SCSA Psychology Science inquiry
15 sample questions with marking guides and sample answers
One ethical objection to Milgram's (1963) study is that the participants
caused distress to one another.
were harmed to enhance learning.
experienced distress in the role of 'teacher'.
were pressured to express views against their own beliefs.
Reveal Answer
caused distress to one another.
The 'learner' was a confederate (actor) who did not actually receive shocks, so participants did not cause actual distress to another person; the ethical concern focuses on the distress of the participant.
were harmed to enhance learning.
The participants acted as 'teachers' and were not the ones subjected to the learning protocol; the cover story claimed the learner was being punished to enhance learning, not the participant.
experienced distress in the role of 'teacher'.
A major ethical criticism of the study was the extreme psychological stress, anxiety, and potential lasting harm inflicted on participants who believed they were seriously injuring another human being.
were pressured to express views against their own beliefs.
This description aligns more closely with conformity studies (like Asch's) where social pressure influences opinions; Milgram's study focused on obedience to authority regarding actions, not the expression of views.
Use the following information to answer the question.
Dr Dhanial investigated the effect of leading questions on recall. In the first week of the semester, university students were randomly allocated to two groups (Group A and Group B) and asked to estimate how often they ate chocolate during the summer holidays. Different forms of the question were used for each group:
• 'Did you eat chocolate frequently and, if so, how much per week?'
• 'Did you eat chocolate occasionally and, if so, how much per week?'
The table below represents Dr Dhanial's results.
| Group | Leading word | Estimate of chocolate consumption per week |
|---|---|---|
| A | frequently | 4.1 |
| B | occasionally | 0.8 |
The independent variable in Dr Dhanial's study was the
fallibility of memory.
wording of the question.
reconstruction of memory.
estimation of eating chocolate.
Reveal Answer
fallibility of memory.
The fallibility of memory is the broader psychological concept being investigated, not the specific variable manipulated by the researcher.
wording of the question.
The independent variable is what the researcher manipulates, which in this study is the wording of the question ('frequently' vs. 'occasionally').
reconstruction of memory.
Memory reconstruction is a theoretical process that might explain the results, rather than the independent variable manipulated in the experiment.
estimation of eating chocolate.
The estimation of chocolate consumption is the dependent variable, as it is the outcome being measured in response to the manipulated question.
Use the following information to answer the question.
Ekon wants to join his local emergency volunteer group. The volunteer group has identified five risk factors that could potentially impair a volunteer's social and emotional wellbeing while they are in the role. Using an online questionnaire, Ekon rates himself against each of the factors on a rating of 1-10, with 1 indicating low risk and 10 indicating high risk.
The type of research method used in this scenario was
interview with objective data.
self-report with quantitative data.
questionnaire with qualitative data.
repeated measures with experimental data.
Reveal Answer
interview with objective data.
The scenario describes an online questionnaire, not an interview. Additionally, self-ratings are considered subjective data rather than objective.
self-report with quantitative data.
An online questionnaire where a participant rates themselves is a self-report method, and the 1-10 rating scale produces numerical, quantitative data.
questionnaire with qualitative data.
Although a questionnaire was used, the 1-10 rating scale generates numerical (quantitative) data, not descriptive (qualitative) data.
repeated measures with experimental data.
The scenario describes a simple survey, not an experiment with manipulated variables or a repeated measures design.
Use the following information to answer the question.
An experiment tested whether playing calming music can reduce the stress experienced by cows when a human approaches them. After many trials, the presence of a human had a calming effect on the cows.
As part of the study, the researchers measured the cows’ pupil dilation when a human moved towards them.
Why would the researchers measure pupil dilation?
It is a reflexive response controlled by the spinal cord in response to stress.
It is part of the freeze response, which is activated by the somatic nervous system.
It is part of the flight-or-fight response, which is activated by the sympathetic nervous system.
It is a conscious response to let more light in so that the brain can coordinate its response to stress.
Reveal Answer
It is a reflexive response controlled by the spinal cord in response to stress.
