A Level
A Level Paper 1: Psychopathology and Social Influence
Conformity and minority influence, obedience and social change, definitions of abnormality and phobias, depression and OCD, plus research methods and statistics.
Questions
Question 1 [2 marks]
Obedience and Social Change
Define 'moral strain' in the context of obedience research.
Question 2 [3 marks]
Depression and OCD
Outline one cognitive characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Question 3 [4 marks]
Research Methods and Statistics
Outline one strength and one limitation of using observations in psychological research.
Question 4 [4 marks]
Definitions of Abnormality and Phobias
Outline the 'statistical infrequency' definition of abnormality, including one limitation.
Question 5 [4 marks]
Depression and OCD
Outline cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for depression, with reference to Beck's approach.
Question 6 [4 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
Outline two explanations for why people conform, and briefly explain how they differ from each other.
Question 7 [4 marks]
Obedience and Social Change
Explain two limitations of Milgram's original study in terms of its sample.
Question 8 [4 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
At an unfamiliar restaurant overseas, Sam cannot read the menu and orders exactly the same dish as the rest of his group, assuming they must know which dishes are good.
Use your knowledge of informational social influence to explain Sam's behaviour.
Question 9 [4 marks]
Obedience and Social Change
Tom works in a warehouse. His new manager instructs him to falsify a delivery record. Tom feels uncomfortable but does it anyway, telling himself he was 'just following instructions'.
Use the agentic state explanation of obedience to explain Tom's behaviour.
Question 10 [4 marks]
Research Methods and Statistics
Explain one strength and one limitation of using a repeated measures design, compared with an independent groups design.
Question 11 [5 marks]
Obedience and Social Change
Nadia is stacking shelves in a supermarket when a man wearing a branded uniform and ID badge tells her to move a display to another aisle. Nadia does this immediately, even though she has never been introduced to him.
Use your knowledge of situational explanations of obedience to explain Nadia's behaviour.
Question 12 [6 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
Discuss one limitation of research into conformity, using an example from a named study to support your answer.
Question 13 [6 marks]
Depression and OCD
Discuss biological explanations for depression, including genetic and neural factors.
Question 14 [6 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
Discuss research into minority influence, including reference to at least one named study.
Model solutions
| Question 1[2 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying moral strain as the discomfort/anxiety felt when a person's actions conflict with their own conscience or moral values | 1 |
| noting this is commonly reported by participants who obey an order they personally disagree with, e.g. in Milgram's study | 1 |
| Final answer: Moral strain is the discomfort or anxiety felt when carrying out an action that conflicts with one's own conscience, as reported by many of Milgram's participants. | |
| Question 2[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a suitable cognitive characteristic, e.g. obsessive thoughts | 1 |
| elaborating that these are recurrent, intrusive thoughts that the person finds difficult to ignore | 1 |
| noting the thoughts cause significant anxiety, which drives the compulsive behaviour | 1 |
| Final answer: Obsessive thoughts are recurrent, intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety and drive compulsive behaviour aimed at reducing that anxiety. | |
| Question 3[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| a suitable strength, e.g. naturalistic observations can have high ecological validity since behaviour is observed in its natural setting | 1 |
| elaborating the strength, e.g. participants behave more naturally when unaware of being observed, as in a covert observation | 1 |
| a suitable limitation, e.g. observations do not allow cause and effect to be established, since variables are not controlled/manipulated | 1 |
| elaborating the limitation, e.g. observer bias may also affect what behaviour is recorded/interpreted as occurring | 1 |
| Final answer: Strength: naturalistic observation can have high ecological validity, especially when covert and participants behave naturally. Limitation: cause and effect cannot be established because variables are not controlled, and observer bias can affect recording. | |
| Question 4[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that this definition classes a behaviour as abnormal when it is statistically rare/uncommon in the population | 1 |
| a suitable example, e.g. a very low IQ score being classed as abnormal because few people score that low | 1 |
| identifying a limitation, e.g. some statistically rare behaviours are not undesirable or in need of treatment | 1 |
| a suitable example of the limitation, e.g. having a very high IQ is equally rare but is not usually considered abnormal | 1 |
| Final answer: Statistical infrequency defines abnormality as being rare in the population, e.g. a very low IQ score; a key limitation is that some rare traits, such as a very high IQ, are equally uncommon but not undesirable. | |
| Question 5[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying CBT as aiming to identify and change negative or irrational thoughts and beliefs | 1 |
| outlining that, in Beck's approach, client and therapist work together to identify negative automatic thoughts linked to the cognitive triad | 1 |
| outlining that these thoughts are then tested against evidence, with the client acting like a scientist testing a hypothesis | 1 |
| noting the aim is to replace negative thinking with more balanced, realistic thoughts to reduce depressive symptoms | 1 |
| Final answer: CBT, following Beck's approach, identifies negative automatic thoughts linked to the cognitive triad and tests them against evidence, aiming to replace them with more balanced, realistic thoughts. | |
| Question 6[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying informational social influence (ISI): conforming because we believe others are right, especially in ambiguous situations | 1 |
| identifying normative social influence (NSI): conforming to be liked and accepted, and to avoid rejection | 1 |
| elaboration or a suitable example of either ISI or NSI | 1 |
| a clear point of difference between ISI (wanting to be right) and NSI (wanting to belong) | 1 |
| Final answer: ISI is conforming to be right, especially in ambiguous situations; NSI is conforming to be liked and accepted; they differ in whether the change is driven by accepting information as correct or by wanting social approval. | |
| Question 7[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that the sample consisted only of American men | 1 |
