Practise describing the Hassett study's rhesus-monkey sample and toy trials, interpreting sex and rank results and evaluating what the evidence supports biologically.
From the study by Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences):
Outline one result in relation to the duration of play by the monkeys with the 'wheeled' toys.
From the study by Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences):
Outline one result in relation to the duration of play by the monkeys with the 'wheeled' toys.
2 marks for the result with a meaningful comparison 1 mark for result with no meaningful comparison
e.g., (sex differences)
Males, on average, played (with wheeled toys) for longer compared to females (2 marks)
Males, on average, played (with wheeled toys) for longer (1 mark)
e.g., (species differences)
Both male monkeys and male children played with wheeled/masculine toy for the longest time (2 marks)
e.g., (toy type differences)
Males, on average, played with wheeled toys for longer compared to plush toys (2 marks)
Males, on average, played with wheeled toys for longer (1 mark)
2
Accept responses based around the standard deviation.
Comparisons can be male vs female, monkey vs child, or wheeled vs plush
Do not accept 'played more' as the Q is about duration of play and not frequency of play.
Do not accept responses about 'toy preference' as the question is about the duration of play.
Outline one result in relation to the rank of female monkeys and the duration of play.
Outline one result in relation to the rank of female monkeys and the duration of play.
2 marks for the result with a meaningful correlation/comparison 1 mark for result with no meaningful correlation/comparison
e.g.,
There was a positive correlation between rank and total duration of play for plush toys (2 marks: correlation) There was no (significant) correlation between rank and total duration of play for wheeled toys (2 marks: correlation) There was a relationship between duration of play and rank for plush toys but not for wheeled toys (2 marks: comparison)
There was a correlation between the two (1 mark)
2
1 mark maximum if the type of toy is not explicitly mentioned.
Do accept if presented as high ranked played for longer with plush toys than low ranked.
Similar to Q3(a) do not credit 'played more' or 'preferred'.
Explain one weakness of this study.
Explain one weakness of this study.
1 mark for the identification of weakness
1 mark for explaining the weakness via example from the study.
e.g.
(Lacks) generalisability (1 mark: identification) as the troop were captive so may not represent wild (rhesus) monkey behaviour (1 mark: explained in context).
(Lacks) mundane realism (1 mark: identification) as in the wild (rhesus) monkeys would not play with wheeled/plush toys (1 mark: explained in context).
(Difficult to) control (extraneous) variables (1 mark: identification)
There are other creditworthy responses, including ethics and observer bias.
2
Do not accept 'cruel as not in the wild' type answers.
Do not accept 'monkeys cannot communicate to tell us.'
Do not accept broke the ethical guideline of numbers.
Do not accept does not generalise to humans as an explanation (but do credit ID).
If identification and explanation do not match, can still award the identification mark.
Do not accept opportunity sampling.