Pupil dilation is an autonomic response controlled by the brain and sympathetic nervous system, not a spinal reflex.
It is part of the freeze response, which is activated by the somatic nervous system.
The somatic nervous system controls voluntary muscle movements, whereas pupil dilation is an involuntary response controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
It is part of the flight-or-fight response, which is activated by the sympathetic nervous system.
Pupil dilation is a classic involuntary physiological response triggered by the sympathetic nervous system during the fight-or-flight response to stress.
It is a conscious response to let more light in so that the brain can coordinate its response to stress.
Pupil dilation is an involuntary, unconscious autonomic response, not a conscious action taken by the animal.
This question refer to an investigation that partially modified the methodology of Bargh, Chen and Burrows (1996) (Experiment 2). The table shows data from the investigation.
| Number of elderly primes | Walking time (s) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 7.30 |
| 1 | 7.45 |
| 2 | 7.62 |
| 3 | 7.89 |
| 4 | 7.91 |
| 5 | 8.05 |
| 6 | 8.28 |
| 7 | 8.28 |
| 8 | 8.28 |
| 9 | 9.12 |
| 10 | 9.12 |
What is the mean walking time?
8.05 s
8.12 s
8.28 s
9.12 s
Reveal Answer
8.05 s
This value represents the median (the middle score of the ordered dataset), whereas the question asks for the mean.
8.12 s
The mean is calculated by summing all walking times () and dividing by the total number of observations (), resulting in approximately s.
8.28 s
This value represents the mode (the most frequently occurring score), appearing three times in the data.
9.12 s
This is the maximum value in the dataset, not the arithmetic average.
Hudson (1960) investigated the effects of social influences on visual perception by presenting two-dimensional drawings with pictorial depth cues to participants from different educational and cultural backgrounds.
Describe a conclusion of the investigation and identify two specific findings that support this conclusion.
Reveal Answer
The conclusion of the investigation was that culture influenced pictorial depth perception.
One reason for this conclusion is that schooling improved the ability of participants from either cultural background to use pictorial depth cues to perceive depth.
A second reason for this conclusion is that Caucasian participants had greater success in using pictorial depth cues than African participants with similar levels of schooling.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Provides the conclusion that cultural background influenced pictorial depth perception | 1 |
Identifies one specific finding for this conclusion | 1 |
Identifies another specific finding for this conclusion | 1 |
Use the following information to answer the question.
Study 1: The characteristics of 'event memories' in dogs
Recent research has summarised numerous case studies regarding the autobiographical memory of dogs. Findings suggest that dogs have long-term memories of past events, as 80% of owners reported that their pet had shown signs of remembering an event. The most reported long-term memories involved dogs locating hidden items.
The following is an excerpt of a case study collected during Study 1.
Case Study A: One owner reported that their dog had escaped through their fence to the neighbour's house, then in through the neighbour's cat door to eat the cat's food. Several years later, on a day when their dog had not been fed, it again escaped through the same fence and in through the same neighbour's cat door to get to the food.
Source: Adapted from A Lewis and D Berntsen, 'Pet memoirs: The characteristics of event memories in cats and dogs, as reported by their owners', Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2020, 222 [104885] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104885
Researchers conducted the investigation again six months later in Study 2. The table below shows the number of dog owners used in Study 1 and Study 2.
| Study | Number of dog owners |
|---|---|
| 1 | 106 |
| 2 | 256 |
Study 2 also involved an improved questionnaire with greater clarity and more prompts for details of their dogs' memories.
What was the purpose of conducting Study 2?
to test the reproducibility of Study 1 and improve the validity
to test the external validity of Study 1 and improve the repeatability
to generate a 'true value' from which the accuracy of Study 2 could be assessed
to decrease the impact of systematic errors and improve the overall precision of the data
Reveal Answer
to test the reproducibility of Study 1 and improve the validity
Conducting the study again at a different time tests reproducibility, while improving the questionnaire to better capture the intended information improves the study's validity.
to test the external validity of Study 1 and improve the repeatability
Repeatability refers to conducting an experiment under the exact same conditions. Because Study 2 used an improved questionnaire and a different sample size, it tests reproducibility rather than repeatability.
to generate a 'true value' from which the accuracy of Study 2 could be assessed
A 'true value' cannot be established for subjective questionnaire data about dog memories, as there is no objective, measurable standard to compare against.
to decrease the impact of systematic errors and improve the overall precision of the data
Increasing the sample size decreases the impact of random errors (improving precision), but it does not decrease the impact of systematic errors. Improving the questionnaire addresses validity rather than precision.
