Edexcel A Level Psychology Paper 3 June 2017 question paper 9PS0/03

The iPhone Effect

Researchers wanted to investigate whether the presence of mobile phones influences the quality of in-person social interactions. In a field experiment, 100 pairs of participants were observed during the course of a 10-minute conversation.

The researchers recorded whether participants placed a mobile phone on the table or held it in their hand. The researchers measured the level of connectedness and empathetic concern at the end of the conversation for those with a mobile phone present and those where it was absent.

(Source: adapted from Mirsa et al. (1999))

State a two-tailed (non-directional) hypothesis for the iPhone effect study.

Explain why the experimental/research design used in the iPhone effect study was appropriate.

Explain one strength of using a field experiment for this study.

To measure connectedness and empathetic concern ranked scale questions were used where 1 indicated not close (connectedness) or no concern (empathetic concern) and 7 indicated very close (connectedness) or high concern (empathetic concern).

Explain two weaknesses of using ranked scale questions in the iPhone effect study.

The results of the study are given below in Table 1.

Analyse the data in Table 1 to explain three conclusions that the researchers might draw from these results.

Conclusion 1

Conclusion 2

Conclusion 3

Researchers wanted to test the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on the development of the hippocampus in the brain. They administered repeated 1g/kg doses of pure alcohol (ethanol) in a nutritionally adequate liquid diet to pregnant rats. Control groups were fed the same liquid diet except for the substitution of sucrose (sugar) for pure alcohol (ethanol).

The brains of 60-day-old offspring were investigated and those that were exposed to alcohol were found to have 20% fewer hippocampal cells compared to the control groups. Prenatal exposure to pure alcohol (ethanol) permanently reduced the number of hippocampal neurones without altering physical growth.

(Source: adapted from Barnes and Walker (1981))

Explain one practical application of the above study.

Justify whether the use of animals in this study was appropriate.

Superman vs The Joker

Playing computer video games is a very popular pastime, which has been suggested to have an influence on human behaviour. The characters within the games may encourage people to act in particular ways after engaging with the game for a period of time.

To assess the influence of computer video game characters on behaviour researchers recruited the help of 60 students aged 17 to 37 years old. The participants were divided into two groups where they played a violent computer video game as either Superman (a hero) or The Joker (a villain). Those assigned as Superman (a hero) had to protect another character from threats (prosocial behaviour) whereas those assigned as The Joker (a villain) had to attack another character (antisocial behaviour).

After 15 minutes participants were thanked and they left the laboratory where an apparently lost letter was lying on the floor. Researchers noted the number of participants who posted the letter in a postbox, which was close by, and those who ignored the letter. Those who posted the letter were considered to be acting in a prosocial manner whereas those who ignored the letter did not act prosocially.

(Source: adapted from Happ, 2013))

Explain how useful social learning theory could be in accounting for the findings of the Superman vs The Joker study.

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behaviour. The findings of psychological research have been used to help solve major problems across the world. However, it has been suggested that the findings of psychological research may have cultural and gender issues.

Evaluate the cultural and gender issues of Sherif et al. (1954/1961) and Rosenhan (1973), with reference to their methods and implications for the real world.

Companies that enable people to meet potential romantic partners are becoming increasingly popular. Some companies include a series of questions during registration that assist them in recommending which people are a potential ‘match’.

Mandy decides to use a company to meet a potential romantic partner and is recommended a number of ‘matches’ who have similar interests. Mandy’s mother disagrees with this approach and tells Mandy that romantic relationships are purely biological in basis.

Evaluate how far the biological approach can explain human behaviour such as meeting potential romantic partners. You must make reference to Mandy’s situation in your response.

Assess the extent to which psychology could be considered a science.