Psychology Research Methods: Observation, Questionnaires, Interviews, and Analysis, Exams of Nursing

Download Psychology Research Methods: Observation, Questionnaires, Interviews, and Analysis and more Exams Nursing in PDF only on Docsity! AQA PSYCHOLOGY A-LEVEL PAPER EXAM ELABORATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS UPDATED VERSION 2024. [Document subtitle] [DATE] [COMPANY NAME] [Company address] AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINAL EXAM Questions and Answers Latest Updates 2024 A general statement on what the researcher intends to investigate - ANS -What is an Aim? A clear, precise, testable statement that states the Relationship between the Variables to be investigated - ANS -What is a Hypothesis? A hypothesis that states the direction of the outcome of the experiment - ANS -What is a Directional Hypothesis? A hypothesis that doesn't state the direction of the outcome of the experiment - ANS - What is a Non-Directional Hypothesis? Making variables measurable - ANS -What is Operationalisation? The variable which the researcher controls - ANS -What is the Independent Variable? The variable that will be affected by the Independent Variable. It is not controlled and is measured by the Researcher. - ANS -What is the Dependent Variable? A variable which varies systematically with the Independent Variable meaning we don't know what caused the change in the Dependent Variable - ANS -What is a Confounding Variable? A nuisance variable which does not vary systematically with the Dependent Variable - ANS -What is an Extraneous Variable? When participants are influenced by cues indicating the purpose of the experiment and change their behaviour - ANS -What are Demand Characteristics? When a participant over-performs in an effort to please the experimenter - ANS -What is the Please-U Effect? When a participant under-performs in an effort to sabotage the study - ANS -What is the Screw-U Effect? Where participants want to portray themselves in a positive light - ANS -What is Social Desirability Bias? 1 4 - No Researcher Bias as they have no influence over selection of participants, therefore they can't choose people who may support their hypothesis - Usually fairly Representative as long as a big enough sample are selected - ANS - What are the Strengths of Random Sampling? - It is Difficult and Time Consuming as a complete list of the target population is often difficult to obtain - Just because someone is selected, doesn't mean they are obliged to take part, therefore it usually ends up being a volunteer sample - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Random Sampling? Every nth member of the target population is chosen - ANS -What is Systemic Sampling 1) Compile a list of all members of the target population 2) Nominate a sampling system e.g: every 3rd person or every 5 houses - ANS -How is Systemic Sampling conducted? - No Researcher Bias as they have no influence over selection of participants, therefore they can't choose people who may support their hypothesis - Usually fairly Representative as long as a big enough sample are selected - ANS - What are the Strengths of Systemic Sampling? - It is Difficult and Time Consuming as a complete list of the target population is often difficult to obtain - Just because someone is selected, doesn't mean they are obliged to take part, therefore it usually ends up being a volunteer sample - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Systemic Sampling? The composition of the sample reflects the proportion of subgroups within the target population - ANS -What is Stratified Sampling? 1) The researcher identifies the strata that makes up the population 2) Proportions are calculated to allow the sample to represent the population 3) Random Sampling is then used for participants - ANS -How is Stratified Sampling conducted? - No Researcher Bias as they have no influence over selection of participants, therefore they can't choose people who may support their hypothesis - Highly Representative as it is designed to accurately reflect the composition of the population - ANS -What are the Strengths of Stratified Sampling? 5 - Just because someone is selected, doesn't mean they are obliged to take part, therefore it usually ends up being a volunteer sample - It does not reflect all of the ways that people are different, as stratification only occurs on one level (e.g: age) - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Stratified Sampling? The researcher selects anyone who happens to be willing and able - ANS -What is Opportunity Sampling? 1) The researcher will simply as anyone who is around at the time of the study - ANS - How is Opportunity Sampling conducted? - Involves minimal Effort, Time and Cost on the part of the researcher - ANS -What are the Strengths of Opportunity Sampling? - Usually leads to a very Unrepresentative sample as it tends to be drawn from a small area - At risk of researcher bias as they have complete control over who is selected - ANS - What are the Weaknesses of Opportunity Sampling? A Self Selection method where participants select themselves - ANS -What is Volunteer Sampling? 1) The researcher could put an ad in the local newspaper, or put up a poster in an appropriate place (e.g: a students union bar) - ANS -How is Volunteer Sampling conducted? - Involves minimal Effort, Time and Cost on the part of the researcher, as they simply wait for the participants to come to them - ANS -What are the Strengths of Volunteer Sampling? - Is only going to attract a Certain Type of person (i.e: kind, helpful, curious) so the findings will have limited generalisability - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Volunteer Sampling? Involves the researcher writing down everything they see (e.g: a therapist observing interactions between a married couple during relationship therapy) - ANS -What is an Unstructured Observation? When observations are Small in Scale and involve Few Participants - ANS -When is an Unstructured Observation appropriate? - They produce Quantitive information which is rich in Detail - ANS -What are the Strengths of an Unstructured Observation? 6 - There is a risk of Observer Bias as observers record behaviours that 'catch their eye' rather than focusing on specific, predetermined behaviours - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of an Unstructured Observation? Target behaviours (Behavioural Categories) are decided upon and only these are observed (e.g: only aggressive acts being recorded in a playground setting) - ANS -What is a Structured Observation? In a Large-Scale observation where there is too much going on for the observer to be able to record - ANS -When is a Structured Observation appropriate? - They make data Collection easier and more Systematic - The data produced is Quantitative so it is easy to analyse - ANS -What are the Strengths of a Structured Observation? - They may lack Detail, as only behaviours that are predetermined are recorded, potentially missing out other important behaviours - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of a Structured Observation? Examples of specific behaviours you would expect to see within the area you are researching (e.g: hitting, shouting, kicking) - ANS -What are Behavioural Categories? Counting the Number of times a particular behaviour occurs in a target individual group - ANS -What is Event Sampling? - Useful for Infrequent behaviours that could be missed in Time Sampling - ANS -What are the Strengths of Event Sampling? - Could lead to Overlooked details of behaviour - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Event Sampling? Recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame (e.g: observing for 20 mins, then having a 10 min break) - ANS -What is Time Sampling? - Might be Unrepresentative of the observation - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Time Sampling? - Reduces the number of observations that need to be made - ANS -What are the Strengths of Time Sampling? or 9 - One-to-one interviews should be conducted in a Quiet Setting away from other people to encourage openness and honesty - The interviewee should be reminded that information they divulge is confidential, especially important in the case of sensitive material - ANS -What should be considered when Designing a good interview? 