Gladys is studying psychology at a university, and, as part of her course, she is required to recreate a famous psychological study of her choice.
She decides upon Pavlov's (1902) famous study of classical conditioning involving dogs.
As she does her own research into the study, she becomes concerned to learn that the experiment involved numerous dogs being surgically operated on and realises that she will not be able to replicate the study today and will need to make some adjustments to follow the ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research.
Write an extended answer that demonstrates Science inquiry and Psychological knowledge and understanding in relation to the scenario above.
In your answer you must:
- define the term 'classical conditioning'
- describe the method of Pavlov's study and outline the aim and findings
- explain how Pavlov's study has contributed to the psychological understanding of learning
- state three ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research
- propose how Gladys could adapt the study with reference to each of these guidelines to improve the animal ethics within the study
- use appropriate psychological terminology
- acknowledge sources of information using appropriate referencing.
Reveal Answer
Classical conditioning is a process of learning through association or pairing of an innate response (unconditioned response) with a neutral stimulus to eventually create a conditioned response.
Pavlov aimed to determine whether he could make dogs salivate when hearing different sounds not previously associated with food. Pavlov inserted tubes into dogs' cheeks to monitor the amount of saliva they produced. A neutral stimulus (e.g. bell) was paired with giving the dogs food (unconditioned stimulus), producing the unconditioned response of salivation. This was repeated multiple times. Pavlov found that eventually the bell (conditioned stimulus) would produce the conditioned response of salivation without the presence of the food.
Pavlov's work is the foundation of behaviourism, and inspired the work of future researchers such as Watson and Rayner who were able to apply his principles to a human child. Pavlov's work alsoshowed that a normally instinctual or reflexive response could be learnt, that learning could be generalised to similar stimuli, and that a learnt response could be removed by no longer presenting the unconditioned stimulus (extinction).
Three ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research are replacement, reduction, and refinement. Gladys is unable to replace the dogs with an insentient option, so replacement cannot be used to make the study more ethical. Gladys can use reduction by reducing the number of dogs required, conducting the study on one or two dogs rather than a large number of dogs. Gladys can use refinement to minimise the harm caused to the dogs; she can implement a different technique of measuring saliva that does not require the dogs to be operated on.
Definition of classical conditioning
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
States that classical conditioning is a process of learning through association/pairing | 1 |
Identifies that it involves an innate response/reflex (unconditioned response) with a neutral stimulus | 1 |
States that it eventually creates a conditioned response | 1 |
Method, aim and findings of Pavlov's study
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Describes that Pavlov aimed to determine whether he could make dogs salivate when hearing different sounds/bell not previously associated with food | 1 |
Describes that Pavlov inserted tubes/cannulas into dogs' cheeks to monitor the amount of saliva they produced | 1 |
Describes that a neutral stimulus (e.g. bell/metronome) was paired with giving the dogs food (unconditioned stimulus), producing the unconditioned response of salivation | 1 |
States that this was repeated multiple times | 1 |
Outlines that Pavlov found that eventually the bell/metronome (conditioned stimulus) would produce the conditioned response of salivation without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus/food | 1 |
Contribution to psychological understanding of learning
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
1 mark for each correct point (any 4 of): Pavlov's work is the foundation of behaviourism; inspired the work of future researchers such as Watson and Rayner who were able to apply his principles to a human child; showed that a normally instinctual/reflexive response could be learnt; demonstrated that learning could be generalised to similar stimuli; demonstrated that a learnt response could be removed by no longer presenting the unconditioned stimulus (extinction) | 4 |
Ethical guidelines for animal research
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
States replacement | 1 |
States reduction | 1 |
States refinement | 1 |
Adapting the study to improve animal ethics
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies that Gladys is unable to replace the dogs with an insentient/non-living option | 1 |
