A-LevelPsychologyResearch methods9990/22 · Feb/Mar 2018 · Q44 Marks

Saavedra and Silverman studied a boy with a phobia of buttons and measured his distress using a 'feelings thermometer'.

(a)(i)Name the type of data produced by the feelings thermometer.[1]
(a)(ii)How did the feelings thermometer measure distress?[1]
(b)Suggest one disadvantage of using the feelings thermometer to measure distress.[2]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Feb/Mar 2018). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[1] (a)(i) 1 mark for quantitative
Qualitative (= 0 marks)
[1] (a)(ii) scale (of 0–9);
rating;
[2] (b) Both marks for one disadvantage. Points may be linked but do not have to be (this is in the question).
Expression of distress is limited to a number on a scale = 1 mark
so it might not have captured how the boy in the study felt = 1 mark
this would lower validity = 1 mark (only as elaboration)
it might be subjective (0 marks)
it might be subjective because another child might interpret the scale differently (2 marks)

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Topic: Research methods, A-Level Psychology (syllabus 9990). Structured question, 4 marks.
Source: A-Level Psychology, Feb/Mar 2018 Paper 2 Variant 2, question 4.

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