Cambridge International AS & A Level

PSYCHOLOGY

Estimated time: 1 hour

INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 37.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
PAPER 1 Approaches, Issues and Debates

1. From the study by Piliavin et al. (subway Samaritans):

Name one factor Piliavin aimed to investigate that affected helping behaviour on a New York subway
train.

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2. From the study by Dement and Kleitman (sleep and dreams):

Outline one piece of quantitative data and one piece of qualitative data that Dement and Kleitman
collected.

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3. From the study by Andrade et al. (doodling):

Explain why the study by Andrade is from the cognitive approach.

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4. Ellie believes that the findings from Bandura et al.’s study supports the individual side of the debate
but Sri believes it supports the situational side of the debate.

Outline why you think either Ellie or Sri is correct using evidence from the study.

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PAPER 2 Research Methods

5. A hypothesis is ‘There will be no difference between how quickly men and women blink in response
to a flash of light’.

Name this type of hypothesis.

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6. The research by Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) was a case study. It used a variety of
techniques including interviews and a scale (the feelings thermometer).

Suggest one strength of using a variety of techniques in a case study.

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7. Explain one strength and one weakness of using volunteer sampling to recruit the Group 1
participants with HFA/AS in the research by Baron-Cohen et al. (eye test).

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8. Elise is investigating whether children learn food preferences from their parents. She is conducting a
self-report study to compare the food preferences of children and their parents.

(a) When children answer questions about food they do not like, it could make them feel upset about
their food preferences.

Explain which ethical guideline Elise is concerned about here.

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(b) Elise believes that learning is the only factor affecting the children’s food preferences.

Suggest why Elise’s belief could lower the validity of her study. .

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PAPER 3 & 4 Specialist Options: Theory & application (only cover schizophrenia and mood
disorder)

9. Schizophrenia

(a) Describe how Freeman measured persecutory ideation in this study.

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(b) Jameela has schizophrenia. She experiences hallucinations and is very socially withdrawn. Her
doctor explains to her family that her symptoms may be caused by an imbalance of dopamine in
her brain.

Explain the dopamine hypothesis with reference to Jameela’s symptoms.

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10. Depression can be treated with medical treatments and it can be managed with psychological
treatments. Medical treatments include the use of electro‐convulsive therapy (ECT) and chemical/
drug treatments. Depression can also be treated psychologically.

(a) Suggest one weakness of this chemical/drug treatment for depression.

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(b) Outline two psychological treatments for depression.

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(c) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using ECT for the treatment of depression. You should
include a conclusion in your answer.

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