Proposes that replacement cannot be used to make the study more ethical | 1 |
Identifies that Gladys can use reduction by reducing the number of dogs required | 1 |
Proposes conducting the study on one or two dogs rather than a large number of dogs | 1 |
Identifies that Gladys can use refinement to minimise the harm caused to the dogs | 1 |
Proposes that she can implement a different technique of measuring saliva that does not require the dogs to be operated on | 1 |
Psychological terminology
Marking Bands| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Accurately uses a variety of appropriate psychological terminology relevant to theories, studies, models and concepts fluently and in a clear and logical way. | 3 |
Accurately uses some appropriate psychological terminology relevant to theories, studies, models and concepts in a clear and logical way. | 2 |
Uses everyday language with limited relevance to theories, studies, models and concepts. | 1 |
None of the above | 0 |
Referencing
Marking Bands| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Consistently uses the names of the researcher/author and date/s. | 2 |
Uses only the names of the researcher/author or date/s. | 1 |
None of the above | 0 |
Julius has recently become worried about changes in the behaviour, of his eight-year-old son, Nick. He has found toys in his room with the stuffing pulled out and the arms cut off and he recently had a fight with another child at school.
The behavioural change began when Nick started playing a new video game called ‘Nicholas the Destroyer’. The game follows the story of a boy called Nicholas, who destroys evil toys, and a girl called Diamond with the power to heal toys.
Nick has been playing the game with his friend Stacy, who has not shown any behavioural changes. However, Julius is convinced that the game has something to do with the change in Nick’s behaviour and is looking to find some research to better understand what has happened and why Nick has been affected, but Stacy has not.
He comes across the work of Bandura but decides that he should not test this on the children as he is worried about some of the ethical practices in the study.
Write an extended answer that demonstrates Science inquiry and Psychological knowledge and understanding in relation to the scenario above.
In your answer you must:
- define ‘social learning theory’
- outline the process of observational learning described by Bandura
- state the aim, describe the method and outline the findings of Bandura, Ross and Ross’ (1961) study
- apply the process of observational learning to Nick
- with reference to observational learning, explain why Nick’s behaviour changed but Stacy’s did not
- outline the ethical guidelines and practices related to human participants in research
- discuss two ethical concerns associated with Bandura, Ross and Ross’ (1961) experiment
- use appropriate psychological terminology
- acknowledge sources of information using appropriate referencing.
Reveal Answer
Social learning theory is a theory of learning where behaviours are learnt through observation of others' interaction with the environment.
The process of observational learning described by Bandura involves attention, which must be paid to the behaviour and the features of it recognised. Retention of a memory of the behaviour must occur. Reproduction of the behaviour relies on the capacity of the individual to be able to replicate it. Motivation is also needed in order to enhance the likelihood of a behaviour being reproduced, which is where they believe the behaviour will have a desirable result. Reinforcement increases motivation; this can be vicarious, by seeing someone else rewarded for the behaviour.
The aim of Bandura, Ross and Ross' (1961) study was to determine whether children could learn aggressive behaviours through observation. The participants were split into three conditions: one group observed adults attacking a Bobo doll, the second group observed adults playing in a calm way and ignoring the Bobo doll, and the third group were not exposed to a model. All the children were exposed to a mild aggression arousal stage where they were taken individually into a room with toys but were told that they were reserved for other children. The children were finally individually taken into a room with a choice of aggressive and non-aggressive toys and left for 20 minutes, with their behaviour observed and recorded. The findings were that children in the aggressive condition engaged in more aggressive behaviour than those in the non-aggressive or control conditions, and that children were more likely to imitate the behaviour when the model had been of the same gender.
Applying this to Nick, he paid attention to the behaviour of Nicholas the Destroyer in his video game. Nick remembered the behaviours in the game, retaining the memory. Nick had the physical capacity to replicate the behaviours. Nick was motivated by seeing the behaviour as positive in the game. Nick may have experienced reinforcement vicariously by seeing the character rewarded in the game.
