Mark Scheme (Results)

October 2016

Pearson Edexcel International GCE

PSYCHOLOGY (WPS01)

PAPER 1: SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE

PSYCHOLOGY
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October 2016
Publications Code WSP01_01_1610_MS
All the material in this publication is copyright
© Pearson Education Ltd 2016

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with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 General Marking Guidance

• All candidates must receive the same treatment. Examiners

must mark the first candidate in exactly the same way as they mark
the last.
• Mark schemes should be applied positively. Candidates must be
rewarded for what they have shown they can do rather than
penalised for omissions.
• Examiners should mark according to the mark scheme not
according to their perception of where the grade boundaries may lie.
• There is no ceiling on achievement. All marks on the mark
scheme should be used appropriately.
• All the marks on the mark scheme are designed to be awarded.
Examiners should always award full marks if deserved, i.e. if the
answer matches the mark scheme. Examiners should also be
prepared to award zero marks if the candidate’s response is not
worthy of credit according to the mark scheme.
• Where some judgement is required, mark schemes will provide
the principles by which marks will be awarded and exemplification
may be limited.
• When examiners are in doubt regarding the application of
the mark scheme to a candidate’s response, the team leader must
be consulted.
• Crossed out work should be marked UNLESS the candidate
has replaced it with an alternative response.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO3 (2 mark)
1(a) (2)
Credit one mark for each accurate conclusion.

For example:

• People were more likely to obey a stranger wearing a

uniform (1).
• People showed more resistance to instructions from
people in everyday clothes (1)

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO2 (1 mark)
1(b) (1)
Credit one mark for correct calculation.

Condition A
• ¾

Look for other correct expression equivalent to ¾.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO2 (3 marks)
1(c) (3)
One mark for appropriate title.
One mark for appropriate labelling of axes.
One mark for correct plots in two bars.

For example:

A bar chart to show the number of people

obeying instructions from a stranger

120
110
100
90
Number of People

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Confederate in Confederate in security
everyday clothes guard uniform

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO1 (3 marks), AO3 (3 marks)
2(a) (6)
Credit one mark for accurate identification of each ethical issue
(AO1)
Credit one mark for justification of each ethical issue (AO3)

For example:

• The right to withdraw was explicitly given to the

participants at the start of study (1) but by using verbal
prods it made it very difficult to actually withdraw during
the experiment itself so it was unethical (1).
• Informed consent was not obtained as they were told the
experiment was about learning not obedience (1)
therefore participants were not aware of aims of study
which was unethical but necessary to reduce demand
characteristics and gather more reliable obedience data
(1).
• Milgram caused severe distress to a number of the
participants during the experiment (1) however after
debriefing the participants were glad to have been
involved despite the unethical levels of distress the
experiment had caused them at the time, they felt it was
worthwhile (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO1 (2 marks)
2(b) (2)
Credit one mark for each accurate conclusion.

For example:

• Obedience decreases when the authority figure was

not in close proximity (1).
• Obedience decreases the lower the prestige/status of
authority figure is to the teacher (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO1 (2 marks) AO3 (2 marks)
2(c) (4)
Credit one mark for accurate identification of one strength and
one weakness (AO1)
Credit one mark for justification of each strength and each
weakness (AO3)

Strength

For example:

• Agency theory, which includes the concept of blind

obedience, is supported by a number of research studies
(1). Burger’s (2009) replication of Milgram’s original study
found that participants followed instructions and
administered shocks to the learners, supporting blind
obedience (1).

Weakness

For example:

• The theory relies on the concept of agentic state

behaviour in the presence of authority (1) so it does not
explain obedience to authority when an authority figure is
distant, such as following the law when police are not
nearby (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Indicative Content Mark
Number
AO1 (4 marks), AO2 (4 marks)
3 (8)
AO1
• Internalisation is a change in behaviour to the group norm
as a result of agreement with the group.
• Internalisation is when the group beliefs become part of
the individuals personal belief system.
• Compliance is a change in behaviour to the group norm in
order to fit in.
• When complying a person does not change their individual
belief system as they privately disagree with the group.

AO2
• Students agree that wearing a school uniform is
appropriate so follow the group norms.
• Students individual beliefs about punctuality have been
changed to reflect the school expectations.
• Students are trying to fit into peer groups so comply with
the majority of other students who wear a uniform.
• Students do not believe in the school expectations but
they attend school regularly and disagree in private.

