A-level PSYCHOLOGY 7182/1

A-level PSYCHOLOGY 7182/1 Paper 1 Introductory topics in psychology Mark scheme June 2024 Version: 1.0 Final *246A71 2/1/MS* Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are required to refer these to the Lead Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. No student should be disadvantaged on the basis of their gender identity and/or how they refer to the gender identity of others in their exam responses. A consistent use of ‘they/them’ as a singular and pronouns beyond ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ will be credited in exam responses in line with existing mark scheme criteria. Further copies of this mark scheme are available from . Copyright information AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Copyright © 2024 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Level of response marking instructions Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level. Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme. Step 1 Determine a level Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With practice and familiarity you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the lower levels of the mark scheme. When assigning a level you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within the level, ie if the response is predominantly level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material it would be placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content. Step 2 Determine a mark Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. Answers in the standardising materials will correspond with the different levels of the mark scheme. These answers will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer with the standardised examples to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example. You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate. Indicative content in the mark scheme is provided as a guide for examiners. It is not intended to be exhaustive and you must credit other valid points. Students do not have to cover all of the points mentioned in the indicative content to reach the highest level of the mark scheme. An answer which contains nothing of relevance to the question must be awarded no marks. Section A Social influence Outline one ethical issue that has arisen in social influence research. Refer to one or more social influence studies in your answer. [4 marks] Marks for this question: AO1 = 4 Outline content: Up to 2 marks for the outline of the ethical issue Award 1 mark for identification of the ethical issue, and 1 further mark for elaboration • Deception; protection from harm; the right to withdraw. • Participants in a study should not be knowingly misled or lied to • Participants should not be exposed to any more risk than they would encounter in everyday life • Participants should be able to leave the investigation at any time If more than one ethical issue is outlined credit the best Up to 2 marks for reference to one or more social influence studies 2 marks for clear and effective reference to one or more social influence studies 1 mark for limited / muddled reference to one or more social influence studies • In Milgram’s obedience study, participants did not know the shocks were not real; in Asch’s conformity study, participants were not aware the other participants were confederates of the experimenter • In Milgram’s study, participants exhibited signs of extreme stress – sweating, shaking, etc.; in Zimbardo’s study, prisoners showed signs of disorganised thinking and behaviour • Milgram’s participants were encouraged to continue through the use of verbal prods; Zimbardo’s participants were denied requests to leave. Credit other valid points. Use your knowledge of conformity to explain Charlie’s behaviour. [6 marks] Marks for this question: AO2 = 6 Level Marks Description 3 5–6 Application of knowledge of conformity is clear and effective. The answer is generally coherent with appropriate use of terminology. 2 3–4 There is some appropriate application of knowledge of conformity. The answer lacks clarity in places. Terminology is used appropriately on occasions. 1 1–2 There is limited application of knowledge of conformity. The answer, as a whole, lacks clarity and has inaccuracies. Terminology is either absent or inappropriately used. 0 No relevant content. Possible content: • Charlie may be conforming due to normative social influence – his decision to wear his jumper inside-out is motivated by a desire to fit in with the group and avoid being isolated. This pressure may be felt particularly keenly as he is new to the school (and presumably may not have many other friends). • Charlie may be demonstrating compliance – his ‘worrying’ suggests that he is conflicted, but decides to wear his jumper inside-out (publicly) even though, internally, he may not agree with the behaviour • Charlie may be demonstrating identification – the fact that he thinks the boys are ‘cool’, values the group membership and displays group behaviour Credit other relevant application points, eg external locus of control; group size and unanimity (lack of an ally); research studies can be credited if they are clearly linked to the scenario No explicit application to the scenario maximum of 1 mark Note: that it would be difficult to make a case for internalisation/informational social influence in this scenario, but students may be awarded credit if they do. Use your knowledge of obedience to explain the boys’ behaviour. [6 marks] Marks for this question: AO2 = 6 Level Marks Description 3 5–6 Application of knowledge of obedience is clear and effective. The answer is generally coherent with appropriate use of terminology. 2 3–4 There is some appropriate application of knowledge of obedience. The answer lacks clarity in places. Terminology is used appropriately on occasions. 