Nick's behaviour changed but Stacy's did not because a behaviour is more likely to be repeated when the learner identifies with the model. Nick had the same gender and name as the character, making him more likely to identify with the character than Stacy.
The ethical guidelines and practices related to human participants in research include protection from harm, where researchers must protect participants from experiencing any physiological or psychological harm as a result of the research. Informed consent requires that participants must be made aware of the procedure and purpose of the research and give their consent to this. Withdrawal rights mean participants have the right to remove themselves from research at any time. Deception dictates that participants in research should not be misled about the purpose of an experiment unless absolutely necessary. Confidentiality requires that researchers should not supply any information gathered from participants to anyone else without the consent of the participants and must take steps to ensure this information is kept secure. Privacy means researchers must ensure that they refrain from unnecessary intrusion into the private lives of participants and collect only information that directly relates to the research. Voluntary participation ensures participants should only engage in the research of their own will and be free from any pressure or coercion. Debriefing means participants have the right to be fully informed about what has occurred in the research at its conclusion, including the results.
Ethical concerns associated with Bandura, Ross and Ross' experiment are that
- researchers failed to protect the children from harm, as the aim of the experiment was for the children to learn aggressive behaviours and the children were exposed to aggression in the experiment.
- researchers failed to maintain the participants' confidentiality, as the research was filmed and has been made publicly available.
- voluntary participation may also have been undermined by using students from a nursery school, as in a school setting it is likely that participants would feel pressured to participate.
Response
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Defines social learning theory as learning behaviours through observation of others' interaction with the environment | 1 |
Outlines attention as paying attention to the behaviour and recognising its features | 1 |
Outlines retention as retaining a memory of the behaviour | 1 |
Outlines reproduction as relying on the capacity of the individual to replicate the behaviour | 1 |
Outlines motivation as needed to enhance the likelihood of reproduction, believing it will have a desirable result | 1 |
Outlines reinforcement as increasing motivation, which can be vicarious by seeing someone else rewarded | 1 |
States the aim of Bandura, Ross and Ross' (1961) study was to determine whether children could learn aggressive behaviours through observation | 1 |
Describes the method where participants were split into three conditions (aggressive model, non-aggressive model, no model) | 1 |
Describes the mild aggression arousal stage where children were told toys were reserved for others | 1 |
Describes the final stage where children were left in a room with aggressive and non-aggressive toys for 20 minutes and observed | 1 |
Outlines the findings that children in the aggressive condition engaged in more aggressive behaviour, or were more likely to imitate a same-gender model | 1 |
Applies attention to Nick paying attention to Nicholas the Destroyer in the video game | 1 |
Applies retention to Nick remembering the behaviours in the game | 1 |
Applies reproduction to Nick having the physical capacity to replicate the behaviours | 1 |
Applies motivation to Nick seeing the behaviour as positive in the game | 1 |
Applies reinforcement to Nick experiencing vicarious reinforcement by seeing the character rewarded | 1 |
Explains that behaviour is more likely to be repeated when the learner identifies with the model | 1 |
Explains that Nick had the same gender and name as the character, making him more likely to identify with it than Stacy | 1 |
Outlines protection from harm as protecting participants from physiological or psychological harm | 1 |
Outlines informed consent as making participants aware of the procedure and purpose and getting their consent | 1 |
Outlines withdrawal rights as the right to remove themselves from research at any time | 1 |
Outlines deception as not misleading participants about the purpose unless absolutely necessary | 1 |
Outlines confidentiality as not supplying gathered information without consent and keeping it secure | 1 |
Outlines privacy as refraining from unnecessary intrusion and collecting only directly related information | 1 |
Outlines voluntary participation as engaging of their own will, free from pressure or coercion | 1 |
Outlines debriefing as the right to be fully informed about the research and results at its conclusion | 1 |
Ethical Concern 1
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies an ethical concern associated with the experiment | 1 |
Explains how the experiment violated the ethical concern | 1 |
Ethical Concern 2
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies an ethical concern associated with the experiment | 1 |
Explains how the experiment violated the ethical concern | 1 |
Terminology
Marking Bands| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Accurate, fluent, clear, and logical use of a variety of terminology | 3 |
Accurate, clear, and logical use of some terminology | 2 |
Uses everyday language with limited relevance | 1 |
None of the above | 0 |
Referencing
Marking Bands| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Consistently uses names and dates | 2 |
Uses only names or dates | 1 |
None of the above | 0 |
A hypothesis
is a question the research study sets out to answer.