| elaborating that this limits population validity, since findings may not generalise to women or to other cultures | 1 |
| identifying that participants volunteered in response to a newspaper advertisement | 1 |
| elaborating that this may have produced a sample with unusually obedient characteristics, further limiting generalisability to the wider population | 1 |
| Final answer: The sample was all American men, limiting generalisability to women or other cultures, and consisted of volunteers responding to an advert, who may not represent the wider population in their obedience. | |
| Question 8[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying Sam's behaviour as an example of informational social influence | 1 |
| explaining that the unfamiliar, ambiguous situation increases his uncertainty about the right choice | 1 |
| explaining that Sam looks to the group as a source of information, assuming they know more than he does | 1 |
| noting Sam's agreement is likely to involve internalisation, since he may now genuinely believe the dish is a good choice, not just publicly go along with it | 1 |
| Final answer: Sam's behaviour reflects informational social influence: the unfamiliar, ambiguous menu increases his uncertainty, so he uses the group as a source of information, assuming they know better, and may genuinely come to believe (internalise) that the chosen dish is a good one. | |
| Question 9[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying the agentic state as acting on behalf of another, an authority figure, rather than from personal conscience | 1 |
| applying this to Tom, who shifts responsibility for the act onto his manager | 1 |
| identifying the moral strain Tom experiences (discomfort) as consistent with being in an agentic state | 1 |
| noting the phrase 'just following instructions' reflects an agentic shift away from an autonomous state | 1 |
| Final answer: Tom appears to have entered an agentic state, obeying his manager and shifting responsibility onto them, which explains both his compliance and his discomfort (moral strain). | |
| Question 10[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a strength, e.g. participant variables are controlled since the same people take part in every condition | 1 |
| elaborating, e.g. this removes individual differences as a confounding variable between conditions | 1 |
| identifying a limitation, e.g. order effects, such as practice or fatigue, may affect performance in a later condition | 1 |
| elaborating, e.g. counterbalancing can reduce, but may not fully remove, this problem | 1 |
| Final answer: Strength: repeated measures controls for participant variables by using the same people in every condition. Limitation: order effects, such as practice or fatigue, can be reduced but not fully removed by counterbalancing. | |
| Question 11[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that the uniform and ID badge act as symbols of legitimate authority | 1 |
| explaining that these symbols lead Nadia to assume the man has the right to instruct her, even without prior introduction | 1 |
| linking this to research on uniform increasing obedience to instructions from a stranger | 1 |
| noting Nadia's immediate compliance is consistent with entering an agentic state, carrying out the order without question | 1 |
| a suitable further point, e.g. the setting (her own workplace) also increases the plausibility of his authority, further raising obedience | 1 |
| Final answer: Nadia obeys because the uniform and ID badge act as legitimate authority symbols, leading her to assume the man has the right to instruct her; this, combined with the plausible workplace setting, is consistent with an agentic shift into unquestioning compliance. | |
| Question 12[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a limitation, e.g. Asch's research lacks temporal validity, since it was conducted in the 1950s | 1 |
| explaining why this matters, e.g. conformity may be lower today, since individualism has increased in Western societies since the 1950s | 1 |
| reference to supporting evidence, e.g. later replications finding lower conformity rates than Asch's original study | 1 |
| identifying a further limitation, e.g. Asch's sample consisted only of American men, limiting generalisability | 1 |
| explaining the implication, e.g. findings may not apply equally to women or to more collectivist cultures, where conformity could differ | 1 |
| a balancing point, e.g. despite these limitations the basic phenomenon of conforming to a unanimous majority has since been replicated more widely | 1 |
| Final answer: Asch's conformity research may lack temporal validity (conducted in the 1950s, with later studies finding lower conformity) and population validity (an all-male American sample), though the core phenomenon has since been replicated more widely. | |
| Question 13[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining the genetic explanation, candidate genes and evidence of heritability | 1 |
| outlining the neural/monoamine explanation, low serotonin/noradrenaline activity | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. twin studies showing higher concordance rates in monozygotic than dizygotic twins support a genetic component | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. antidepressant drugs that increase serotonin/noradrenaline activity have been found to reduce symptoms in many patients, supporting the neural explanation | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. a purely biological account is reductionist, potentially overlooking cognitive or social/environmental contributions such as stressful life events | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. it is unclear whether reduced neurotransmitter activity is a cause of depression or partly a consequence of it, since much evidence is correlational | 1 |
| Final answer: Outline genetic and neural (monoamine) explanations; evaluate with twin-study and drug-treatment support, against the reductionism of a purely biological account and the cause-versus-consequence problem in correlational evidence. | |
| Question 14[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying consistency (diachronic and synchronic) as key to minority influence | 1 |
| reference to Moscovici's blue-green slide study as supporting evidence | 1 |
| identifying flexibility, or the augmentation principle, as increasing minority influence | 1 |
| describing the snowball effect, where minority views gradually gain wider acceptance and lead to social change | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. Moscovici's study used an artificial task, limiting ecological validity to real-world minority influence | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. minority influence research has real-world application to understanding social change movements, which is a strength | 1 |
| Final answer: Should cover consistency (Moscovici's slide study), flexibility and the snowball effect, evaluated against the artificiality of the research versus its real-world application to social change. | |