1) Overuse of Jargon 2) Emotive Language 3) Leading Questions 4) Double-Barreled Questions 5) Double Negatives - ANS -What 5 things should be avoided in order to write good questions? In-depth Investigation, Description and Analysis of an Individual, Event, Organisation or Group. They may involve the analysis of Unusual individuals or events or concentrate on more 'typical' cases e.g: Genie the "Feral Child" They will usually produce Qualitative data. Researchers will construct a Case History of the individual concerned, perhaps using interviews, observations, questionnaires or a combination of all of these. The person may be subject to experimental testing which may produce Quantitative data Case Studies tend to take place over a long period of time (called Longitudinal) and may involve gathering additional information from family and friends as well as the person themselves - ANS -What are Case Studies? - Detailed Insight into Unusual forms of behaviour - Less Superficial than an experiment or questionnaire - Help us to understand 'Normal Functioning' - Help generate hypotheses for future studies - Solitary contradictory instance may lead to the Revision of an entire theory - ANS - What are the Strengths of Case Studies? - Small Sample Sizes so issue with Generalising - Information making it into the final report may be based on the subjective opinion of the researcher 10 - Personal accounts from the family, participant etc are prone to inaccuracy and mental decay - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of Case Studies? A correlation is plotted on a scattergram and tells us the Strength and Direction of a relationship between two or more co-variables (There is no IV or DV because we are just looking for patterns, and cause and effect relationships cannot be established - ANS -What is Correlation? - A useful Preliminary tool - It identifies possible patterns between variables before committing time and money to an experimental study - Quick and Economical - No need for a controlled environment or the manipulation of the IV - Use of Secondary Data saves Time - ANS -What are the Strengths of using Correlations from past studies to decide whether to conduct a study? - Not a Causal Relationship - Can tell us how variables are related but not why - We don't know which co-variable caused the change - Potential 3rd Variable not accounted for which causes a change in both of the co- variables - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using Correlations from past studies to decide whether to conduct a study? The process of studying the communications that a participant has produced by interpreting and coding textual and oral material. The aim is to summarise and describe the communication in a systemic way so overall conclusions can be drawn - ANS -What is Content Analysis? 1) Scan through the Material 2) Decide Key Words for Behaviour Categories (Coding) 3) Tally up the words 4) Pick out Reoccurring Themes - ANS -How do you conduct Content Analysis? - Produces both Qualitative and Quantitative date, depending on the research - Researchers can get around Ethical Issues as it is Secondary data, they didn't carry out the experiment themselves - ANS -What are the Strengths of using Content Analysis? - People are studied Indirectly as part of content analysis, because the communication is analysed outside the Context within it occurred there is a lack of Detail and Insight 11 - May lack Objectivity, especially when more descriptive forms of thematic analysis are employed. However, modern analyses are often clear about their own biases - ANS - What are the Strengths of using Content Analysis? A small-scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted - ANS -What is a Pilot Study? To identify any problems that might occur in the real experiment so they can be fixed/altered. This can save a researcher time and money - ANS -What is the aim of using a pilot study? Participants are not told the aim of the research and/or which condition of the experiment they are receiving. Aims to control for Demand characteristics - ANS -What is a Single-Blind procedure? Neither the participants nor the researcher who conducts the study is aware of the aims of the investigation - ANS -What is a Double-Blind procedure? When a conflict exists between the Rights of participants in research studies and the goals of research to produce Authentic, Valid and Worthwhile data - ANS -When do Ethical Issues arise? 1) Informed Consent 2) Deception 3) Protection from Harm 4) Privacy and Confidentiality - ANS -What are the 4 main types of Ethical Issues? Making participants aware of the aims of the research, procedure, their rights and what their data will be used for. Participants can then make an informed judgement as to whether they want to take part - ANS -What is Informed Consent? A consent letter containing all relevant information. The participants agree then this is signed - ANS -How do you obtain Informed Consent? 16 - ANS -Under what age of participants is parental consent required for them to take part 1) Prior General Consent 2) Presumptive Consent 3) Retrospective Consent - ANS -What are the other forms of consent other than Informed Consent? Deliberately Misleading or Withholding Information from the participants. 14 The extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure, comparing it to existing data, usually by calculating the correlation coefficient - ANS - What is Concurrent Validity? 