Richard is conducting an experiment to investigate whether daydreams are affected by the type of background noise. He has two groups who are both given a boring task in a room. For one group there are children laughing outside the open window. For the other group there are adults talking loudly in the corridor. Different participants are used in each group.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [2] 1 mark for independent measures design (accept independent groups / between subjects, do NOT accept just 'independent') Independent measures design = 1 because the child group and adult group are separate = 1 because different participants are used in each group = 1
2. [2] 1 mark for advantage 1 mark for link overcomes order effects = 1 (advantage) the boring task would be even more boring the second time = 1 (link) daydreaming might increase/decrease the second time = 1 (link) reduces effects of demand characteristics = 1 (advantage) as participants only experience the boring task once so are less likely to think about what the aim is = 1 (link)
3. [1] 1 mark for reason to make people daydream = 1 to make all participants equally likely to daydream = 1
4. [2] 1 mark for practical/methodological problem 1 mark for explanation (may or may not be linked) they may not happen = 1 (identification of problem – 'they' is referring to daydreams) so you would not collect any data = 1 (explanation) they are vague/easily forgotten = 1 (identification of problem – happens to be linked 'they' [the daydreams]) so may not be reported accurately by the participants = 1 (explanation) the content of daydreams has to be interpreted = 1 (identification of problem) so the researcher will need to interpret them / may be subjective = 1 (explanation)
5. [2] 1 mark for ethical problem 1 mark for explanation (may or may not be linked) they are personal = 1 (identification of problem – happens to be linked 'they' [the daydreams]) so asking about them could break privacy = 1 (explanation) when you have been daydreaming you are a bit fuzzy = 1 (identification of problem) so your decision to consent/withdraw may be invalid = 1 (explanation)