predicts how the dependent variable will affect the independent variable.
is generated based on scientific knowledge or experience in order to understand and test ideas.
is a method of research in which an experimenter manipulates the independent variable to observe the effect on the dependent variable.
Reveal Answer
is a question the research study sets out to answer.
This describes a research question. A hypothesis is a testable statement or prediction that attempts to answer that research question.
predicts how the dependent variable will affect the independent variable.
This has the relationship backward. A hypothesis typically predicts how the independent variable (the cause) will affect the dependent variable (the effect).
is generated based on scientific knowledge or experience in order to understand and test ideas.
A hypothesis is an educated guess or proposed explanation derived from existing scientific knowledge that can be empirically tested.
is a method of research in which an experimenter manipulates the independent variable to observe the effect on the dependent variable.
This defines an experiment or experimental method, which is the procedure used to test a hypothesis, rather than the hypothesis itself.
Use the following information to answer the question.
Mr Wallace is a Geography teacher at a high school. He is interested in finding out whether Year 9 students or Year 10 students are faster at learning the names of capital cities. One class at each year level is shown a presentation with each of the selected 20 countries and their capital cities on separate slides. Students are instructed to silently memorise the name of each country’s capital city. At the end of the presentation, each student is then provided with a list of countries only, in the same order as presented. Students are asked to write the name of the correct capital city beside the name of as many countries as possible. Mr Wallace then records how many correct pairs of capital cities and countries each student gets, and calculates the mean for each class.
Which of the following procedures were used in Mr Wallace’s research?
convenience sampling and random allocation
random allocation and standardised procedures
convenience sampling and standardised procedures
random sampling and non-standardised procedures
Reveal Answer
convenience sampling and random allocation
While convenience sampling was used, random allocation was not, as students were already in their respective Year 9 and Year 10 classes and could not be randomly assigned to an age group.
random allocation and standardised procedures
Standardised procedures were used, but random allocation was not possible since the independent variable (year level) is a pre-existing characteristic.
convenience sampling and standardised procedures
Mr Wallace used convenience sampling by selecting intact classes readily available to him, and employed standardised procedures by giving both classes the exact same presentation, instructions, and test.
random sampling and non-standardised procedures
The research used convenience sampling rather than random sampling, and the procedures were highly standardised across both classes, not non-standardised.
Open-ended questioning techniques are less likely to be fallible than the interviewing techniques highlighted in Loftus’s research because
they improve memory of emotional events.
memory reconstruction of events will not occur.
they avoid leading questions that could introduce false information.
more information about an event is likely to be elicited from an eyewitness.
Reveal Answer
they improve memory of emotional events.
Open-ended questions do not inherently improve the memory of emotional events; rather, they change how information is retrieved without necessarily enhancing the memory trace itself.
memory reconstruction of events will not occur.
Memory reconstruction occurs every time a memory is retrieved, regardless of the questioning technique used. Open-ended questions cannot prevent the natural reconstructive nature of memory.
they avoid leading questions that could introduce false information.
Elizabeth Loftus's research demonstrated the misinformation effect, where leading questions can alter a witness's memory by introducing false details. Open-ended questions are less fallible because they allow the witness to recall events without suggestive prompts.
more information about an event is likely to be elicited from an eyewitness.
While open-ended questions might elicit a broader range of information, this does not explain why they are less fallible in the context of Loftus's research, which specifically focused on the dangers of suggestive or leading questions.
