing.

Example Question: Using the research by Drews and Doig, explain how ergonomic research can influence workplace design Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices to work with humans both physically and cognitively. This type of research can take into account such factors as attention span, perception and problem solving in order to ensure that the workplace is as effective as possible. One such design was researched by Drews and Doig who worked with nurses in an intensive care unit. They gave half of the 42 nurses who were the participants information about the vital signs, such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart and respiratory rates, of patients with pulmonary embolisms or septic shock, on a 15-inch desktop computer using a configural vital signs (CVS) display, where the data is presented graphically and in context with each other and the norm. The other half of the participants had a ‘traditional’ ICU display that consisted of the ‘numerical data’ as the primary display with trend information accessible through a single key press. They found that the response time of participants in the CVS display condition could identify the patient’s state 48% quicker than participants in the control display condition in the septic shock scenario and 38% quicker in the pulmonary embolism scenario. They also were more than a third more accurate when making an assessment of the septic shock and pulmonary embolism patients using the CVS compared to the normal display. This research shows that the design of the workplace, in this case the display, the impact on both speed of processing information, and the accuracy of assessments can be influenced by the display and therefore the patient care in hospital can be improved if ergonomic design based on research such as Drews is used.

Part b) questions 15 marks 2 marks from A01 - knowledge based marks 13 marks from A03 - analysis and evaluation based marks Structure      

Point - what is the strength / weakness and how it links to the question Example - give an example from a theory or study to support your point Explain - what does this mean in terms of the question, why is it good or bad? However - what’s the counter argument, why may it not always be a strength / weakness? Example - give an example from a theory or study to support your however Explain - what does this mean I terms of the question, why is it good or bad?

Do this 2 - 3 times

Example Question: Assess the usefulness of research into the collection and processing of forensic evidence Research into bias in the collection and processing of forensic evidence is useful in a number of ways. Firstly, it is important that the legal system can rely on forensic evidence so that fair judgements can be made in cases using techniques like fingerprint analysis or other subjective techniques. Studies like Hall and Player indicate that details about the case may influence the decisions scientists make about forensic evidence, especially where there is an emotional context, for example where a violent crime has been committed. This is useful as it identifies possible bias in this type of evidence which judges should be aware of. However, in this study the emotional context had no effect on the accuracy of the identification, so it could be argued that although the forensic scientists felt that they had been influenced by the emotional nature of the crime, the results suggest that it did not affect their forensic analysis. This is useful as it may actually support the professional standing of forensic scientists. Secondly, it is useful for forensic scientists to be aware of cognitive bias so that they can incorporate controls into their procedures to minimise or eliminate these factors. This could involve the use of “blind” analysis where no details regarding the nature of a case are passed onto the forensic scientists. The use of a line-up has also been shown to reduce misidentification, this is where the suspect’s evidence is provided along with several others. Miller used this in a study using hair comparison experts. When just one “innocent” sample was provided for comparison it was wrongly identified as a match 30% of the time. However, when five “innocent” samples were given in a line-up the error rate was 4%. This research is very useful as it clearly identifies a superior method that could be used in the processing of forensic evidence. Finally, some psychologists have discussed the “CSI effect”; this is where the inaccurate portrayal of forensic evidence procedures in crime shows creates an impression that fingerprint analysis and other techniques are 100% accurate. This means that jurors never tend to question this sort of evidence in a trial as they feel it is based on valid and reliable procedures, or that they believe it is superior to other sources of evidence. Publicising research which indicates that there may be bias in these procedures may help to reduce the CSI effect and create more critical consideration of evidence used in trials. Therefore, research into bias in the processing of forensic evidence is useful to society generally, as trials may be conducted more fairly for defendants, leading to less wrongful convictions. In conclusion research into the collection and processing of forensic evidence is useful in that it should improve the validity and reliability in the processing of forensic evidence.

Example Question: Assess the methodological issues involved when researching the impact of observation in the workplace One methodological issue involved in researching the impact of observation is that of researcher bias. This is where a researcher may want to find certain behaviours to support his hypothesis. In the Gilbreths’ research their aim was to standardise the bricklaying trade and so they may have en...