A-LevelPsychologyOrganisational psychology9990/41 · Oct/Nov 2020 · Q818 Marks

You must answer one question from this section. Psychology and organisations

(a)Design a study to investigate how much time is spent managing group conflict by people at different levels of management.[10]
(b)Explain the psychological and methodological evidence on which your study is based.[8]

Mark scheme

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

Marks: use generic levels of response Design a study question part (a).
Additional: Candidates should design the study showing evidence of design features appropriate to the named method. The named method is: any appropriate method.
Typical features:
Experiments: type, IV, DV, controls, experimental design.
Observations: type, setting, response categories, sampling frame, number of observers.
Questionnaires/Interviews: type, setting, example questions.
Scoring/rating scale, analysis of responses.
General features of research methodology: sampling technique & sample, type of data, ethics, reliability, validity, data analysis.
Marks: use generic levels of response ‘Design a study' question part (b).
Note: If only methodological or psychological explanation is provided max 5 marks.
Candidates are expected to explain the reasons for the suggested design in part (a). Explanation should be both psychological and methodological.
Psychological to include appropriate theory or research.
Additional: candidates are expected to justify their decisions or evidence presented regarding the design made in answer to question part (a).
Syllabus: Group conflict: managing group conflict (Thomas, 1976)
Psychological:
The table below, item 1, shows the level of management and the percentage time dealing with conflict.
Mean Responses to Items on the Importance of Conflict Management
Management Levels
Items All Managers (N=258) CEOs (N=116) VPs (N=76) MMs (N=66) F p<.05
1. Percent of time dealing with conflict 20.95 18.19 21.05 25.67
2. Changing importance of conflict management skills in last 10 years ("far less" to "far more") 4.96 4.87 5.07 5.00 π.ς.
3. Importance of conflict management relative to other topics ("far less" to "far more") 4.45 4.36 4.42 4.62 n.s.
4. Conflict level in organiza- tion ("too low" to "too high") 4.27 4.01 4.47 4.50 p<.01
Note: 2 marks max if psychological knowledge is not related to answer.
Methodological: explanation of method using general and specific features as above.