1) Ecological 2) Population 3) Temporal - ANS -What are the 3 types of External Validity? The extent to which findings from a research study can be Generalised to other Settings. It considers both the Setting and the Task. An experiment that has high Mundane Realism will have high Ecological Validity - ANS - What is Ecological Validity? Whether your sample is Representative of the population. You want a diverse sample containing people of different age, ethnicity, socio-economic status etc - ANS -What is Population Validity? The extent to which findings can be Generalised to other Historical times and Eras e.g: Asch experiments, filter theory - ANS -What is Temporal Validity? - Include a Lie Scale within questions to assess consistency of participant's responses and to control for the effects of social desirability bias - ANS -How can you increase the Validity of a Questionnaire? - Use of a Control Group to assess whether changes were due to the effect of the independent variable - The use of Single or Double-Blind procedures - Standardised procedures to minimise the impact of Participant Reactivity and Investigator Effects - ANS -How can you increase the Validity of Experimental Research? - The researcher should remain undetected, as in a Covert observation, so that the participants act naturally - Ensure Behavioural Categories are not too Broad, Overlapping or Ambiguous - ANS - How can you increase the Validity of an Observation? - Inclusion of Direct Quotes - Improve the Coherence of the researcher's Reporting 15 - Triangulation - ANS -How can you increase the Validity of Qualitative Methods? Using a number of different sources as evidence (e.g: interviews, diaries, observations) - ANS -What is Triangulation? A short Summary at the beginning of a journal of the aims, hypotheses, method, results and conclusions. ~150 words. - ANS -What is an Abstract in a journal? Several studies summarised leading logically to the aim and hypothesis of the research - ANS -What is the Introduction in a journal? It should include sufficient detail so that other researchers are able to precisely replicate the study if they wish - ANS -What is the Method in a journal? 1) Experimental Design 2) Sample 3) Apparatus 4) Procedure 5) Ethics - ANS -What should the Method in a journal include? Descriptive statistics (e.g: tables and graphs) Inferential statistics: A statement about whether the hypothesis is accepted with reference to the calculated and critical values - ANS -What should the Results in journal include? The results are explained verbally (rather than statistically). The limitations of the future suggestions and wider implications are all discussed - ANS -What is the Discussion in a journal?. Full details of any Source Material that the researcher drew upon or cited in the report. It may include journal articles, books, websites etc - ANS -What should the Referencing in a journal include? Data that is expressed numerically - ANS -What is Quantitative Data? Data that is expressed in words - ANS -What is Qualitative Data? - Simple to Analyse - Easy to Compare - Less open to Bias - ANS -What are the Strengths of using Quantitative Data? - Less Meaningful a study, 16 - May fail to Data? Represent Real Life - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using Quantitative - Rich in Detail - Participants have more opportunity to develop thoughts and feelings - ANS -What are the Strengths of using Qualitative Data? - Difficult to Analyse and Summarise - Can be Subjective - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using Qualitative Data? 1) Mean 2) Mode 3) Median - ANS -What are the 3 Measures of Central Tendency The most Frequently Occurring score within a data set - ANS -What is the Mode? - Very easy to Calculate - ANS -What are the Strengths of using the Mode? - It is rarely Representative of the data as a whole - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using the Mode? The Middle Value in a set of scores when arranged from Lowest to Highest. When there is an even number of scores the 2 middle scores are averaged - ANS - What is the Median? - Anomalous scores don't affect it - Easy to Calculate - ANS -What are the Strengths of using the Median? - Less Sensitive as not all values are included in the final calculation - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using the Median? Calculated by adding up the scores in a set of data and dividing them by the total number of scores - ANS -What is the Mean? - It is the most Sensitive of the measures of central tendency as it Includes all of the scores in the data set, therefore making it more representative of the data as a whole - ANS -What are the Strengths of using the Mean? - Can be distorted by Anomalous values - ANS -What are the Weaknesses of using the Mean? 19 2) Related t-test 3) Pearson's r - ANS -What are the 3 Parametric Tests? - Test of Difference - Related Groups design - Data can be converted into a Nominal form - ANS -What are the Conditions of Use for a Sign Test? 1) State the Hypothesis 2) Convert the data into a Nominal form so it can be analysed 3) Record the data in a table and work out the Sign of Difference for each participant 4) Work out the Calculated Value (S) - the least frequent sign (ignoring any equal values) 5) Find the Critical Value of S N = Total number of scores (ignoring any equal values) Work out whether the test is one-tailed or two-tailed Probability is usually 0.05 Use the table provided to find the Critical Value 6) Is the result Significant? If the Calculated Value is Equal to or Less Than the Critical Value our result is Significant - ANS -How do you Calculate a Sign Test? When the Hypothesis is Directional - ANS -When is a test One-Tailed? When the Hypothesis is Non-Directional - ANS -When is a test Two-Tailed? If the test has an 'R' in it's name the Calculated Value has to be moRe than the Critical Value - ANS -What is the rule for Significance in Statistical Tests? That is is a 'Pre-Science' rather than a 'Natural Science' like biology or physics because there was too much internal disagreement and too many conflicting approaches - ANS - What did philosopher Thomas Kuhn (1962) suggest about psychology? A Revolution in scientific thinking where a new understanding is accepted e.g: the change from Newtonian to Einsteinian theory of relativity - ANS -What is a Paradigm Shift? For a theory to be considered Scientific it needed to have Falsifiability. Good sciences are those where theories are constantly challenged and Pseudosciences are those which can't be falsified (e.g: religion) The more a theory survives an attempt to falsify it, the Stronger it is - ANS -What did philosopher Karl Popper (1934) say about Falsifiability in science? Data collection that has been collected through direct Sensory experience and not through Hearsay - ANS -What is Empiricism? 20 True - ANS -TRUE or FALSE: The more Control a research method has, the Greater the Objectivity Absence from work costs the economy an estimated £15 Billion a year. A third of all absences are caused by disorders such as anxiety, depression and stress. Psychological research into the causes and treatments of mental illness means that in many cases, sufferers are able to manage their condition effectively and return to work, benefiting the economy - ANS -What is an example of the Implications of Psychological Research on the Economy? Academic Journals - ANS -What is the most common way Psychological Research is published? 1) To allocate Research Funding 2) To validate the Quality of research 3) To suggest Improvements - ANS -What are the 3 Aims of using Peer Review in the scientific process? A small group of usually 2-3 experts in the particular field. They should be objective and unknown to the author or researcher - ANS -Who conducts Peer Review? It is likely that it will produce a more honest appraisal - ANS -What is the Benefit of Anonymity in Peer Review? A minority of reviewers may use their anonymity as a way of criticising Rival Researchers. Many researchers are in direct Competition for limited Funding and so may try to sabotage others. For this reason, some journals favour a system of Open Reviewing whereby the names of the reviewer(s) are made public - ANS -What is the Weakness of Anonymity in Peer Review? - Editors of journals want to publish Significant 'headline grabbing' findings to increase the Credibility and Circulation of their publication. - They also prefer to publish Positive results. This could mean that research that doesn't fit this criteria is ignored or disregarded. - Ultimately this creates a false impression of the current state of psychology if journal editors are being selective in what they publish - ANS -What is the issue with Publication Bias in psychological research? - The Peer Review process may suppress Opposition to Mainstream theories, wishing to maintain the status quo within particular scientific fields. 