KEY
NGRI- not guilty with reasons of insanity
CPT - continuous performance task
PFC- prefrontal cortex
NTs- neurotransmitters
SSRIs- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
STM- short term memory
LTM- long term memory
GABA- gamma-aminobutyric acid (don’t need to know)
SZ- schizophrenia
PPTS- participants
SLT- social learning theory
VTA- ventral tegmental area ( don't need to know
,Assess correlational research (8m)
AO1
- A correlation measures the extent to which two variables change together.
- It describes the relationship between two co-variables, with no independent or
dependent variables because neither is controlled by the researcher.
- A positive correlation means both variables increase or decrease together, while a
negative correlation means one variable increases as the other decreases.7
- The strength of a correlation is shown by the correlation coefficient, which ranges
from -1.0 to +1.0. +1 means a perfect positive correlation,
- -1 means perfect negative, and 0 means no correlation.
- Values between 0.0 and ±0.3 are weak, ±0.3 to ±0.7 moderate, and above ±0.7
strong.
AO3
- One strength is that correlations allow us to study relationships where experiments
would be unethical.
- For example, it would be unethical to make people smoke to study lung capacity, but
a correlation can show a negative relationship between cigarettes smoked and lung
function.
- This means correlations are ethically sound because no manipulation or harm is
caused.
CA:
- However, a weakness is that correlations cannot prove cause and effect.
- They only show a link between variables, but a third variable might be causing both.
- For example, a correlation between watching violent TV and aggression in children
could actually be due to parenting style.
- This means conclusions about causality can be incorrect or misleading.
AO3
- Correlational studies also have high reliability because they often use standardised
methods that can be repeated.
- For example, self-report questionnaires are used consistently to measure variables,
so the study can be replicated to check if the same results occur again, improving
consistency.
CA:
, - However one problem with correlations is that they sometimes use secondary data,
like hospital records, which might be outdated or biased.
- For example, hospital records of drug use could be incomplete or underreported,
making the data unreliable and limiting valid conclusions.
AO3
- Another strength is that participant variables are controlled because the same person
provides data for both variables.
- This means individual differences like IQ won’t affect the relationship found.
- For example, when measuring correlation between stress and sleep in the same
people, IQ differences won’t impact the results.
CA:
- A weakness is that correlations often rely on self-report measures,
- which can cause social desirability bias.
- Participants might lie or underreport behaviours like drug use or aggression to look
better, which lowers the validity of the findings.
CONCLU/APPLICATION
- Overall, correlational research is useful because it helps identify important
relationships that can lead to further experimental research.
- It is especially helpful in fields where experiments are unethical or impractical, such
as health or education.
- Correlations can guide understanding of behaviour and inform future studies or
interventions.
, Assess your practical investigation (8m)
AIM
- To investigate the relationship between average hours of sleep and aggression,
measured using the Buss and Perry questionnaire.
SAMPLE
- 20 participants (6 males, 14 females) from your school and area,
- aged 16–17 years,
- selected using opportunity sampling.
VARIABLES
- Co-variable 1: Sleep (hours and minutes)
- Co-variable 2: Aggression score (out of 145)
PROCEDURE
- Informed consent was gained from participants, and they had the right to withdraw at
any time. Confidentiality was maintained.
- For three consecutive nights, participants set a timer just before sleeping and
stopped it when waking.
- They recorded the amount of sleep each night in hours and minutes.
- Each morning at 10 am, participants completed the Buss and Perry questionnaire,
rating each question from 1 (extremely uncharacteristic) to 5 (extremely
characteristic).
- Scores out of 145 were recorded daily.
- Then, average aggression scores and average sleep hours were calculated.
- After the study, participants were debriefed about the study purpose, reminded of the
right to withdraw, and given contact information for support services and the
researcher.
RESULTS
- The critical value was 0.38 and the observed value was 0.21.
- This means there was no significant negative correlation between hours of sleep and
aggression at the 5% significance level.
