JANUARY TRIAL EXAM
FEEDBACK 2015
A2 Psychology: Year 13
GRADE BOUNDARIES /83
A – 54
B – 47
C – 41
D – 35
E – 29
SECTION B: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR (24 MARKS)
13. Sam has recently left school and started work.
His new job is monotonous and he often feels
bored. On the way home from work, he and his
new workmates call at the betting shop and place
a couple of bets. Sam has a few wins in the first
week and finds the atmosphere exciting. He
starts to visit the betting shop after work most
days, and is now spending over half of his wages
on gambling.
Using your knowledge of the psychology of
addictive behaviour, explain some of the reasons
for Sam’s addiction to gambling. (10 marks)
QUESTION 13: ‘SAM’ SCENARIO
A02/A03 – the question requires candidates to
apply their psychological knowledge of addictive
behaviour to the given scenario.
The scenario provides a number of ‘clues’ as to the
cause of Sam’s addiction to gambling.
Material from both sub-sections of the specification
can receive credit (i.e. approaches and risk
factors) but only if there is evidence of these
explanations in the text provided.
EXAMINER MARK BANDS
0 marks
No creditworthy material is presented.
1-2 marks
Rudimentary – Very limited understanding,
answer is weak/muddled and may be largely
irrelevant. Written expression is confusing.
3-5 marks
Basic – Superficial understanding, answer is
sometimes focused, written expression lacks
clarity.
EXAMINER MARK BANDS
6-8 marks
Reasonable – Reasonable understanding, answer is
generally focused, most ideas are appropriately
structured and expressed clearly.
9-10 marks
Effective – Sound understanding, answer is well
focused and effective, ideas are well structured
and expressed clearly and fluently.
MARK BAND LIMITATIONS
For candidates to access the higher mark bands
they must engage clearly and consistently with
the scenario
E.g. by giving direct ‘quotations’ from the scenario
as evidence to support their points.
If candidates select relevant explanations but do
not apply these to the scenario they should be
awarded a maximum of 4 marks.
RELEVANT EXPLANATIONS THAT CAN
RECEIVE CREDIT
Risk factors
1.
Age – ‘Sam has recently left school’ – research has suggested
that people of a younger age are often more influenced by their
peers.
2.
Peers – ‘new workmates’ – Social Identity Theory – Sam may
gamble to fit in with and become a part of the social identity of
his new group of friends from work.
3.
Personality – ‘his new job is monotonous and he often feels
bored’ and ‘finds the atmosphere very exciting’ – Eysenck’s
theory of personality suggests individuals with the trait of
extraversion (i.e. become bored easily) are more likely to take
part in activities, like gambling, which increase brain arousal
(i.e. sensation-seeking behaviour).
EXAMINER ADVICE
Risk factors
There is no direct evidence in the scenario that suggests
Sam is experiencing ‘stress.’ Being bored doesn’t
necessarily mean he is stressed.
Therefore ‘stress’ as a risk factor would receive no
credit for this question.
Remember only use explanations that you can support
with evidence from the scenario – do not infer!
RELEVANT EXPLANATIONS THAT CAN
RECEIVE CREDIT
Approaches
1.
Learning approach – ‘he and his new workmates call
at the betting shop and place a couple of bets’ – Social
Learning Theory. Sam may see his new workmates as
role models and therefore observes their gambling
behaviour and imitates it in order to fit in and reap the
same rewards as them e.g. social approval/acceptance
and financial gain.
2.
Learning approach – ‘Sam has a few wins in the first
week and finds the atmosphere very exciting’ – Operant
conditioning – positive reinforcement. Sam has received
rewards from gambling (financial gain and the feeling of
anticipation/rush of adrenaline) which encourage him to
repeat the addictive behaviour again.
RELEVANT EXPLANATIONS THAT CAN
RECEIVE CREDIT
Approaches
1.
Cognitive approach – ‘he often feels bored’ and ‘finds the
atmosphere very exciting’ – Coping and Expectancies. Sam may
use gambling as a way of coping with the boredom he
experiences at work. Sam may also have the expectancy that
gambling will relieve this boredom and that he will get an
adrenaline rush from the anticipation associated with
gambling, as he finds the atmosphere ‘very exciting.’
2.
Biological approach (biochemical) – ‘finds the atmosphere
very exciting’ – When Sam gambles he experiences a rush of
adrenaline and the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway in
the brain is activated so that Sam experiences pleasure when
gambling. A long-term memory is created linking this
adrenaline rush/pleasure with gambling encouraging Sam to
continue with the addictive behaviour.
EXAMINER ADVICE
There is no evidence in the scenario that Sam has a low
mood (i.e. depression) OR that he is experiencing
financial/social/medical problems.
It does say that he is ‘bored’ and that he ‘is now
spending over half of his wages on gambling.’
However this does not mean that he is depressed or
having financial problems.
Therefore using Beck’s ‘vicious circle’ will receive no
credit for this scenario.
EXAMINER ADVICE
There is no evidence in the scenario that there is a
genetic cause of Sam’s gambling addiction.
Therefore using the genetic explanation (i.e. the A1
variant of DRD²) will receive no credit for this
scenario.
SECTION B: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR (24 MARKS)
14. Outline the theory of planned behaviour
as a model for addiction prevention. (4
marks)
QUESTION 14
A01: description of the theory of planned behaviour
(Ajzen, 1985) as a model for addiction prevention.
Diagrams of TPB can receive credit.
Maximum of 3 marks awarded if there is no
reference to addiction prevention in the answer.
For 4 marks students must outline the theory and
explain how it could be used to prevent addictive
behaviour.
EXAMINER MARK SCHEME
0 marks – No creditworthy material.
1 mark – Rudimentary – K&U are rudimentary and
may be very brief/muddled/inaccurate.
2 marks – Basic – K&U are basic/relatively superficial
and organisation/structure are basic.
3 marks – Reasonable – K&U are generally accurate
and reasonably detailed. Organisation and structure
of answer are reasonably clear.
4 marks – Effective – K&U are accurate and well
detailed. Organisation and structure of the answer
are coherent.
EXEMPLAR ANSWER
The theory of planned behaviour (_________, 1985) is a ___________ theory
consisting of __________ factors that lead to an individual’s decision to engage
in a particular behaviour, i.e. an addictive behaviour like ___________.
According to this theory an individual’s decision to engage in an addictive
behaviour can be directly predicted by their ____________ to engage in that
behaviour. Intention is a function of three factors; behavioural __________,
subjective _________, and perceived behavioural ____________. Behavioural
attitude refers to the individual’s beliefs about the addictive behaviour and the
associated ________________ of that behaviour, both positive and negative.
Subjective norms refer to the individual’s subjective ________________ of the
social norms related to the addictive behaviour as well as their own beliefs
about how significant others would _________ the behaviour. Perceived
behavioural control is linked to ________________; it relates to the individual’s
perceived control over the addictive behaviour and their ability to
____________the behaviour. Therefore in order to prevent addiction we must
consider the factors that contribute to an individual’s intention and
____________these factors e.g. changing behavioural attitudes about the
addictive behaviour from ___________ to negative in order to ____________
addiction.
awareness
three
prevent
intention
manipulate
attitude
self-efficacy
control
view
positive
cognitive
norms
Ajzen
consequences
manage
smoking
SECTION B: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR (24 MARKS)
15. Discuss the effectiveness of public
health interventions in reducing addictive
behaviour. (4 marks + 6 marks)
Discuss = outline and evaluate.
EXAMINER MARK SCHEME
(A01)
0 marks – No creditworthy material.
1 mark – Rudimentary – K&U are rudimentary and may be
very brief/muddled/inaccurate. Lacks organisation and
structure.
2 marks – Basic – K&U are basic/relatively superficial and
organisation/structure are basic.
3 marks – Reasonable – K&U are generally accurate and
reasonably detailed. Organisation and structure of answer
are reasonably clear.
4 marks – Sound – K&U are accurate and well detailed.
Organisation and structure of the answer are coherent.
A01 (4 MARKS)
Candidates should describe one or more public health
interventions aimed at reducing/preventing addiction.