21 - Reviewers tend to be much more Critical of research that contradicts their own view and much more Favourable to that which matches it. - Established scientists are much more likely to be chosen as Reviewers and as a result, findings that chime with current opinions are more likely to be passed than new and innovative research that challenges the established order - Thus, Peer Review may have the effect of Slowing down the Rate of Change within a particular scientific discipline - ANS -What is the issue with Burying Ground-Breaking Research in Peer Review? - Introspection is not accurate because people are often unaware of are behaviours Evaluation of the Scientific Approach ANSWER :- its objective and systematic - Rely on determinism - Self corrective - Create non-naturalistic environments - Human behaviour is not always observable to the rules of science Classical Conditioning ANSWER :Pavlov - When a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditional stimulus so that it takes on the properties on the stimulus and is able to produced a conditioned response Classical Conditioning steps ANSWER :UCS -> UCR NS -> No Response UCS+NS -> UCR CS -> CR Features of CC ANSWER :- If time interval is too great between conditioning it does not work - CR will become extinct in the absence of the UCS after a while - If extinct and paired again they pair more quickly (Spontaneous Recovery) 2 - Stimulus generalisation, CR is created to things similar to CS Operant Conditioning ANSWER :Skinner - Learning through reinforcement or punishment, a behaviour is more likely if followed by a desirable concequence Positive Reinforcement ANSWER :Behaviour Produces a response that is desirable Negative Reinforcement ANSWER :Doing something to stop unpleasant response Reinforcement ANSWER :Strengthening a response Punishment ANSWER :An unpleasant consequence following a behaviour Features of Classical Conditioning ANSWER :- Scheduling reinforcement makes it stronger - Punishment Evaluation of Classical Conditioning ANSWER :- Applications in treatment of phobias - Animal Research cannot be generalised to humans because they have different needs to learn Evaluation of Operant Conditioning 3 4 ANSWER :- Use of experimental method - Animal Research cannot be generalised to humans Modelling ANSWER :Individuals learn behaviour be observing others Imitation ANSWER :Copying a models behaviour Identification ANSWER :Individual adopts attitudes and behaviours of a model because they want to be like them Vicarious Reinforcement ANSWER :Individuals learn about the likely consequences by observing a model's experiences and adjust their behaviour to obtain the same experience The Role of the meditational Processes ANSWER :Observer forms a mental representation pf the behaviour displayed of the model and the probable consequences it will also happen to them Evaluation of Social Learning Theory ANSWER :- Applications in human behaviour - research support (Bandura) - Problems with causality, it may not be observing but rather people already have this a try to find people similar Phenotype ANSWER :The observable characteristics of an individual Evolution ANSWER :Change is genetic make-up of a population over time NeuroChemistry ANSWER :How chemical and neural processes associate with the nervous system Nervous System ANSWER :Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) and the Peripheral Nervous System (somatic and autonomous systems) carries impulses around the body The Brain ANSWER :Co-ordinates the functioning of the body Frontal Lobes ANSWER :Functions like speech, though and learning Parietal Lobes ANSWER :Processes sensory information like touch, temperature and pain Occipital lobes 7 ANSWER :Processes visual information Temporal lobes ANSWER :Involved with hearing and memory Evaluation of the Biological Approach ANSWER :- Scientific - Application into Neurochem, drug development and psychological rhythms - Approach is reductionist (blames everything on one factor) - Does not take into account cultrual factord Iceberg analogy: ANSWER :tip = conscious just underwater = preconscious deep underwater = unconcious Concious ANSWER :Reality, Conscious mind, thoughts Preconcious ANSWER :Memories Unconcious ANSWER :The majority: rooted fears, creativity, dreams 8 The id ANSWER :Unconscious, contains the libido, operates to the pleasure principle and wants instant gratification The ego ANSWER :Mediates between impulsive demands of the id and reality of the super ego The Super ego ANSWER :Your conscience and morals of societal rules, feelings of guilt, what you strive towards Libido ANSWER :Biological energy created by reproductive instincts Defense Mechanisms ANSWER :In the unconscious, mechanisms to help you deal with situations that are traumatic Repression ANSWER :Blocking unacceptable thoughts, may influence you even if you don't remember them Denial ANSWER :Refusal to accept reality and the pain that follows Displacement ANSWER :redirecting of thoughts or feelings in situations where you cannot express them to the actual situation 9 ANSWER :Breathing, food, water Safety Needs ANSWER :Security, resources, morality, health Love needs ANSWER :Friendship, family Esteem need ANSWER :Self esteem, confidence, achievement Self-Actualisation ANSWER :Peak experience Creativity, problem solving, spontaneity The Self ANSWER :Our personal identity Congruence ANSWER :The similarity between yourself and your ideal self Conditions of worth ANSWER :Conditions imposed on someone in order to earn positive regard Unconditional positive regard 12 ANSWER :love and acceptance no matter what Conditional Positive Regard ANSWER :love and acceptance for a reason Evaluation of the humanistic approach ANSWER :- Maslow's Hierarchy is linked to economical development, countries with lower needs had lower development - Research support for conditions of worth (adolescents) - Fails to establish causal variables - unrealistic view of human nature as it suggest we all want to be good - Cultural differences in hierarchy of needs e.g. in china love is the first stage but here it is needs Confounding Variables ANSWER :A variable that is not the IV but changes the depending variable Control ANSWER :The extent a variable is held constant External Validity ANSWER :The degree research can be generalised Extranous Variables ANSWER :Nuisance variables that makes it difficult to detect changes in experiments Internal Validity 13 14 ANSWER :The degree observed effects was die to experimental manipulation rather than confounding variables Mundane Realism ANSWER :How study mirrors real life Validity ANSWER :how close you are to measuring what you want to measure Directional Hypothesis ANSWER :States direction of predicted difference e.g. People who do homework without tv produce better results than those who don't Non-Directional Hypothesis ANSWER :Predicts simply that there