AS
AS Paper 4: Extended Topics Review
Conformity and minority influence, obedience and social change, memory models, eyewitness testimony and forgetting, caregiver-infant interactions and attachment types, explanations of attachment and cultural variations, the nervous system and the brain, plus research methods and statistics.
Questions
Question 1 [2 marks]
Memory Models and Multi-Store Memory
State two features of long-term memory (LTM) in the multi-store model.
Question 2 [2 marks]
Eyewitness Testimony and Forgetting
Define 'retrieval failure' as an explanation for forgetting.
Question 3 [3 marks]
Caregiver-Infant Interactions and Attachment Types
Outline what is meant by 'secure base behaviour' in attachment.
Question 4 [3 marks]
Biopsychology: Nervous System and Brain
Outline the role of the sympathetic nervous system in the 'fight or flight' response.
Question 5 [4 marks]
Explanations of Attachment and Cultural Variations
Outline Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis.
Question 6 [4 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
Outline the procedure of Asch's original study into conformity.
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]
Research Methods and Statistics
Explain one strength and one limitation of using a repeated measures design, compared with an independent groups design.
Question 9 [4 marks]
Conformity and Minority Influence
Priya works in a design team of six people. In a meeting, five colleagues quickly agree that a new logo is the best option. Priya privately disagrees but says nothing, and later tells a friend she also thought the logo was best.
Use your knowledge of Asch's research into conformity to explain Priya's behaviour.
Question 10 [4 marks]
Research Methods and Statistics
A memory test is given to 9 participants. Their scores, already in order, are: 4, 7, 7, 9, 11, 12, 12, 12, 15.
Find the median and the mode of these scores.
Question 11 [4 marks]
Memory Models and Multi-Store Memory
Explain the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer in the working memory model.
Question 12 [4 marks]
Eyewitness Testimony and Forgetting
Tariq revised for his exam while listening to a particular playlist of music, and struggles to recall some answers when sitting the exam in silence, but later remembers those same answers easily as soon as he plays the same playlist again at home.
Use your knowledge of cue-dependent forgetting to explain Tariq's experience.
Question 13 [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 14 [4 marks]
Memory Models and Multi-Store Memory
Aisha is revising for two exams. She finds it very difficult to read a history textbook while also repeating a phone number to herself, but she can read the textbook while humming a tune.
Use the working memory model to explain Aisha's experience.
Question 15 [6 marks]
Eyewitness Testimony and Forgetting
Discuss research into the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
Question 16 [6 marks]
Memory Models and Multi-Store Memory
Discuss the role of rehearsal in the multi-store model of memory, including the difference between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal.
Question 17 [6 marks]
Explanations of Attachment and Cultural Variations
Discuss the influence of early attachment on later childhood and adult relationships (the continuity hypothesis).
Question 18 [6 marks]
Caregiver-Infant Interactions and Attachment Types
Discuss temperament as an alternative explanation for the individual differences in attachment identified by the Strange Situation.
Question 19 [6 marks]
Obedience and Social Change
Discuss the situational variables that Milgram found affected obedience, using research evidence.
Model solutions
| Question 1[2 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that LTM has a potentially unlimited capacity | 1 |
| identifying that the duration of LTM can be very long, potentially a lifetime | 1 |
| Final answer: LTM has a potentially unlimited capacity and can last a very long time, potentially a lifetime. | |
| Question 2[2 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying retrieval failure as forgetting that occurs when information is available in LTM but cannot be accessed because the right cues are not present | 1 |
| noting the information is not lost, only temporarily inaccessible, and could potentially be recalled given the right cue | 1 |
| Final answer: Retrieval failure is forgetting that occurs when information is available in LTM but cannot be accessed without the right retrieval cues, so it is temporarily inaccessible rather than actually lost. | |
| Question 3[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying secure base behaviour as the infant using the caregiver as a base from which to explore the environment | 1 |
| elaborating that the infant periodically returns to the caregiver for reassurance/comfort before continuing to explore | 1 |
| noting that showing this behaviour appropriately is generally taken as a sign of secure attachment | 1 |
| Final answer: Secure base behaviour is using the caregiver as a safe base to explore from, returning periodically for reassurance; it is generally taken as a sign of secure attachment. | |
| Question 4[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying the sympathetic nervous system as part of the autonomic nervous system, active in times of stress/threat | 1 |
| elaborating that it prepares the body for action, e.g. increasing heart rate and releasing adrenaline | 1 |
| noting that once the threat has passed, the parasympathetic system returns the body to its resting state | 1 |
| Final answer: The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for action during stress (raised heart rate, adrenaline release); the parasympathetic system later restores calm. | |
| Question 5[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that Bowlby proposed continuous care from a primary attachment figure is needed for normal psychological development | 1 |
