Predicted Paper 1, 16 Markers

Question 1

Evaluate Locus of Control

Answer 1

• It has supporting research by Holland. He repeated Milgram’s study and found that 37% of internals refused to go to 450 volts, compared to 23% of externals. This supports that internals are more likely to disobey.
• It does not take into account situational factors. This theory focuses too heavily on personality rather than the situation individuals are in. For example, Milgram and Zimbardo demonstrated that even people with Internal Locus of Control may obey if put into a highly pressurised situation (such as being arrested at your door, blindfolded, strip-searched etc)

Question 2

Evaluate Minority Influence

Answer 2

• It has real life examples. For example the suffragettes movement. They used consistency, commitment (many risked imprisonment and others risked death through extended hunger strikes) and flexibility, to alter public opinion. This supports the idea that minority influence is a valid explanation for how social change can occur
• It has supporting research by Moscovici. Moscovici’s blue-green slide study found that a consistent minority influenced participants to say green on 8.42% of trials. When the minority was inconsistent, conformity dropped to 1.25%.
• However, Moscovici’s study lacks ecological validity. It is a lab study and there were no serious consequences for agreeing or disagreeing with the minority group — participants could change their answer without fear of judgment, punishment, or social backlash.

Question 3

Evaluate the MSM

Answer 3

• It is oversimplified. It has been criticised for being to simple and not reflecting true memory. Instead it has been explained, by Baddeley and Hitch in the WMM, that STM is made up of different slave systems. Fore example, the central executive, episodic buffer, phonological loop and Visio-sketchpad. Additionally, it was suggested that LTM is made of different systems- episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory.
• It has supporting evidence from H.M. He has brain surgery to prevent his epilepsy. However, his hippocampus was damaged. It was found that he still had memories from before the surgery but could not add to his LTM. Additionally, he was still able to retain information in his STM. This showed that STM and LTM work independently and that memory moves in stages.
• It has supporting research by Baddeley, Miller, Peterson and Peterson and Bahrick. They support the structure of the MSM as they provided research into the coding, capacity and duration of STM and LTM. (Describe these)

Question 4

Evaluate the WMM

Answer 4

• It is a more accurate and detailed explanation of STM. For example it explains that STM memory is made up of the central executive, episodic buffer, phonological loop and Visio-spatial sketchpad. (Explain their role)
• It has supporting research by K.F. He suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident. KF could recall visual information but not verbal/auditory information. This shows that the phonological loop and Visio-spatial sketchpad are separate slave systems.
• Research into the WMM is artificial. Dual tasks were used to test whether the different slave systems of the WMM work independently. This involves asking a participant to carry out 2 tasks which use 2 different slave systems. For example, a task which uses the phonological loop and another which uses the Visio-spatial sketchpad. Although it supports that the WMM slave systems work independently, tasks participants were asked to carry out did not reflect real life memory. For example; reading a list of words aloud while tracking a moving object on a screen.

Question 5

Evaluate the Cognitive Interview

Answer 5

• It is time consuming and requires training. The cognitive interview takes much longer than standard interviews due to its structure. Additionally, officers need extensive training to carry it out properly. Therefore it can become less effective and consistent in everyday use.
• However this focus on refinement/perfection, has meant that it has been found to be effective. It was found that participants who experienced the cognitive interview recalled more accurate information than those who had a standard police interview, found that Cognitive Interview increases correct recall by around 34% and reduces the use of leading questions, which standard interviews often rely on.

Question 6

Evaluate Research into Cultural Variations

Answer 6

• Van Ljizenburg and Kroonenburg had a large sample size. (32 studies, across 8 countries, involving 2000 infants). This increased population validity and reduces the impact of anomalies and or bias.
• Temporal Validity. Van Ljizenburg and Kroonenburg did their study in 1988. Since then there has been globalisation; western ideas of parenting has spread to non western cultures. As a result, cultural variations of attachment may have shrank.
• This is supported by Simonella et al who found that attachment types in Italy changed as culture changed (more working mothers). Traditionally the main attachment type was secure attachment but Simonella found that now it is insecure avoidant.

Question 7

Evaluate Harlow’s Monkeys

Answer 7

• Not generalisable to humans.

Question 8

Evaluate the Biological Explanations for OCD

Question 9

Evaluate Drug Therapies in Treating OCD

Answer 9

• Time efficient.
• Non invasive