AO3
NGRI- not guilty with reasons of insanity
CPT - continuous performance task
PFC- prefrontal cortex
NTs- neurotransmitters
SSRIs- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
STM- short term memory
LTM- long term memory
GABA- gamma-aminobutyric acid (don’t need to know)
SZ- schizophrenia
PPTS- participants
SLT- social learning theory
VTA- ventral tegmental area ( don't need to know
,Assess correlational research (8m)
AO1
- A correlation measures the extent to which two variables change together.
- It describes the relationship between two co-variables, with no independent or
dependent variables because neither is controlled by the researcher.
- A positive correlation means both variables increase or decrease together, while a
negative correlation means one variable increases as the other decreases.7
- The strength of a correlation is shown by the correlation coefficient, which ranges
from -1.0 to +1.0. +1 means a perfect positive correlation,
- -1 means perfect negative, and 0 means no correlation.
- Values between 0.0 and ±0.3 are weak, ±0.3 to ±0.7 moderate, and above ±0.7
strong.
AO3
- One strength is that correlations allow us to study relationships where experiments
would be unethical.
- For example, it would be unethical to make people smoke to study lung capacity, but
a correlation can show a negative relationship between cigarettes smoked and lung
function.
- This means correlations are ethically sound because no manipulation or harm is
caused.
CA:
- However, a weakness is that correlations cannot prove cause and effect.
- They only show a link between variables, but a third variable might be causing both.
- For example, a correlation between watching violent TV and aggression in children
could actually be due to parenting style.
- This means conclusions about causality can be incorrect or misleading.
AO3
- Correlational studies also have high reliability because they often use standardised
methods that can be repeated.
- For example, self-report questionnaires are used consistently to measure variables,
so the study can be replicated to check if the same results occur again, improving
consistency.
CA:
, - However one problem with correlations is that they sometimes use secondary data,
like hospital records, which might be outdated or biased.
- For example, hospital records of drug use could be incomplete or underreported,
making the data unreliable and limiting valid conclusions.
AO3
- Another strength is that participant variables are controlled because the same person
provides data for both variables.
- This means individual differences like IQ won’t affect the relationship found.
- For example, when measuring correlation between stress and sleep in the same
people, IQ differences won’t impact the results.
CA:
- A weakness is that correlations often rely on self-report measures,
- which can cause social desirability bias.
- Participants might lie or underreport behaviours like drug use or aggression to look
better, which lowers the validity of the findings.
CONCLU/APPLICATION
- Overall, correlational research is useful because it helps identify important
relationships that can lead to further experimental research.
- It is especially helpful in fields where experiments are unethical or impractical, such
as health or education.
- Correlations can guide understanding of behaviour and inform future studies or
interventions.
, Assess your practical investigation (8m)
AIM
- To investigate the relationship between average hours of sleep and aggression,
measured using the Buss and Perry questionnaire.
SAMPLE
- 20 participants (6 males, 14 females) from your school and area,
- aged 16–17 years,
- selected using opportunity sampling.
VARIABLES
- Co-variable 1: Sleep (hours and minutes)
- Co-variable 2: Aggression score (out of 145)
PROCEDURE
- Informed consent was gained from participants, and they had the right to withdraw at
any time. Confidentiality was maintained.
- For three consecutive nights, participants set a timer just before sleeping and
stopped it when waking.
- They recorded the amount of sleep each night in hours and minutes.
- Each morning at 10 am, participants completed the Buss and Perry questionnaire,
rating each question from 1 (extremely uncharacteristic) to 5 (extremely
characteristic).
- Scores out of 145 were recorded daily.
- Then, average aggression scores and average sleep hours were calculated.
- After the study, participants were debriefed about the study purpose, reminded of the
right to withdraw, and given contact information for support services and the
researcher.
RESULTS
- The critical value was 0.38 and the observed value was 0.21.
- This means there was no significant negative correlation between hours of sleep and
aggression at the 5% significance level.
AO3