A research experiment was conducted on two classes: Class A and Class B. Both classes, with an equal number of participants, completed a multiple-choice test with 10 questions. Both classes had a mean of 5. Class A had a standard deviation of 0.5 compared to 1.5 in Class B.
Based on these results, which one of the following is most likely?
Class B had more varied scores than Class A.
Class B had lower scores overall than Class A.
Class A had lower scores overall than Class B.
Class A had fewer scores clustered around the mean than Class B.
Reveal Answer
Class B had more varied scores than Class A.
Standard deviation measures the spread or variability of a dataset. Since Class B has a higher standard deviation () than Class A (), its scores are more varied.
Class B had lower scores overall than Class A.
Both classes have the exact same mean score of , indicating that their overall average performance was equal, not lower.
Class A had lower scores overall than Class B.
Since both classes share an identical mean score of , neither class performed lower overall than the other.
Class A had fewer scores clustered around the mean than Class B.
A lower standard deviation indicates that scores are more tightly clustered around the mean. Therefore, Class A actually had more scores clustered around the mean than Class B, not fewer.
This question refer to an investigation that partially modified the methodology of Bargh, Chen and Burrows (1996) (Experiment 2). The table shows data from the investigation.
| Number of elderly primes | Walking time (s) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 7.30 |
| 1 | 7.45 |
| 2 | 7.62 |
| 3 | 7.89 |
| 4 | 7.91 |
| 5 | 8.05 |
| 6 | 8.28 |
| 7 | 8.28 |
| 8 | 8.28 |
| 9 | 9.12 |
| 10 | 9.12 |
| A conclusion that could be drawn from the analysed result is |
the number of elderly primes had no effect on walking time.
the number of elderly primes had little effect on walking time.
as the number of elderly primes increased, walking time increased.
as the number of elderly primes increased, walking time decreased.
Reveal Answer
the number of elderly primes had no effect on walking time.
This is incorrect because the results indicate a specific relationship between the variables, contradicting the claim that the primes had no effect.
the number of elderly primes had little effect on walking time.
This is incorrect because the data demonstrates a clear trend rather than a negligible or small effect.
as the number of elderly primes increased, walking time increased.
This is correct. The results show a positive correlation where exposure to more elderly-related primes caused participants to walk slower, thereby increasing the time taken.
as the number of elderly primes increased, walking time decreased.
This is incorrect because it suggests an inverse relationship (walking faster), whereas the actual result was an increase in walking time.
Use the following information to answer the question.
Dr Dhanial investigated the effect of leading questions on recall. In the first week of the semester, university students were randomly allocated to two groups (Group A and Group B) and asked to estimate how often they ate chocolate during the summer holidays. Different forms of the question were used for each group:
• 'Did you eat chocolate frequently and, if so, how much per week?'
• 'Did you eat chocolate occasionally and, if so, how much per week?'
The table below represents Dr Dhanial's results.
| Group | Leading word | Estimate of chocolate consumption per week |
|---|---|---|
| A | frequently | 4.1 |
| B | occasionally | 0.8 |
Which one of the following outlines a criticism of Dr Dhanial's study?
Participants were deceived by the use of leading questions.
It is unlikely that the results of the investigation will be able to be replicated.
Order effects may have an impact on participants' responses due to boredom or fatigue.
Using participants from one specific source means the results may not be generalised to the wider population.
Reveal Answer
Participants were deceived by the use of leading questions.
The use of leading questions is the independent variable being manipulated to test the hypothesis, rather than an unethical deception of the participants.
It is unlikely that the results of the investigation will be able to be replicated.
There is no evidence to suggest the study cannot be replicated; in fact, studies investigating leading questions are typically highly replicable.
Order effects may have an impact on participants' responses due to boredom or fatigue.
The study uses an independent groups design where participants are only in one condition, meaning order effects like boredom or fatigue do not apply.
Using participants from one specific source means the results may not be generalised to the wider population.
The sample consists entirely of university students, which is a narrow and unrepresentative demographic. This limits the population validity and the ability to generalise the findings to the wider public.