is a difference e.g. People who do homework with the TV produce different results from those who dont Pilot Study ANSWER :A small-scale trial run of a study to test aspects of design Repeated Measures Design ANSWER :One group does all trials Limitations of repeated measures design ANSWER :Order effect e.g. practicing trial or getting tired Guessing the purpose of the test in second trial leads to demand charecteristics 17 ANSWER :extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring Concurrent Validity ANSWER :the extent to which two measures of the same trait or ability agree Ecological Validity ANSWER :The extent to which a study is realistic or representative of real life. Temporal validity ANSWER :the degree to which the results can be generalised across time Empirical Method ANSWER :gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning Replicability ANSWER :when a study's findings are able to be duplicated, ideally by independent investigators Falsifiability ANSWER :a feature of a scientific theory, in which it is possible to collect data that will prove the theory wrong Science ANSWER :A body of systematic knowledge with principle of laws that are natural Hypothesis Testing 18 ANSWER :make and test an educated guess about a problem/solution Theory Construction ANSWER :A collection of principles that help us explain observations and integrate facts. This is the process of assembling a theory into coherent wholes. Paradigms in Research ANSWER :an overall belief system or way of viewing the nature of reality and the basis of knowledge Paradigm shifts ANSWER :Shifts in scientific thinking that occur when the majority of scientists in a field or related fields agree that a new explanation or theory is better than the old one. Primary Data ANSWER :information collected for the specific purpose at hand Secondary Data ANSWER :information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose Quantitative Data ANSWER :numerical data Qualitative Data ANSWER :descriptive data mean ANSWER :average Median ANSWER :the middle score in a distribution mode ANSWER :the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution Advantages of mean ANSWER :easily understood easy to calculate uses all the data values Advantages of mode ANSWER :It can be used with any type of data Not affected by extreme scores Advantages of median ANSWER :Easy to calculate 19 - correlation does not equal causation - intervening variables may be the cause - lacks internal/external validity - correlations are useful for following trends - correlations are useful for finding significance external Validity ANSWER :extent to which we can generalise findings to real-world settings Content Coding ANSWER :a technique used by researchers to analyse specific content delivered in the mass media so as to enable the scientific study of that content's effect on audiences Thematic Analysis. ANSWER :a method of categorizing data into thematic categories Effect Size ANSWER :the magnitude of a relationship between two or more variables Investigator Effect ANSWER :Cues from the investigator that encourage certain behaviours Indirect Investigator Effects 22 23 ANSWER :The investigator designs the experiment to make a result more likely Dealing with demand / investigator effects ANSWER :- single/double blind - experiemental realism, make task engaging experimental realism ANSWER :Experiment is made engaging so participants pay attention to that instead of realising they are being observed Opportunity Sample ANSWER :Recruit People who are most convenient e.g. waling by Evaluation of Opportunity Sample ANSWER :- Easy - Bias because you are drawn to certain people Random Sample ANSWER :Randomly pick people using the lottery technique (picking names out of a hat) or a random number table (population is assigned a number and you randomly pick it) of a computer generated random picker Evaluation of random sampling ANSWER :- Unbias - Need a list of all participants Stratified Sampling 24 ANSWER :Participants are picked based on there proportion to the rest of the population Evaluation of Stratified Sampling ANSWER :- Representative - Time consuming Key features of science ANSWER :Hypothesis can be tested Empirical Objective Systematic Key features of non Science ANSWER :Not testable Intuitive Subjective Deductive Method ANSWER :Begins with a general theory and narrows down into a specific hypothesis Cost-benefit analysis ANSWER :A systematic approach to estimate the positive and negatives of research Ethics Committees ANSWER :A group of research institutions that must approve a study before it begins How to Deal with informed consent ANSWER :- formal agreement - Presumptive consent - if participants are given full nature of study it could alter behaviour Presumptive consent ANSWER :Asking a group of people not in the study if they would mind being deceived by certain things Dealing with Deception ANSWER :- Deception should be approved by ethics committee - participants should be debriefed after - Cost-benefit analysis is flawed because judgements are subjective - debriefing cannot turn the clock back Dealing with the right to withdraw ANSWER :- participants should be informed they can withdraw at any stage 27 28 - participants may feel they cannot withdraw due to money or spoiling study Dealing with protection from harm ANSWER :- Avoid risks - Stop study if harm is suspected - Harm may not be apparent at the time Dealing with Confidentiality ANSWER :- Researchers should not record names - you can normally work out people's identity from location Dealing with Privacy ANSWER :- Do not study anyone without consent unless in public - no universal agreement as what is public Naturalistic Observations ANSWER :Observed in an everyday setting Controlled observation ANSWER :Some variables are regulated by the researcher to investigate certain variables in an everyday state Over observation 29 ANSWER :Participants are aware they are being studied Covert observations ANSWER :participants are not aware they are being studied Evaluation of observational techniques ANSWER :- observing is subjective - observer bias Evaluation of naturalistic and controlled observations ANSWER :- Naturalistic is high in ecological validity - There is little control of what is happening - Controlled can focus on particular aspects of behaviour - Environment might feel unnatural Evaluation of overt and overt observation ANSWER :- covert observation makes behaviour more natural - covert is unethical because they do not know they are being watched - Overt observations may create demand charecteristics - Overt is more ethical Participant observation Evaluation of structured interview ANSWER :- repeatable because questions are standardised - different interviewers behave differently giving low internal validity - interviewer bias Evaluation of unstructured interview ANSWER :- more detailed information - interviewers need more skill to spot what to ask about - questions may lack objectivity Questionnaire construction ANSWER :1. clarity of questions 2. no bias/ leading questions 3. questions need to be able to be analysed Open questions ANSWER :Questions with free response to the person Closed Questions ANSWER :Questions with set answers to choose from Design of interviews ANSWER :- recording the interview - effect of the interviewer must be minimal e.g. body language 32 - skilled follow up questions