Peer Review & the Economy (AQA A Level Psychology)

A controlled observation was designed to compare the social behaviours of pre-school children of working parents and pre-school children of stay-at-home parents.

The sample consisted of 100 children aged three, who were observed separately. Half of the children had working parents and the other half had stay-at-home parents. The observation took place in a room which looked like a nursery, with a variety of toys available. In the room, there were four children and one supervising adult. Their behaviour was not recorded.

Each child participant was brought into the room and settled by their parent. The parent then left to sit outside. Each child participant’s behaviour was observed covertly for five minutes while they played in the room.

The observation was conducted in a controlled environment and a standardised script was used when the children and their parents arrived.

The findings of this study might have implications for the economy.

Explain one or more possible implications of this study for the economy.

Explain the economic implications of research into the role of the father in attachment.

Describe the process and purposes of peer review.

A researcher wanted to see whether cognitive behaviour therapy was an effective treatment for depression. Twenty depressed patients who had all recently completed a course of cognitive behaviour therapy were involved in the investigation. From their employment records, the researcher kept a record of the number of absences from work each patient had in the year following their treatment. This was compared with the number of absences from work each patient had in the year prior to their treatment.

Those patients who had fewer absences from work in the year following their treatment than in the year prior to their treatment were classified as ‘improved’ (+).Those patients who had more absences were classified as ‘deteriorated’ (-). Those patients who had the same number of absences were classified as ‘neither’ (0).

Outline the implications of psychological research for the economy. Refer to the investigation above in your answer.