PSYB4 Past Paper Questions



PSYB4 Past Paper Questions

Listed below are all of the available past paper questions for the Debates section of your PSYB4 examination. The specimen paper below is representative of what your actual paper will look like (2 x 4 mark questions and 1 x 12 mark essay question. Older papers (June 2006-June 2009) used to have Psychology and Science as a separate section so there are a lot of past paper questions on this particular debate. Now they are combined and you would be asked a mixture of questions from across different debates.

Print off the copy of this document with the answers and use this to mark them and give yourselves targets for improvement.

Specimen Paper

07 Outline what is meant by hypothesis testing and explain the role of hypothesis testing

in scientific research. (4 marks)

0 8 Explain what is meant by the nature-nurture debate in psychology. (4 marks)

0 9 ‘Nomothetic and idiographic approaches are both needed for a complete study of

psychology.’

Discuss this statement with reference to at least one topic area in psychology.

(12 marks)

June 2006

3 (a) Briefly discuss one problem with common-sense explanations of human behaviour.

(b) Outline two limitations of the scientific approach in psychology. (4 marks)

(c) ‘Psychology is a science.’ Discuss this statement. In your answer, refer to at least two perspectives in psychology.

(12 marks)

4 (a) In the context of the free will and determinism debate in psychology,

(i) outline what is meant by determinism;

(ii) suggest why psychological explanations of behaviour are usually deterministic. (4 marks)

(b) Outline one strength and one limitation of the nomothetic approach in psychology. (4 marks)

(c) Discuss the role of the environment in explaining behaviour. In your answer, refer to to at least two topics that you have studied in psychology. (12 marks)

June 2007

3 (a) Outline two ways in which common-sense explanations of behaviour differ from scientific explanations of behaviour. (4 marks)

(b) Outline what is meant by private experience and explain why such experiences are difficult for psychologists to study. (4 marks)

(c) Discuss the use of the scientific approach in psychology. Refer to at least one topic you have studied. (12 marks)

4 (a) Outline one strength and one weakness of the idiographic approach in psychology. (4 marks)

(b) Outline why some psychologists favour reductionist explanations of human behaviour.(4 marks)

(c) The following comment was made by a judge at the end of a trial:

“People are in control of their behaviour and they are responsible for their actions.” Discuss the free will and determinism debate in psychology. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one topic in psychology. (12 marks)

June 2008

3 (a) Distinguish between common-sense and scientific explanations for human behaviour. Refer to an example in your answer. (4 marks)

(b) Outline two reasons why some psychologists regard Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective as unscientific. (4 marks)

(c) Discuss at least two limitations of applying the scientific approach to the study of human behaviour. Refer to examples from psychology in your answer. (12 marks)

4 (a) In the context of the holism and reductionism debate in psychology, outline one strength and one weakness of holistic explanations of behaviour. (4 marks)

(b) Explain what is meant by the mind-body debate in psychology. In your answer, refer to one topic that you have studied where this debate is relevant. (4 marks)

(c) ‘The debate about the roles of nature and nurture in behaviour is fundamental in psychology and touches on several different topic areas.’

Discuss the nature-nurture debate in psychology. Refer to at least one topic you have studied to illustrate your answer. (12 marks)

June 2009

3 (a) Emily has completed a course in psychology and is telling her friend Bruce that she has found the course most interesting. Bruce says, “Surely psychology is common sense.

You can learn all there is to know about human behaviour just from real life.” Emily replies, “You are wrong. There are numerous psychology studies in which the results were very different from those most people would have expected.”

Briefly discuss one difference between common sense and scientific psychology. Refer to the conversation between Emily and Bruce in your answer. (4 marks)

(b) Outline what psychologists mean by the following:

(i) subjective experience; (2 marks)

(ii) overt behaviour. (2 marks)

(c) ‘Psychology is not a science.’ Discuss this claim. (12 marks)

4 (a) Participants in a research study were ordered to give very powerful electric shocks to another person. Although the participants believed the shocks to be real, they still carried out the order. After taking part, some participants said, “I had to give the shocks. The experimenter ordered me to.” With reference to the above scenario, briefly explain what is meant by the free will and determinism debate in psychology. (4 marks)

(b) Briefly discuss one limitation of reductionism in psychology. (4 marks)

(c) Describe and discuss the idiographic and nomothetic approaches in psychology. Refer to at least one topic area in your answer. (12 marks)

June 2010

0 8 Explain the role of theory in scientific research. (2 marks)

0 9 Explain the role of peer review in scientific research. (2 marks)

1 0 Jamie is a healthy 18-year-old of average intelligence. When he was six days old, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. His parents were informed that, as a result of the disorder, Jamie would have severe learning difficulties unless he was kept on a special diet. His parents followed this advice and Jamie has not suffered any damage to his intelligence or to his learning abilities.

In the context of the nature-nurture debate in psychology, outline what is meant by an interactionist approach. Refer to Jamie’s case in your answer. (4 marks)

1 1 ‘Free will is an illusion. What seems to be freely chosen behaviour is really the result of internal and external forces acting upon the individual.’

Discuss this view. Refer to at least one topic area in your answer. (12 marks)

June 2011

0 9 Briefly outline the free will and determinism debate in psychology. Explain one reason why a belief in the existence of free will conflicts with scientific enquiry. (4 marks)

1 0 Briefly discuss strengths of the idiographic approach in psychology. (4 marks)

1 1 Identify and discuss reasons why psychology should adopt the scientific approach.

(12 marks)

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