Evaluation of open questions ANSWER :- expanding answers increase amount of information - qualitative data is difficult to summarise Evaluation of closed questions ANSWER :- Limited answers - gives quantitative data which is easy to analyse Type 1 error ANSWER :Rejecting null hypothesis when it is true Type 2 error ANSWER :failing to reject a false null hypothesis One tailed test ANSWER :A test with a directional hypothesis Two tailed test ANSWER :A test with a non directional hypothesis Correlation hypothesis ANSWER :States the expected association between two variables Correlation coefficient 33 34 ANSWER :A number between -1 and +1 that tells us how closely co variables are correlated Meta Analysis ANSWER :Analysis of many studies to find an overall conclusion Systematic Review ANSWER :finding studies that have similar aims to yours Case studies ANSWER :Detailed study of an individual, institution or event Content analysis ANSWER :Behaviour is observed indirectly in written, verbal of physical material Effect size ANSWER :A measure of the strength between two variables Evaluation of meta analysis ANSWER :- increases validity because of wider samples - allows us to reach an overall conclusion - studies may not be comparable Evaluation of case studies Evaluation of primary data ANSWER :- control of data - very lengthy and expensive process Evaluation of secondary data ANSWER :- easier - may not fit the needs of the study Peer review ANSWER :Independant experts to access the qaulity and validity of your research Peer review purpose ANSWER :1. allocation of funding 2. publication 3. assessing research ratings Evaluation of peer review ANSWER :- difficult to find an expert in your field -Anonymity of the reviewer can lead to researchers trying to ruin your study work because they don't like you - Publication bias Economic psychology ANSWER :The development, promotion and application of psuchology for the public good Applications of economic psychology 37 38 ANSWER :- social change to bring positive changes on the economy - cognitive interview to reduce expenses of wrongful arrests - Bowlby's theory helps raising children to become productive members of society - mental health costs - Biopsychology helps make smart machines to help in the work force Statistical test for independent nominal ANSWER :Chi Squared Statistical test for independent ordinal ANSWER :Mann-Whitney Statistical test for independent interval ANSWER :Unrelated T test Statistical test for related nominal ANSWER :Sign Test Related tests ANSWER :Matched/Repeated experimental designs Indepedant tests ANSWER :Use an independent experiment design Statistical test for Related nominal 39 ANSWER :Sign test Statistical test for related ordinal ANSWER :Wilcoxon's Statistical test for related interval ANSWER :Related t test Statistical test correlation nominal ANSWER :Chi Squared Statistical test correlation ordinal ANSWER :spearman's Statistical test correlation interval ANSWER :Pearson's R Nominal Tests ANSWER :Independant = chisquared Related = sign test Correlational = chisquared Ordinal Tests ANSWER :Independent = mann-whitney 42 Materials ANSWER :Describe materials used e.g. surveys, computer equipment or word lists Structure of a lab report ANSWER :Title Page Abstract Introduction Method - design - participants - materials - procedure Results Discussion References How to reference ANSWER :Author, date, title, edition, city, publisher The spinal cord ANSWER :To relay information between the brain and the rest of the body Cerebrum ANSWER :Controlling motor skills, balance and muscle movement 43 Diencephalon ANSWER :Contains the thalamus and the hypothalamus thalamus ANSWER :relay station for nerve impulses, routing them to the appropriate parts of the brain hypothalamus ANSWER :regulates body temperature, hunger and thirst, also acts as a link between the endocrine and nervous system Brain stem ANSWER :Regulates automatic functions essential to life Divisions of the nervous system ANSWER : The somatic nervous system ANSWER :Part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for carrying sensory and motor information The autonomic nervous system ANSWER :Part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for involuntary brain activities like breathing and heartbeat The sympathetic nervous system ANSWER :Part of the autonomic nervous system responsible to help us deal with emergencies like fight of flight and prepares the body for threat, releases energy The parasympathetic nervous system ANSWER :Part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for relaxing them once again after an emergency involving a fight of flight has passed, increased blood flow and breathing Sensory Neurones ANSWER :Carry impulses from sensory receptor Relay Neurons ANSWER :Allow sensory and motor neurones to communicate Motor Neurones ANSWER :Forms synapses with muscles and control their contractions Synaptic Transmission ANSWER :- Information is passed down the axon of the neuron as an electrical impulse known as an action potential. - Once the action potential reaches the end of the axon it must cross over the synaptic gap. - At the end of the neuron (in the axon terminal) are the synaptic vesicles which contain chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters. - When the electrical impulse (action potential) reaches these synaptic vesicles, they release their contents of neurotransmitters. - Neurotransmitters then carry the signal across the synaptic gap. - They bind to receptor sites on the post-synaptic cell that then become activated. - Once the receptors have been activated, they either produce excitatory or inhibitory effects on the post-synaptic cell, making the post-synaptic cell more or less likely to fire. Excitatory Neurotransmitters 44 47 Breathing increases, heart beats faster, kicks in release of glucose When threat is gone ANS dampens down stress response Response to chronic ongoing stressors ANSWER :Hypothalamus activates the HPA axis H - hypothalamus, releases a chemical messenger CRH which is released into the bloodstream P - pituitary gland, CRH causes the gland to release ACTH, it goes into bloodstream and targets adrenal glands A - adrenal glands, ACTH stimulates adrenal cortex to release cortisol- quick burst on energy, low sensitivity to pain (positive), impaired cognitive performance and lowered immune response (negative) HPA feedback ANSWER :hypothalamus and pituitary gland have receptors that monitor cortisol levels Flight or fight ANSWER :A sequence triggered when the body prepares for threat Evaluation of flight or fight ANSWER :- tend and befriend response in women - Negative consequences of fight or flight may be adaptive but are bad for modern day life - Avoid confrontation comes before flight/fight - acute stress leads to cooperative behaviour e.g. 9/11 What happens in a stressful situation? ANSWER :Amygdala responds to sensory input and connects this with the emotions associated with F or F Amygdala simulates the hypothalamus to activate the sympathomedullary pathway and the SNS Adrenaline ANSWER :SNS stimulate adrenal medulla to secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline to prepare the body for F or F Motor Area ANSWER :the part of the cortex that is largely responsible for the body's voluntary movement In the Frontal Lobe Somatosensory area ANSWER :An area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information