Question 1

Nomie is planning an interview-based study to determine the kinds of information people over the age of 70 forget most often. She is concerned this could violate ethical guidelines.

1. Suggest how Nomie can ensure confidentiality in her study. [2]
2. Explain how Nomie can ensure she obtains valid consent from the participants. [2]
3. Suggest how Nomie can protect the participants against harm. [2]

Question 2

Rashmi is conducting an experiment to determine the impact of watching nature videos and videos of urban scenes on people's level of anxiety. To ensure that participants are stressed before watching the videos, Rashmi proposes that the participants be exposed to images of scary scenes as a part of the experiment.

1. Describe one ethical consideration related to the study. [1]
2. Explain how Rashmi could ensure that participants provide valid consent prior to the study. [1]

Question 3 (Essay Worth 3 points)

1. Explain how "reward, deprivation, and aversive stimuli" relate to the ethical use of animals in psychological research. [1]
2. Describe how "species and strain" relates to the ethical use of animals in psychological research. [1]
3. Explain what is meant by "procedures: pain and distress" in relation to the ethical use of animals in psychological research. [1]

Question 4

While participating in a study about helping behaviors, participants were told the topic was visual tracking. Participants played a computer game that provided opportunities to help other players. They were asked to wear fake eye-movement tracking spectacles.

1. Describe the role of deception in research, using this study as an example. [1]
2. Some participants were upset at the debriefing because they had not helped other players. Describe how the ethical guideline of minimising harm might relate to this study. [2]
3. Explain how the use of deception impacts valid consent, using this study as an example. [1]

Question 5

Arya is conducting an experiment to investigate whether concentration on a task is affected by background noise. Participants were divided into two groups who were both given a typing task to perform while observers recorded off-task behaviors. One group completed the task while children laughed outside an open window. The other group completed the task while adults talked loudly in the corridor outside the room.

1. Describe how Arya might establish inter-observer reliability for this experiment. [2]
2. Explain how the results of this study may generalize to other tasks and settings. Include at least 3 examples. [3]

Question 6

Marina is investigating the possible link between time spent eating and feelings of hunger. She hypothesizes that students who eat faster will be hungrier sooner than students who eat more slowly. Marina, without notifying the participants they are being observed, records how much time each student spends eating lunch. Two hours later, the participants are asked to rate their hunger on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = not hungry at all; 10 = very hungry).

1. Another researcher points out that some participants may be in more interesting classes than others immediately following lunch. Explain how this might affect the results. [3]
2. Explain one reason why the results of this study may not generalize to other settings. [2]

Question 7 Chen is planning a study using laboratory rats to investigate whether rats will eat unusual foods after observing a model rat. The study will measure the effect of the model by observing similarities in eating behavior between the learner rats and the model rat.

1. Explain one way that Chen might standardize the procedures for the study. [1]
2. Explain how Chen might ensure replicability. [2]
3. Explain one reason why the results of this study may not generalize to other settings. [2]