Arjun and Mary have collected data about aggression in adults using an observation.

Mark scheme

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

1. [3] (a) 1 mark per valid point made. Must have correlate/compare results for 3 marks. Both Arjun and Mary would score the same episode/video of behaviour; And compare/correlate their results; If they are similar they have high inter-rater reliability.
2. [2] (b) 1 mark for explanation (generic); 1 mark for link. So that they can be confident that they are consistent in their recordings / Therefore their judgements of the same aggressive behaviours will be consistent. OR Because reliability is important to validity / If they are not consistent in scoring aggression they cannot make credible decisions based on their findings.
3. [2] (c) 1 mark for advantage; 1 mark for link. The observer can become absorbed in the social situation / E.g. to understand why the adults were being aggressive.
4. [2] (d) 1 mark for disadvantage; 1 mark for link. The observer can become too absorbed in the social situation / So they are unable to be objective about / are subjective about the adults' aggression (as they know them). OR There are physical risks to the researchers / Arjun / Mary may get hurt in the aggression. OR There are physical risks for the participants / (it is unethical because) it could break the guideline of protection / Arjun / Mary / other people may hurt a participant in the aggression.