1 1–2 There is limited application of knowledge of obedience. The answer, as a whole, lacks clarity and has inaccuracies. Terminology is either absent or inappropriately used. 0 No relevant content. Possible content: • the boys obeyed because the Headteacher is a legitimate authority figure – in a hierarchical system, like a school, those who impose the rules have the power to punish, in this case with a detention • the boys obeyed due to situational variables, eg location – the boys are summoned to the Headteacher’s office; proximity of authority figure – the Headteacher is issuing orders face-to-face; lack of social support – the boys are called to the office ‘one-by-one’ • the boys obeyed due to being in an agentic state – when the boys then decided to wear their jumper correctly. • some of the boys may have an authoritarian personality, respect for those they perceive to be in authority and therefore blindly obey the Headteacher No explicit application to the scenario maximum of 1 mark Credit other relevant application points e.g. External locus of control, uniform. Research studies can be credited if they clearly linked to the scenario. Discuss consistency and flexibility as processes involved in minority influence. Marks for this question: AO1 = 3, AO3 = 5 [8 marks] Level Marks Description 4 7–8 Knowledge of consistency and flexibility as processes involved in minority influence is accurate with some detail. Discussion is thorough and effective. Minor detail and/or expansion of argument is sometimes lacking. The answer is clear, coherent and focused. Specialist terminology is used effectively. 3 5–6 Knowledge of consistency and flexibility as processes involved in minority influence is evident but there are occasional inaccuracies/omissions. Discussion is mostly effective. The answer is mostly clear and organised but occasionally lacks focus. Specialist terminology is used appropriately. 2 3–4 Limited knowledge of consistency and/or flexibility as processes involved in minority influence is present. Focus is mainly on description. Any discussion is of limited effectiveness. The answer lacks clarity, accuracy and organisation in places. Specialist terminology is used inappropriately on occasions. OR consistency or flexibility at Level 3/4. 1 1–2 Knowledge of consistency and/or flexibility as processes involved in minority influence is very limited. Discussion is limited, poorly focused or absent. The answer as a whole lacks clarity, has many inaccuracies and is poorly organised. Specialist terminology is either absent or inappropriately used. OR consistency or flexibility at Level 1/2. 0 No relevant content. Possible content: • consistency – repetition of a message leads to a majority questioning their view; consistency can be over time (diachronic) or between minority group members (synchronic) • flexibility – the minority should acknowledge/make concessions to the majority to avoid appearing too rigid/dogmatic. Minorities must strike a balance between consistency and flexibility to be successful • over time, consistency and/or flexibility gives the members of the majority an opportunity to listen to the minority view and adopt it as their own • description of relevant evidence. Accept other valid content. Possible discussion: • use of evidence to support/contradict processes, eg Moscovici et al (1969) – 8% of responses identified a blue slide as green when exposed to a consistent minority; Nemeth and Brilmayer (1987) – when a minority offered compromise in a jury situation, they were more likely to convince others of their view • lab studies of consistency/flexibility lack ecological validity – lack of differential power/status in lab situations; tasks are trivial, eg naming colour of slides, compared to real-life struggles of minorities • use of real-life examples to support wider discussion • contradictory nature of consistency and flexibility • discussion of alternative factors/processes, eg commitment; identification with the minority Accept other relevant discussion points. Section B Memory Briefly explain how the use of inferential statistics would improve this investigation. [3 marks] Marks for this question: AO3 = 3 1 mark each for any 3 of the following bullet points Content: • would allow the researcher to establish whether the relationship is significant/due to chance • allows the (alternative) hypothesis to be accepted/null to be rejected • can more accurately show the strength of the relationship • the researcher would more easily deduce the relationship than from a scattergram • to increase the scientific credibility/validity/objectivity of the research. Suggest an appropriate statistical test to improve this investigation. With reference to the study, outline two reasons for your choice of test. [5 marks] Marks for this question: AO3 = 5 1 mark for naming an appropriate test: Pearsons r (can also credit Spearman’s Rho) Note: if more than one test is given credit the first answer PLUS: For each of the following bullet points award: 2 marks for a clear and coherent reason linked to the investigation 1 mark for a limited/partial reason. Possible content: • analysing the relationship/correlation between the time elapsed and the number of nonsense words recalled in long-term memory – test of relationship/correlation • words were standardised (similar difficulty and length) and time is in fixed units, therefore it’s interval data OR alternative 2nd bullet point for Spearman’s Rho • some words could still be more difficult or memorable than others, suggesting the difference between words is not fixed/ equal, therefore the nonsense word list is to be treated as ordinal data Appropriate reasoning can be credited even if an incorrect test is named or no test is given. Outline two ways in which episodic memories are different from semantic memories. [4 marks] Marks for this question: AO1 = 4 For each difference award- 2 marks for a clear and coherent difference 1 mark for a limited/muddled difference Possible différences: • episodic memories are memories of (autobiographical) events in your life, semantic memories are memories of facts/general knowledge/the rules of language • episodic memories involve (contextual) knowledge of when (‘time-stamped’) and where the information was learnt; however, such information is not necessary for recall of semantic memories • episodic memories are more likely to involve the storage of emotional content in memory, such as how one felt at the time; however, such information is not necessarily encoded as part of semantic memories • episodic memories are generally based on an individual’s subjective experience whereas semantic memories are objective facts about the world. Credit other relevant differences. Note: Straightforward descriptions of each type of memory, without explicit/clear difference(s) maximum 1 mark