| identifying that deprivation, the loss of this care, during the critical period can have serious long-term consequences | 1 |
| identifying a proposed consequence, e.g. affectionless psychopathy, an inability to feel guilt or genuine affection for others | 1 |
| reference to Bowlby's 44 thieves study as supporting evidence, linking early separation to later affectionless psychopathy | 1 |
| Final answer: Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis proposed that continuous early care is needed for normal development, and that deprivation in the critical period can cause long-term harm such as affectionless psychopathy, as suggested by his 44 thieves study. | |
| Question 6[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying the use of a line judgment task, where participants judged which of three comparison lines matched a standard line | 1 |
| identifying that each genuine participant was tested with a group of confederates who gave a unanimously wrong answer on certain critical trials | 1 |
| identifying that the genuine participant answered last, or near last, so as to hear the confederates' answers first | 1 |
| identifying that the study measured the extent to which the participant conformed to the confederates' wrong answer on the critical trials | 1 |
| Final answer: In Asch's original study, participants completed a line-judgment task in a group of confederates, who gave a unanimously wrong answer on certain critical trials; the genuine participant answered near last, and conformity was measured by how often they agreed with the wrong majority. | |
| 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 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 9[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that Priya's behaviour resembles Asch-type conformity to a unanimous majority | 1 |
| linking this to normative social influence, not wanting to be the odd one out | 1 |
| noting the group size (a majority of five) is consistent with Asch's finding that conformity increases with group size before levelling off | 1 |
| noting Priya's comment to her friend suggests possible internalisation rather than only compliance | 1 |
| Final answer: Priya's behaviour reflects Asch-style conformity to a unanimous majority (normative influence, group size effect), and her later comment suggests possible internalisation rather than only compliance. | |
| Question 10[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| recognising the data are already in order and identifying the middle (5th) value | M1 |
| a median of 11 | A1 |
| identifying the value that occurs most often | M1 |
| a mode of 12 | A1 |
| Final answer: Median = 11, mode = 12 | |
| Question 11[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying the visuo-spatial sketchpad as a component that processes visual and spatial information | 1 |
| a suitable example, e.g. picturing a route around a familiar building | 1 |
| identifying the episodic buffer as a later-added component that integrates information from the other components | 1 |
| elaborating that the episodic buffer also links working memory to long-term memory | 1 |
| Final answer: The visuo-spatial sketchpad processes visual/spatial information, e.g. picturing a route; the episodic buffer, added later to the model, integrates information from the other components and links working memory to long-term memory. | |
| Question 12[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that the silent exam environment lacks the external context cue, the playlist, present when Tariq revised | 1 |
| explaining that this mismatch between learning and recall context produces context-dependent forgetting during the exam | 1 |
| identifying that playing the same playlist again reinstates the original context cue | 1 |
| explaining that this reinstated cue then allows successful retrieval, since the information was available all along but temporarily inaccessible | 1 |
| Final answer: The silent exam lacks the playlist context cue present during revision, producing context-dependent forgetting; playing the same playlist again later reinstates that cue, allowing Tariq to retrieve the information, which shows it was available but temporarily inaccessible rather than lost. | |
| Question 13[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 14[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that reading and repeating a phone number both use the phonological loop, creating competition for the same component | 1 |
| explaining this competition disrupts performance on both tasks | 1 |
| identifying that humming uses a different, non-verbal process rather than the phonological loop | 1 |
| explaining that reading (phonological loop) and humming can therefore be combined with less interference | 1 |
| Final answer: Reading and repeating a number both rely on the phonological loop, causing interference; humming does not compete with the same component, so it can be combined with reading more easily. | |
| Question 15[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining the view that anxiety has a negative effect on recall, e.g. via weapon focus narrowing attention away from other details | 1 |
| reference to a suitable weapon-focus type finding of reduced accuracy under high anxiety | 1 |
| outlining the alternative view that anxiety can enhance recall, e.g. via the fight-or-flight response increasing alertness to central detail | 1 |
| reference to a finding of enhanced eyewitness accuracy under genuinely stressful, real-life conditions | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. the Yerkes-Dodson law can reconcile the conflicting findings with a curvilinear relationship between anxiety and accuracy | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. ethical and methodological issues, such as staged versus real-life anxiety, limit the conclusions that can be drawn | 1 |