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Level Mark Descriptor
AO1 (4 marks), AO2 (4 marks)
Candidates must demonstrate an equal emphasis between knowledge and
understanding vs application in their answer.
0 No rewardable material
Level 1 1–2 Demonstrates isolated elements of knowledge and understanding.
Marks (AO1)
Provides little or no reference to relevant evidence from the context
(scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures). (AO2)
Level 2 3–4 Demonstrates mostly accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Marks Discussion is partially developed, but is imbalanced or superficial
occasionally supported through the application of relevant evidence
from the context (scientific ideas, processes, techniques and
procedures). (AO2)
Level 3 5–6 Demonstrates accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Marks Arguments developed using mostly coherent chains of reasoning.
Candidates will demonstrate a grasp of competing arguments but
discussion may be imbalanced or contain superficial material
supported by applying relevant evidence from the context (scientific
ideas, processes, techniques and procedures (AO2)
Level 4 7–8 Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding.
Marks (AO1)
Displays a well-developed and logical balanced discussion,
containing logical chains of reasoning. Demonstrates a thorough
awareness of competing arguments supported throughout by
sustained application of relevant evidence from the context
(scientific ideas, processes, techniques or procedures). (AO2)

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO2 (2 marks)
4(a) (2)
Credit two marks for a full description of how variables were
operationalised.
Credit one mark for a partial description of how variables were
operationalised.

For example:

• The same groups rehearsed trigrams without

interference and again with interference through
counting backwards (1). The dependent variable was
the number of trigrams recalled out of 15 (1).

Answers must be relevant the cognitive practical.

Generic answers score 0 marks.

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO3 (2 marks)
4(b) (2)
Credit one mark for each accurate conclusion.

For example:

• Recall is higher without interference and decreases

with interference (1).
• There is no difference between male and female recall
of trigrams (1).

Answers must be relevant the cognitive practical.

Generic answers score 0 marks.

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO2 (1 mark) AO3 (1 mark)
4(c) (2)
Credit one mark for accurate identification of how demand
characteristic were controlled for in cognitive practical (AO1)
Credit one mark for justification of the how demand
characteristic were controlled for in cognitive practical (AO3)

For example:

• We used deception so that participants thought the

experiment was about learning not memory (1) this
meant they were less likely to guess the experiment
was about interference in STM and change their
behaviour to purposely answer incorrectly (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO1 (1 mark)
5(a) (1)
Credit one mark for a correct aim

For example:

• (To investigate) the effects of damage to the medial

temporal lobe and anterolateral temporal cortex on
semantic knowledge (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO1 (3 marks)
5(b) (3)
Credit one mark for each accurate conclusion.

For example:

• Deficits in semantic knowledge are most likely related to

cortical damage lateral to the medial temporal lobe (1).
• The patients with damage limited to the hippocampal
formation performed normally in every respect on tests of
semantic knowledge (1).
• HM’s language deficits are more likely related to his
interrupted education than his brain damage (1).

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO2 (2 marks)
6(a) (2)
Credit two marks for a fully operationalised non-directional
(two-tailed) hypothesis.
Credit one mark for a partially operationalised non-directional
(two-tailed) hypothesis.

For example:

• There will be a difference between the number of

words recalled by participants of different genders (1)
• There will be a difference between the number of
words recalled from a list of 50 by male and female
participants (2)

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO2 (1 mark)
6(b) (1)
Credit one mark for median score for male participants.

Male participants
• 20

Reject other answers.

Question Answer Mark

Number
AO2 (1 mark) AO3 (1 mark)
6(c) (2)
Credit one mark for accurate identification of median as an
appropriate measure of central tendency for this study
(AO2)
Credit one mark for justification/conclusion (AO3)

For example:

• The data in the study contains a skewed set of results

with extreme high and low scores (1) and the median
looks at just at the middle two scores so will give a
central tendency that excludes the extreme scores (1)

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Answer Mark
Number
AO2 (2 marks) AO3 (1 mark)
7 (3)
Credit up to two marks for application to cognitive
psychology (AO2)
Credit one mark for justification/conclusion (AO3)

For example:

• Experiments testing memory have strict controls to

eliminate extraneous variables (1) unlike case studies
of memory which are unique so variables cannot be
controlled (1) meaning the data gathered can more
accurately measure the cause of the differences in
memory (1).

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Indicative Content Mark
Number
AO1 (4 marks), AO3 (4 marks)
8 (8)
AO1
• Working memory model is an explanation of short term
memory processes.
• There are three seperate components to WM which
include the central executive, phonological loop,
visuospatial sketch pad.
• The central executive is claimed to control attention to
stimulus and delegate processes to the other STM
components.
• The phonological loop has been found to be necessary to
the learning and development of language, Baddeley et al
(1988).

AO3
• It does not deal with long term memory so cannot provide
a complete explanantion of human memory.
• There is evidence to support the existence of distinct
components, for example the case of KF who had
unaffected visuospatial STM but impaired phonological
STM.
• There is no evidence to support the existence of the
central executive meaning it is highly subjective and its
role/existence cannot be tested.
• The model has been applied successfully to helping
children with attention problems/dyslexia/memory
impairments/SPLD so it has a practical use in society.

