Past Paper Questions

• Describe the difference between pre-conventional and conventional stages of development (2 marks)

  Pre-conventional morality focuses on basic rules of reward and punishment , where a bad action would get punished whereas conventional morality does not. (1) because conventional morality is linked to following social rules and being liked with the maintenance of social order through obedience to authority (1).
• Explain one strategy that Mrs Kumar could use to help support the social development of Molly and Mack.

  You should refer to Daniel Willingham's learning theory in your answer.

  Molly and Mack are struggling with their social development at school.

  Their teacher, Mrs Kumar, has noticed that Molly and Mack snatch toys from other children when they want to play with them. They push other children in the playground and shout in their faces when they are eating their lunch.
• How does Paget's theory explain object permanence?

  Children know objects exist when unseen
• At what age do children acquire object permanence according to Piaget's theory?

  Around 6 months old
• What does Beth's daughter's behavior with the ball suggest?

  She has developed object permanence
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Beth's investigation?

  Strength:

  • High ecological validity due to familiar setting

  Weakness:

  • Limited sample size may not be representative
• What is one strength of Beth's investigation regarding her daughter?

  High ecological validity
• Why does Beth's investigation have high ecological validity?

  Her daughter is in a familiar environment
• What is one weakness of Beth's investigation?

  Non-representative sample size
• Why might Beth's daughter not represent all 8-month-old children?

  She may be more advanced than others
• (a) Explain one conclusion you could make using the data in Figure 1 regarding the type of praise given by each of the P.E. teachers.

  When pupils were praised for effort they made more attempts to break running records than those given praise for ability (1) which is shown by an average 6 attempts for the 100m when praised for effort compared to just 1 attempt for the 1500m when praised for ability (1).
• (b) Explain one improvement that the assistant head teacher could make to her investigation into the influence of types of praise.

  The pupils in each class could have been given the same distance to run such as both running the 100m (1) so that there is a comparable distance to run and the impact of praise on attempts will not be influenced by the distance to run, increasing validity of her investigation (1).
• What does Beth's daughter do when the ball is hidden?

  She reaches behind the cushion
• What does Piaget's theory suggest about object permanence?

  Children know objects exist when unseen
• At what age do children typically acquire object permanence according to Piaget?

  Around 6 months old
• In which stage of Piaget's theory does object permanence develop?

  Sensorimotor stage
• What does Beth's daughter's action of reaching for the ball indicate about her cognitive development?

  She has developed object permanence
• How old is Beth's daughter when she reaches for the ball behind the cushion?

  8 months old
• If a child does not reach for a hidden object, what might this suggest about their cognitive development?

  They may not have object permanence
• What are the key points of Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development regarding object permanence?

  • Object permanence develops around 6 months
  • It occurs in the sensorimotor stage
  • Children understand objects exist when not visible
• Beth is investigating the level of cognitive development of eight-month-old infants. use Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development(2 marks)

  Piaget’s theory suggests that children acquire object permanence around 6 months old in the sensorimotor stage and therefore know objects exist even when they cannot see them (1). As Beth’s daughter reaches behind the cushion for the ball and she is 8 months old it suggests she has developed object permanence and will know the ball still exists even when it cannot be seen (1).