A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY
PAPER 3 – Issues and options in
psychology
Monday 09 June 2025 MORNING
Time allowed: 2 hours
IB/G/Jun25/G4006/V8 7182/3
, SECTION A
Issues and debates in psychology
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
01
A researcher tested the musical ability of two groups of children. The parents of
children in Group 1 were professional musicians. The parents of children in Group
2 did not play a musical instrument.
The researcher found that the children in Group 1 had significantly higher musical
ability scores than the children in Group 2
Use your knowledge of two different types of determinism to explain the findings in
Group 1 and Group 2
[4 marks]
One type of determinism that can explain the findings is biological determinism. This
suggests that the higher musical ability in Group 1 may be due to genetic factors inherited
from their parents, who are professional musicians. This implies musical talent is
biologically predetermined.
Another explanation is environmental determinism, which suggests that the children in
Group 1 may have developed better musical ability due to being raised in a musically rich
environment, with exposure to music and instruments at home, which would influence their
development.
02
The researcher also tested the motor (movement) skills of the children in Group
1 using a newly devised test
The measures of central tendency for the motor skills test were as follows Mean 20.5.
Mode = 30, Median = 25.5
Use the measures of central tendency to identify the type of distribution of scores in
the motor skills test. Explain your answer.
[2 marks]
, The distribution is negatively skewed.
This is because the mean is lower than both the median and the mode, suggesting that a
small number of low scores pulled the mean down, which is typical of a negatively
skewed distribution.
03
Explain how the researcher could modify the motor skills test so that it would be
more likely to produce a set of scores that is normally distributed
[2 marks]
The researcher could increase the number of test items to better sample a range of
motor skills, reducing the impact of outliers.
They could also pilot the test with a larger and more diverse sample to ensure it fairly
represents typical motor skill performance and adjust any overly easy or difficult items.
04
The researcher noticed that a lot of the children who did well on the musical
ability test also seemed to do well on the motor skills test
Suggest how the researcher could use the existing data to investigate the
relationship between musical ability and motor skills.
[4 marks]
The researcher could use a correlational analysis to investigate the relationship between
musical ability and motor skills.
They would need to plot the scores for each child on a scattergram to visually inspect
the relationship.
Then, they could calculate a correlation coefficient (e.g. Pearson’s r) to determine the
strength and direction of the relationship.
This would show whether higher musical ability is associated with better motor skills,
without implying causation.
05
Explain what is meant by cultural relativism in psychology Use one topic you have
studied in psychology as part of your explanation.
[4 marks]
Cultural relativism is the idea that psychological theories and behaviours should be
understood within the context of the culture in which they occur, rather than being judged
by the standards of another culture.
It recognises that what is considered 'normal' or 'abnormal' may vary across cultures.
For example, in the topic of attachment, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation reflects American
cultural norms and assumes that secure attachment involves the child being distressed
when the mother leaves.
PAPER 3 – Issues and options in
psychology
Monday 09 June 2025 MORNING
Time allowed: 2 hours
IB/G/Jun25/G4006/V8 7182/3
, SECTION A
Issues and debates in psychology
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
01
A researcher tested the musical ability of two groups of children. The parents of
children in Group 1 were professional musicians. The parents of children in Group
2 did not play a musical instrument.
The researcher found that the children in Group 1 had significantly higher musical
ability scores than the children in Group 2
Use your knowledge of two different types of determinism to explain the findings in
Group 1 and Group 2
[4 marks]
One type of determinism that can explain the findings is biological determinism. This
suggests that the higher musical ability in Group 1 may be due to genetic factors inherited
from their parents, who are professional musicians. This implies musical talent is
biologically predetermined.
Another explanation is environmental determinism, which suggests that the children in
Group 1 may have developed better musical ability due to being raised in a musically rich
environment, with exposure to music and instruments at home, which would influence their
development.
02
The researcher also tested the motor (movement) skills of the children in Group
1 using a newly devised test
The measures of central tendency for the motor skills test were as follows Mean 20.5.
Mode = 30, Median = 25.5
Use the measures of central tendency to identify the type of distribution of scores in
the motor skills test. Explain your answer.
[2 marks]
, The distribution is negatively skewed.
This is because the mean is lower than both the median and the mode, suggesting that a
small number of low scores pulled the mean down, which is typical of a negatively
skewed distribution.
03
Explain how the researcher could modify the motor skills test so that it would be
more likely to produce a set of scores that is normally distributed
[2 marks]
The researcher could increase the number of test items to better sample a range of
motor skills, reducing the impact of outliers.
They could also pilot the test with a larger and more diverse sample to ensure it fairly
represents typical motor skill performance and adjust any overly easy or difficult items.
04
The researcher noticed that a lot of the children who did well on the musical
ability test also seemed to do well on the motor skills test
Suggest how the researcher could use the existing data to investigate the
relationship between musical ability and motor skills.
[4 marks]
The researcher could use a correlational analysis to investigate the relationship between
musical ability and motor skills.
They would need to plot the scores for each child on a scattergram to visually inspect
the relationship.
Then, they could calculate a correlation coefficient (e.g. Pearson’s r) to determine the
strength and direction of the relationship.
This would show whether higher musical ability is associated with better motor skills,
without implying causation.
05
Explain what is meant by cultural relativism in psychology Use one topic you have
studied in psychology as part of your explanation.
[4 marks]
Cultural relativism is the idea that psychological theories and behaviours should be
understood within the context of the culture in which they occur, rather than being judged
by the standards of another culture.
It recognises that what is considered 'normal' or 'abnormal' may vary across cultures.
For example, in the topic of attachment, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation reflects American
cultural norms and assumes that secure attachment involves the child being distressed
when the mother leaves.