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Level Mark Descriptor

AO1 (4 marks), AO3 (4 marks)

Candidates must demonstrate an equal emphasis between knowledge and
understanding vs evaluation/conclusion in their answer.

0 No rewardable material.

Level 1 1-2 Demonstrates isolated elements of knowledge and understanding.

(AO1)
Marks
A conclusion may be presented, but will be generic and the
supporting evidence will be limited. Limited attempt to address the
question. (AO3)

Level 2 3-4 Demonstrates mostly accurate knowledge and understanding.

(AO1)
Marks
Candidates will produce statements with some development in the
form of mostly accurate and relevant factual material, leading to a
superficial conclusion being made. (AO3)

Level 3 5-6 Demonstrates accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)

Arguments developed using mostly coherent chains of reasoning.
Marks
leading to a conclusion being presented. Candidates will
demonstrate a grasp of competing arguments but evaluation may
be imbalanced. (AO3)

Level 4 7-8 Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and

Marks understanding. (AO1)
Displays a well-developed and logical evaluation, containing logical
chains of reasoning throughout. Demonstrates an awareness of
competing arguments, presenting a balanced conclusion. (AO3)

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Question Indicative Content Mark
Number
AO1 (4 marks), AO2 (4 marks), AO3 (4 marks)
9 (12)
AO1
• One power base in social power theory is that leaders hold
referent power, as they often have attractiveness,
worthiness and/or a right to respect
• Leaders may be seen to have and expert power from their
skill and knowledge of a specific area.
• Deindividuation occurs when people are part of a large
crowd and they lose self-awareness and accountability so
commit destructive acts that they normally would not.
• Agency theory suggests that people give up their free will
and follow the orders of an authority figure.

AO2
• The leaders of The Crew/The Squad may have referent
power from being seen as having a right to be respected
as they are leading to benefit the members
• The leaders have expert power as they appear
knowledgeable in the meetings about the territory, so can
exert power over group members.
• Group members may fear the consequences of
noncompliance enabling leaders to have coercive power
over the groups.
• The leaders of The Crew/The Squad would be considered
authority figures that the groups members do not
question.

AO3
• Coercive power requires surveillance otherwise power
decreases and group leaders may not always be present
to monitor their members, so social power theory cannot
explain all aspects of group behaviour.
• Social power theory as studied by French and Raven
(1959) is difficult to operationalise therefore cannot
always be measured accurately, so it may not be
supported by reliable evidence.
• Deindividuation can explain behaviour in crowds at the
time of fighting and conflict which is supported by
Festinger et al, so may be more appropriate than social
power theory.
• Milgram (1963) provides evidence to show that individuals
follow authority figures although he does not fully explain
whole group behaviour.

Look for other reasonable marking points.

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
 Level Mark Descriptor
AO1 (4 marks), AO2 (4 marks) AO3 (4 marks)
Candidates must demonstrate an equal emphasis between knowledge and
understanding vs application vs evaluation/conclusion in their answer.
0 No rewardable material.

Level 1 1-3 Demonstrates isolated elements of knowledge and understanding.

(AO1)
Marks
Provides little or no reference to relevant evidence from the context
(scientific ideas, processes, techniques & procedures). (AO2)
A conclusion may be presented, but will be generic and the
supporting evidence will be limited. Limited attempt to address the
question. (AO3)

Level 2 4-6 Demonstrates mostly accurate knowledge and understanding.

(AO1)
Marks
Line(s) of argument occasionally supported through the application
of relevant evidence from the context (scientific ideas, processes,
techniques & procedures). (AO2)
Candidates will produce statements with some development in the
form of mostly accurate and relevant factual material, leading to a
superficial conclusion being made. (AO3)

Level 3 7-9 Demonstrates accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)

Line(s) of argument supported by applying relevant evidence from
Marks
the context (scientific ideas, processes, techniques & procedures).
Might demonstrate the ability to integrate and synthesise relevant
knowledge. (AO2)
Arguments developed using mostly coherent chains of reasoning
leading to a conclusion being presented. Candidates will
demonstrate a grasp of competing arguments but evaluation may
be imbalanced. (AO3)

Level 4 10-12 Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and

Marks understanding. (AO1)
Line(s) of argument supported throughout by sustained application
of relevant evidence from the context (scientific ideas, processes,
techniques or procedures). Demonstrates the ability to integrate
and synthesise relevant knowledge. (AO2)
Displays a well-developed and logical evaluation, containing logical
chains of reasoning throughout. Demonstrates an awareness of
competing arguments, presenting a balanced conclusion. (AO3)

Pearson Education Limited. Registered company number 872828

with its registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL