Pre-course task for 2015 entry
AS Psychology
Why do I need to complete a pre-course task?
As AS Psychology is a science involving some mathematical analysis, we will assess your
ability to interpret and analyse statistical data.
When should I hand it in?
You should have completed this task by Monday 29th June which is our Welcome Day; you will
shortly be receiving an invite to this event. You should hand it in to your subject workshop
leader on this day. Please ensure your name is written on the top of every page of work you
produce.
How will I be given feedback on how well I have done?
This work comprises an element of the assessment used during induction.
If you have any queries about this task, please contact me at the following e-mail address:
t.holland@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
We look forward to meeting you in September.
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
The task
Interpretation and analysis of statistical data. Please ensure your answers are handwritten as
much as possible.
Your Name :
1 Look at the table below which contains some examples of ways to analyse data.
Description
Calculated by looking at the middle score in a set of
data after the data has been put into ascending order
Calculated by finding the most frequently occurring
score
Calculated by adding up all of the scores and dividing
the total by the number of participants
Term
From the following list of terms, choose the one that matches each description and write A, B, C or D in
the box next to the correct description.
A Mean
B Mode
C Median
D Range
(3 marks)
2 A psychology teacher had an idea that students who study drama are more extravert than students
who do not study drama. She wanted to find out whether or not this is true and decided to conduct an
experiment. This is what she did.
● She asked all 30 members of her Year 11 psychology class whether or not they studied drama. She
discovered that half of her class did study drama.
● After obtaining their consent to take part in the experiment, she asked every member of her class to
complete the EPI (a personality test). The test measures extraversion. The higher the score, the more
extravert a person is.
● She calculated the mean extraversion score for the students who studied drama and the mean
extraversion score for the students who did not study drama.
2 (a) Write a suitable hypothesis for this study.
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(2 marks)
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
The results of the study are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: The mean extraversion scores out of 50 for students who studied drama and for
students who did not study drama
Students who studied drama
Mean extraversion score
40
Students who did not study
drama
20
2 (b) Use the graph paper below to display the mean extraversion scores shown in Table 1.
Provide a suitable title and fully label your graph.
Title: ...................................................................................................................................
(5 marks)
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
2 (c) (i) Do the results of the investigation provide support for what the psychology teacher was
trying to find out? (Tick the correct box.)
Yes
No
(1 mark)
2 (c) (ii) Explain the reason for your answer to 2 (c) (i). Refer to the aim and results of the study
in your explanation.
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(3 marks)
3 (a) Tick the correct column for each statement.
Statement
Never
True
Sometimes
True
Always
True
An impossible event has a probability of –1
An event which is unlikely has a probability
of 0.75
An event which is certain has a probability
of 1
(3 marks)
3 (b) Put these probabilities in order starting with the lowest.
0.3
1/3
Lowest
33%
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Highest
…………………
(2 marks)
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
4 A bag only contains red and blue counters.
It contains 24 red counters.
A counter is chosen at random from the bag.
The probability of choosing a blue counter is 1/4.
How many counters are in the bag? Show your workings.
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Answer ......................................................................
(3 marks)
5 Studying Psychology involves analysing research and drawing conclusions from data. You need to go
onto the internet to find out about a particular Psychology experiment.
The research you need to find is the Loftus and Palmer (1974) study on leading questions and
eyewitness testimony. You will be able to find a description of this study on the internet.
a)
Outline what happened in the research and what they found.
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Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
b) What do you think they were trying to find out by doing this research?
c) Why do you think they conducted this experiment in a laboratory?
d) What do you think are the problems with studying people’s behaviour in a set-up situation like a
laboratory?
e)
Ecological validity means that a study is representative of real life. Do you think this study has
ecological validity and why/why not?
f)
Demand characteristics occur when research participants are aware that they are taking part in
a study, and change their behaviour. Do you think this study would have suffered from demand
characteristics? Why/why not?
g)
Sample bias: look at the sample of participants involved in this study. Who were they, and
where were they from? Might this have affected the results?
Glossary of terms.
 Eyewitness testimony - how accurate we are at remembering events we have just seen.
 Laboratory experiment - where a situation is set up under controlled conditions to see how
people behave in certain situations.
 Leading questions – when a question seems to suggest what the correct answer might be.
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
6 A Psychology student had an idea for a memory experiment. He thought that people who were born in
England would remember the names of English towns and cities better than the names of French towns
and cities. He wanted to see whether or not this was true. This is what he did.
● He selected the names of 10 English towns and cities; for example, Bristol, Leeds, Bradford, Hull.
● He selected the names of 10 French towns and cities; for example, Paris, Nice, Orleans, Lille.
● He then put the 20 names into one list using a process of randomisation.
6 (a) Describe how the student could randomise the list of 20 names.
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(3 marks)
The student decided that his target population would be all Year 11 students who were born in England.
He selected his sample by going into his school canteen and asking Year 11 students whether or not
they were born in England. He chose the first 10 students who said “Yes” as his sample.
6 (b) (i) What sampling method did the student use?
(Tick the correct box.)
Random
Opportunity
Systematic
Stratified
(1 mark)
6 (b) (ii) Identify one advantage and one limitation of the sampling method you selected in 5 (b) (i).
Advantage
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Limitation
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(2 marks)
The student then conducted his experiment using standardised procedures. This is what he did.
● He took participants individually to a quiet area.
● He gave participants one minute to study the list of 20 towns and cities.
● He removed the list.
● He gave participants one minute to write the names of as many towns and cities that they could recall
from the list.
● He then counted the number of English towns and cities, and the number of French towns and cities
that each participant recalled.
6 (c) Write a suitable hypothesis for this experiment.
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(2 marks)
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
6 (d) Identify the experimental design used in this experiment. (Tick the correct box.)
Independent groups
Matched pairs
Repeated measures
(1 mark)
6 (e) (i) Identify the independent variable in this experiment. (Tick the correct box.)
Whether or not the participants were born in England
Whether the towns and cities were English or French
(1 mark)
6 (e) (ii) Identify the dependent variable in this experiment.
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(1 mark)
6 (f) Explain why it was important for the student to use standardised procedures with each participant in
this experiment.
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(3 marks)
6 (g) The results of the experiment are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: The number of English towns and cities and the number of French towns and cities
recalled by each participant.
Participant
Number of English
Number of French
towns and cities
towns and cities
1
7
7
2
6
5
3
7
6
4
7
6
5
8
8
6
6
4
7
8
7
8
1
9
9
9
8
10
8
7
6 (g) (i) Identify the participant with anomalous scores.
Participant number……………………
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk
(1 mark)
6 (g) (ii) Calculate the total number of English towns and cities and the total number of French towns
and cities recalled in this experiment.
English: ................
French: .................
(2 marks)
6 (g) (iii) Explain how the anomalous scores have affected the totals that you have calculated in your
answer to 6 (g) (ii).
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(3 marks)
Huddersfield New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
Telephone: 01484 652341 email: info@huddnewcoll.ac.uk
www.huddnewcoll.ac.uk