| Final answer: Discuss the negative view (weapon focus) versus positive view (fight-or-flight, real-life studies) of anxiety on recall, reconciled by the Yerkes-Dodson law, with evaluation of ethical and methodological limits. | |
| Question 16[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining maintenance rehearsal as simply repeating information to keep it active in STM | 1 |
| outlining elaborative rehearsal as linking new information to existing knowledge or giving it deeper, meaningful processing | 1 |
| explaining that the multi-store model proposes only the amount of rehearsal, not its type, determines transfer to LTM | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. research finding that elaborative rehearsal produces better long-term recall than maintenance rehearsal alone, which challenges the model's assumption | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. information can sometimes reach LTM with very little rehearsal, such as a highly distinctive or emotional event, which the model struggles to explain | 1 |
| a suitable concluding point, e.g. these findings suggest the type, not just the amount, of processing matters for transfer to LTM, a refinement the multi-store model does not include | 1 |
| Final answer: The multi-store model treats maintenance rehearsal (simple repetition) as sufficient for transfer to LTM, based only on the amount of rehearsal; however, research finds elaborative rehearsal (giving information meaning) produces better long-term recall, and some highly distinctive or emotional information reaches LTM with little rehearsal at all, suggesting the type, not just the amount, of processing matters, a refinement the model does not include. | |
| Question 17[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining the continuity hypothesis, that the internal working model formed from early attachment shapes expectations and behaviour in later relationships | 1 |
| outlining supporting research, e.g. Hazan and Shaver's love quiz finding an association between recalled early attachment style and later romantic relationship quality | 1 |
| identifying a further area of application, e.g. later friendships or a person's own parenting style being linked to their early attachment type | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. much supporting evidence is correlational and relies on retrospective recall of early attachment, which may be unreliable | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. not every insecurely attached child goes on to have relationship difficulties, showing the link is probabilistic rather than certain | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. the hypothesis has practical value, informing early intervention programmes aimed at improving parent-infant relationships | 1 |
| Final answer: Outline the continuity hypothesis and supporting research such as the love quiz; evaluate the reliance on correlational, retrospective evidence and the probabilistic (not certain) nature of the link, against its practical value for early intervention. | |
| Question 18[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining the temperament hypothesis, that individual differences in Strange Situation behaviour may reflect an infant's innate temperament rather than the quality of caregiving received | 1 |
| outlining supporting evidence, e.g. temperament assessed soon after birth has been found to relate to later Strange Situation classification | 1 |
| outlining the contrasting, attachment-based explanation, that Ainsworth attributed individual differences mainly to the caregiver's sensitivity | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. the temperament hypothesis offers a valuable nature-based alternative to a purely nurture-based account | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. temperament and attachment quality are difficult to separate in practice, since they most likely interact rather than being wholly independent explanations | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. this debate raises a question about the validity of the Strange Situation, since it may partly be measuring temperament rather than only attachment security | 1 |
| Final answer: Outline the temperament hypothesis and supporting evidence against Ainsworth's caregiver-sensitivity account; evaluate temperament as a useful nature-based alternative, the difficulty separating it from attachment quality, and the resulting question over what the Strange Situation truly measures. | |
| Question 19[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| outlining proximity, obedience falling as the teacher and learner were placed closer together, e.g. in the same room | 1 |
| outlining location, obedience falling when the study moved from Yale University to a run-down office block | 1 |
| outlining uniform, obedience falling when the experimenter's role was taken by an ordinary member of the public in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. these findings have practical, real-world application in understanding how the setting or appearance of authority influences obedience in institutions | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. the variations were conducted in a controlled, staged laboratory context, so findings may not fully generalise to genuine, high-stakes real-world obedience | 1 |
| an evaluation point, e.g. later research found high obedience among real nurses given an unjustified drug instruction over the phone, supporting the real-world relevance of situational explanations | 1 |
| Final answer: Outline proximity, location and uniform as situational variables, all shown to reduce obedience when weakened (e.g. same room, a run-down office block, no lab coat); evaluate with practical application to real institutions and support from field research into real nurses obeying an unjustified phone instruction, while noting Milgram's own variations remained staged laboratory procedures. | |