PHIs are interventions by governments and voluntary
organisations designed to prevent or treat addictions.
They are targeted at the population (large groups of
people).
Examples include ‘No Smoking Day’, ‘Stoptober’,
‘Scared and Worried Campaigns,’ ‘Dry January’, mass
media strategies, advertising, voluntary workplace
bans, price increase and health education.
Candidates should describe these PHIs in as much
detail as possible.
EXAMINER MARK SCHEME
(A02)
0 marks – No creditworthy material.
1 mark – Rudimentary – Very limited understanding,
answer is weak/muddled/incomplete. Material is not
used effectively and mainly irrelevant. Expression is
confused. Answer lacks structure. Errors of SPAG are
frequent and intrusive.
2-3 marks – Basic – Superficial understanding. Answer
is sometimes focused and shows some evidence of
elaboration. Expression of ideas lack clarity. Limited
used of psychological terminology. Errors of SPAG are
intrusive.
EXAMINER MARK SCHEME
(A02)
4-5 marks – Reasonable – analysis and understanding
are reasonable. Answer is generally focused and
shows reasonable elaboration. Most ideas are
appropriately structured and expressed clearly.
Appropriate use of psychological terminology. Minor
errors of SPAG occasionally compromise meaning.
6 marks – Effective – sound analysis, understanding
and interpretation. The answer is well focused and
shows coherent elaboration and a clear line of
argument. Ideas are well structured and expressed
clearly/fluently. Consistently effective use of
psychological terminology. Appropriate used of SPAG.
A02
Discussion of the effectiveness of public health
interventions – do they reduce/prevent addictive
behaviours like smoking/gambling/alcohol addiction?
Candidates should refer to relevant research evidence
that support the effectiveness of PHIs.



‘No Smoking Day’ – Kotz et al (2011); Elton and
Campbell (2008).
‘Stoptober’ – Yen (1999).
‘Scared and Worried Campaign’ – Keller et al (1996).
Answers which do not refer to relevant research
are unlikely to receive a mark above basic (i.e.
2-3).
A02
Candidates may also discuss methodological issues
with research evidence e.g. use of self-report
techniques.
Candidates can compare PHIs with biological (i.e.
drugs) and/or psychological (i.e. CBT)
interventions to receive A02 credit.
Candidates can also discuss the problem of
establishing cause and effect as many PHIs run
concurrently.
ADDITIONAL A02



Difficult to define ‘effectiveness’ – is it a
reduction in the addictive behaviour or
complete abstinence?
Effectiveness may depend on type of
addiction e.g. chemical or behavioural.
Which intervention is most effective? Most
likely a combination of PHI, biological and
psychological.