such as touch In the Parietal Lobe Visual Area ANSWER :receives visual stimuli that originates on the retinas of the eyes (primary visual cortex) and interprets the visual stimuli (visual association area) In the occipital lobe 48 Auditory Area ANSWER :analyses and processes acoustic information In the temporal lobe Broca's area ANSWER :Controls language expression, tongue and mouth In the frontal lobe Wernicke's area ANSWER :controls language reception In the temporal lbe Broca and Tan case study ANSWER :Patient could only say the syllable "tan" He could understand spoken language but could not speak nor write Evaluation of localisation of function ANSWER :- Lashley, basic motor functions were localised but more complex functions like learning were holistic 49 ANSWER :Infradian Rhythm - around 28 days - ovulation occurs half way through the cycle - After ovulation progesterone increases in preparation for possible implantation of the ova into the uterus Evaluation of Ultradian Rhythms ANSWER :- Individual differences in sleep stages are attributed to differences in non-biological factors, however some may be genetic Tucker et al - Basic Rest Activity Cycle is a theory that the stages of sleep continue into the day even when we are awake, the difference is we move through stages of alertness Ultradian Rhythms ANSWER :Biological rhythms that occur more than once a day Evaluation of circadian rhythms ANSWER :- individual differences, cycles can vary from 13 to 65 hours and reach peaks at different times - Research Methodology flaw, participants are no totally isolated from artificial light in most experiments as dim light was suggested to not affect them but this may not be true Czeisler et al found it was not -Chronotherapeutics, the study of how timing affects drugs is a useful application - Temperature may be more important than light setting circadian rhythms, light may be a trigger but change in temp sends more powerful signals to the Buhr et al Sleep Stages (REM) 52 53 ANSWER :An Ultradian Rhythm - Cycle repeats itself every 90 minutes - Stage 1: light sleep, muscle activity slows - Stage 2: Breathing and heart rate slows - Stage 3: Deep Sleep begins - Stage 4: very deep sleep, brain produces delta waves - Stage 5: REM, dreaming occurs Examples of ultradian rhythms ANSWER :REM, NREM, digestion Evaluation of Infradian rhythms ANSWER :- The menstrual cycle influences mate choice, Penton-Voak et al found in the cycle women prefer more masculine faces as it shows good genes for short term meetings so they are passed to offspring, but prefer more feminine faces for long term relationships because they are seen as kinder - The role of exogenous cues, womens cycles can sync due to pheromones of others - Lunar rhythms have very little empirical evidence Lateralisation ANSWER :The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain for particular physical and psychological functions How are the two hemispheres of the brain connected? ANSWER :Through a bundle of nerve fibres called the corpus callosum Split Brain Patients ANSWER :people whose corpus callosum has been surgically severed for treatment of epilepsy Evaluation of hemispheric lateralisation ANSWER :- increases neural processing capacity in studies e.g. being able to process to tasks at once - Tonnessen et al found a relationship between left or right handedness and immune disorders - individual differences, lateralisation changes with age - Language may not be restricted to language, J.W. developed the capacity to speak out the right hemisphere - Low sample size in most studies for split brain research Sperry and Gazzaniga ANSWER :Investigated functional differences between left and right cerebral hemispheres using "split- brain" studies Took advantage of the fact the left eye info gets processed by the right hemisphere and right eye to the left When showed a picture of a cat to the left eye the patient saw nothing because the right hemisphere has no language processing Left hemisphere is dominant in terms of speech and language. Right is dominant in visual-motor tasks. 54 57 ANSWER :The growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways Examples of how the brain can be changed through plasticity ANSWER :Life experience, new experiences create new neural pathways, where as rarely used nerves die, and this increases with age Video games, make many different complex cognitive and motor demands Meditation, Tibetan Monks produce increased gamma waves which coordinate neuron activity Negative Plasticity ANSWER :The brain's ability to rewire itself can sometimes have maladaptive behavioural consequences Neuronal Unmasking ANSWER :WALL(1977) identified what he referred to as dormant synapses (where they exist but are not always in use) synaptic connection's that exist anatomically, but have no specific function under normal circumstances, these synapses are ineffective as the rate of neural input is too low for them to be activated HOWEVER, increasing the rate of input to these synapses, which can occur after surrounding brain areas become damaged, can 'UNMASK' these dormant synapses This creates a lateral spread of activation which, in time, can give way to the development of new structures Stem Cells 58 ANSWER :Stem cells are unspecialised cells that can be used to take on the role of brain neurons which can replace dying nerves. Stem cells also secrete growth factors that revive injured cells Stem cells can also create neural networks which lines an uninjured brain site with the damaged part. Evaluation of plasticity ANSWER :- Kempermann et al investigated whether an enriched environment could alter the number of neurons in the brain. He found an increased number of neurons of rats in complex enviroments rather than cages - Maguire et al found taxi drivers had increased spatial navigation as a result of larger posterior hippocampi Evaluation of recovery after trauma ANSWER :- Tajiri et al found stem cells increased development of neuron like cells in rat brains. Randomly assigned two groups of rats, one received stem cells implants and the control were given no stem cells, three months later the stem cell rats showed neuron growth in the area affected - Functional plasticity reduces with age -Practical applications to neurohabillitation - There is no record to functionality before trauma so it is difficult to know the extent of recovery Factors affecting recovery of the brain after trauma ANSWER :- age Marquez de la Plata et al found that following brain trauma, older patients function - educational attainment found that college education or equivalent were 7 times more likely than those who didn't finish high school to achieve disability free recovery Equipotentiality Theory ANSWER :When the brain is damaged, the rest of the brain appears to recognise in an attempt to recover lost function, surviving neurons chip in to help achieve the same neurological action Electroencephalogram (EEG) ANSWER :A method of recording changed in the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp and are outputted in brain waves functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) ANSWER :an imaging technique used to examine changes in the activity of the working human brain by measuring changes in the blood's oxygen levels as, increased blood flow mean increased brain activity event-related potential (ERP) ANSWER :Electrical