Cambridge International AS & A Level
PSYCHOLOGY 9990/42
Paper 4 Specialist Options: Application and Research Methods February/March 2024
1 hour 30 minutes
You must answer on the enclosed answer booklet.
* 5 1 2 2 7 2 4 4 5 2 *
You will need: Answer booklet (enclosed)
INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer five questions in total:
Answer questions from two options.
Section A: answer four questions.
Section B: answer one question.
● Follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper,
ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet.
INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 60.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
This document has 8 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.
DC (SL) 331603/3
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Section A
Answer questions from two options in this section.
Clinical Psychology
Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
1 From the key study by Grant et al. (2008) on treating gambling disorder with drugs and placebo:
(a) Explain what is meant by a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial as used in this study. [4]
(b) Suggest one effect if a double-blind trial had not been used in this study. [2]
(c) Explain two strengths of conducting placebo-controlled trials in studies of gambling disorder.
[4]
2 Generalised anxiety disorder can be assessed using the GAD-7.
(a) Outline how answers are scored on the GAD-7 scale. [2]
(b) Suggest how the validity of the GAD-7 could be tested. [2]
(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the GAD-7 scale. [4]
Consumer Psychology
Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
3 From the key study by North et al. (2003) on musical style and restaurant customers’ spending:
(a) (i) Outline two variables within the restaurant that were controlled, other than the music
CDs. [2]
(ii) Describe how counterbalancing was used in this study. [2]
(b) Suggest one effect if counterbalancing had not been used in this study. [2]
(c) Explain two strengths of controlling the music CDs. [4]
4 Menu item choice can be affected by both primacy and recency.
(a) Explain what is meant by primacy in relation to menu item choice. [2]
(b) Suggest one feature of a menu that might affect item choice, other than primacy or recency.
[2]
(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of conducting a study on menu item choice in a
laboratory. [4]
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Health Psychology
Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
5 From the key study by Yokley and Glenwick (1984) on improving medical adherence using
community interventions:
(a) (i) Describe one cause of confounding identified by Yokley and Glenwick. [2]
(ii) Explain what was done in the study by Yokley and Glenwick to prevent confounding. [2]
(b) Suggest one strategy for promoting health that could be used to improve medical adherence,
other than the strategy used by Yokley and Glenwick. [2]
(c) Explain two strengths of conducting field experiments to study participation in immunisation
interventions in communities. [4]
6 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘mirror treatment’ for phantom limb pain. [2]
(b) Suggest one biological/biochemical way in which phantom limb pain can be treated. [2]
(c) Explain two strengths of mirror treatment for phantom limb pain. [4]
Organisational Psychology
Answer all questions if you have studied this option.
7 From the key study by Claypoole and Szalma (2019) on electronic performance monitoring:
(a) Describe how the two forms of electronic presence were used in this study. [4]
(b) Suggest one way in which worker performance could be monitored, other than electronic
presence. [2]
(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of conducting a study on electronic performance
monitoring, using students as participants. [4]
8 (a) Describe how data was collected in one study about the impact of the design of the work
environment on people who work in open plan offices (e.g. Oldham and Brass, 1979). [2]
(b) Suggest how one job characteristic might be affected by a move to a different type of office.
[2]
(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the way that data was collected in the study you
described in part (a). [4]
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Section B
Answer one question from this section.
Clinical Psychology
9 (a) Plan a covert observation to investigate the effectiveness of covert sensitisation for treating
kleptomania.
Your plan must include details about:
• structured observation or unstructured observation
• steps for making the study reliable. [10]
(b) For one piece of psychological knowledge on which your plan is based:
(i) Describe this psychological knowledge. [4]
(ii) Explain how you used two features of this psychological knowledge to plan your study.
[4]
(c) (i) Explain one reason for your choice of structured observation or unstructured observation.
[2]
(ii) Explain one strength of using covert observation in your study. [2]
(iii) Explain one reason for your choice of steps for making the study reliable. [2]
Consumer Psychology
10 Wayfinding is affected by factors such as signs and ‘you are here’ maps.
(a) Plan a study using a questionnaire to investigate whether the use of signs is more effective
than ‘you are here’ maps when wayfinding in a shopping mall.
Your plan must include details about:
• sampling technique
• question format. [10]
(b) For one piece of psychological knowledge on which your plan is based:
(i) Describe this psychological knowledge. [4]
(ii) Explain how you used two features of this psychological knowledge to plan your study.
[4]
(c) (i) Explain one reason for your choice of sampling technique. [2]
(ii) Explain one weakness of your choice of sampling technique. [2]
(iii) Explain one reason for your choice of question format. [2]
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Health Psychology
11 (a) Plan a field experiment to investigate which psychological treatment is the most effective for
managing pain.
Your plan must include details about:
• experimental design
• directional or non-directional hypothesis. [10]
(b) For one piece of psychological knowledge on which your plan is based:
(i) Describe this psychological knowledge. [4]
(ii) Explain how you used two features of this psychological knowledge to plan your
experiment. [4]
(c) (i) Explain one reason for your choice of experimental design. [2]
(ii) Explain one weakness of your choice of experimental design. [2]
(iii) Explain one reason for your choice of directional or non-directional hypothesis. [2]
Organisational Psychology
12 Within each 24-hour period, workers in different offices have different work patterns: workers in
Office A work 8 hours (9 am–5 pm); workers in Office B work 8 hours flexitime.
(a) Plan a study using an interview to investigate which work pattern gives workers more job
satisfaction.
Your plan must include details about:
• interview technique
• question scoring/interpretation. [10]
(b) For one piece of psychological knowledge on which your plan is based:
(i) Describe this psychological knowledge. [4]
(ii) Explain how you used two features of this psychological knowledge to plan your study.
[4]
(c) (i) Explain one reason for your choice of interview technique. [2]
(ii) Explain one weakness of your choice of interview technique. [2]
(iii) Explain one reason for your choice of question scoring/interpretation. [2]
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