changes in the brain that correspond to the brain's response to a specific event; measured with EEG. Post-mortem examinations ANSWER :The brain is analysed after death to determine whether certain observed behaviours during the patient's lifetime can be linked to abnormalities in the brain. Advantages of fMRI ANSWER :- noninvasive 59 regained less AQA A LEVEL BIOLOGY MARK QUESTIONS WITH CERTIFIED ANSWERS LATEST UPDATES 2024 Many different substances enter and leave a cell by crossing its cell surface membrane. Describe how substances can cross a cell surface membrane. (5) ✔✔1 (Simple / facilitated) diffusion from high to low concentration / down concentration gradient; 2 Small / non-polar / lipid-soluble molecules pass via phospholipids / bilayer; OR Large / polar / water-soluble molecules go through proteins; 3 Water moves by osmosis / from high water potential to low water potential / from less to more 1 negative water potential; 4 Active transport is movement from low to high concentration / against concentration gradient; 5 Active transport / facilitated diffusion involves proteins/carriers; 6 Active transport requires energy / ATP; 7 Ref. to Na+ / glucose co-transport; 2 Describe and explain how the lungs are adapted to allow rapid exchange of oxygen between air in the alveoli and blood in the capillaries around them. (5) ✔✔1 Many alveoli / alveoli walls folded provide a large surface area; 2 Many capillaries provide a large surface area; 3 (So) fast diffusion; Scientists believe that it may be possible to develop vaccines that make use of microfold cells. Explain how this sort of vaccine would lead to a person developing immunity to the pathogen (5) ✔✔1.Vaccine contains antigen/ dead pathogen 4 Alveoli or capillary walls / epithelium / lining are thin / short distance between alveoli and blood; 5 Flattened / squamous epithelium; 6 (So) short diffusion distance / pathway; 7 (So) fast diffusion; 8 Ventilation / circulation; 9 Maintains a diffusion / concentration gradient; 10 (So) fast diffusion; 5 5. Volume of water in xylem increases; 6. Cannot move back due to gradient; 7. Pressure in xylem increases and forces water upwards. The presence of an air bubble in a xylem vessel in the stem blocks the movement through that vessel. Use the cohesion-tension theory to explain why. (4) ✔✔1. Evaporation from leaves (transpiration); 2. Water in xylem under tension (pulled up); 3. Because water molecules cohere (stick together) (because of hydrogen bonds); 4. So water travels in a single column; 5. A water bubble would break the column; In daylight, most of the water evaporates from the leaves but some is used by the plant. Describe the ways in which this water could be used by the plant. (6) ✔✔1. (water is used in) the light- dependent reactions of photosynthesis; 2. electrons from water enable ATP production / H+ are used to reduce NADP / produces O2; 3. (water can be used in) hydrolysis reactions within the plant; 4. to create turgor; 5. as a solvent for transport; 6 6. as a medium for chemical reactions; 7. component of cells / cytoplasm; Describe two features you would expect in the leaves of a tree adapted to a dry environment. Explain how each feature helps the tree's survival. (6) ✔✔Sunken stomata; water evaporation into pit creates local humidity; increased humidity reduces gradient for water evaporation; close arrangement of stomata; diffusion shells of individual stomata overlap; interferes with water diffusion and slows evaporation; restriction of stomata to lower side of leaf; rate of air movement below leaf less/ heating effect of sun less; gradient for water evaporation reduced/ water molecules have less kinetic energy; thick cuticle/wax/suberin (on upper surface); (wax/suberin )waterproof; water unable to diffuse onto surface to evaporate, 7 presence of trichomes/ hairs; surface traps water close to leaf surface; increased humidity reduces gradient for water evaporation; reduced leaves/spines/small surface area to volume; less surface area for evaporation; more distance across leaf for water to diffuse; rolled leaves; stomata enclosed in localised humidity; increased humidity reduces gradient for water evaporation; Xylem transports water through a plant. Describe and explain how the cells of xylem are adapted for this function. (5) ✔✔Thick cell walls; Withstand tension / negative pressure; Lignin in cell walls; Walls waterproof / withstand tension / negative pressure; Xylem cells have no end walls / tubular (not hollow); So a continuous column of water; Xylem vessels are stacked on top of each other; 10 3. Cooled to temperature below 70°C; 4. Primers bind; 5. Nucleotides attach; 6. By complementary base pairing; 7. Temperature 70-75°C; 8. DNA Polymerase joins nucleotides together; 9. Cycle repeated; Describe how an action potential is produced in an axon. (6) ✔✔1. A stimulus causes a temporary reversal of charge and inside of axon becomes positive (depolarisation); 2. Energy of stimulus causes some sodium channels to open; 3. So sodium diffuses into axon; 4. Once an action potential of +40mV has been established, channels close and there is no more influx of sodium; 5. Potassium channels open and potassium ions diffuse out, causing repolarisation of axon; 6. Axon becomes more negative than usual, so potassium gates close and sodium-potassium pump again actively transports sodium ions out and potassium ions in; 11 Describe the sequence of events which allows information to pass from one neurone to the next neurone across a cholinergic synapse. (6) ✔✔1. Impulse causes calcium ions to enter axon; 2 Vesicles move to/fuse with membrane; 3. Acetylcholine is released; 4. Diffuses across synaptic cleft/synapse; 5. Binds with receptors on postsynaptic neurone; 6. Sodium ions enter postsynaptic neurone; 7. Depolarisation of postsynaptic membrane; 8. If above threshold, nerve impulse/action potential is produced; How does temperature affect the speed of a nerve impulse? (5) ✔✔1. The higher the temperature the faster the nerve impulse; 2. Sodium-potassium pump uses active transport; 3. Which requires energy from ATP from respiration; 4. Respiration is enzyme-controlled; 5. More kinetic energy so more enzyme-substrate complexes formed and faster diffusion Explain how nervous control in a human can cause increased cardiac output during exercise. (4) ✔✔1. Coordination via medulla (of brain) / cardiac centre; 12 2. (Increased) impulses along sympathetic (/ cardiac accelerator) nerve; 3. To S.A. node / pacemaker; 4. Release of noradrenalin; 5. More impulses sent from / increased rate of discharge of S.A. node / pacemaker; 6. Increased heart rate / increased stroke volume; Describe the structure of a cell membrane. (5) ✔✔1. Double layer of phospholipid molecules; 2. Detail of arrangement of phospholipids; 3. Intrinsic proteins/protein molecules passing right through; 4. Some with channels/pores; 5. Extrinsic proteins/proteins only in one layer/on surface; 6. Molecules can move in membrane/dynamic/membrane contains cholesterol; 7. Glycocalyx/carbohydrates attached to lipids/proteins; Describe the part played by cell surface membranes in regulating the movement of substances into and out of cells. (6) ✔✔1. Non-polar/lipid soluble molecules move through phospholipid layer/bilayer; 2. Small molecules/water/gases move through phospholipid layer/bilayer; 3. Ions/water soluble substances move through channels in proteins;