Year 11 Psychology ATAR Task 5 Part B Scenario Test

Attitude

A long‑standing evaluation of people, objects, issues, or yourself.

Tripartite model components

Affective (feelings), Behavioural (actions), Cognitive (beliefs).

Affective component

Look for emotions or feelings expressed.

Behavioural component

Look for actions or behaviours influenced by the attitude.

Cognitive component

Look for beliefs, thoughts, or assumptions.

Implicit attitude

An automatic, unconscious attitude that influences behaviour.

Explicit attitude

A conscious attitude that can be stated clearly.

Spotting implicit attitudes

Behaviour contradicts what the person says they believe.

Spotting explicit attitudes

The person openly states their attitude.

Stereotype

A generalised belief about a group.

Prejudice

A negative feeling toward a group.

Discrimination

Unfair behaviour toward a group.

Identifying stereotypes

Look for generalised statements about groups.

Identifying prejudice

Look for negative emotions toward a group.

Identifying discrimination

Look for actions that treat groups differently.

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological tension from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviours.

Responses to cognitive dissonance

Change beliefs, change behaviour, change perception of the action.

Identifying dissonance

Look for conflict between values and behaviour.

Rationalisation

Justifying behaviour to reduce dissonance.

Convenience sampling

Selecting easily available participants.

Limitation of convenience sampling

Low generalisability.

Snowball sampling

Participants recruit other participants.

Limitation of snowball sampling

Bias and privacy concerns.

Random sampling

Every member of the population has an equal chance of selection.

Stratified sampling

A research method where a scientist splits a target group into smaller subgroups, or strata, based on shared traits like age or gender

Identifying sampling methods

Look at how participants were chosen.

Quantitative data

Numerical data.

Qualitative data

Descriptive, non‑numerical data.

Subjective data

Based on personal opinion.

Objective data

Measurable and observable.

Identifying data types

Look at whether the data is numbers or words.

Likert scale

A rating scale measuring strength of attitudes.

Open‑ended question

A question allowing detailed, descriptive responses.

Mixed‑methods

Using both qualitative and quantitative data.

Identifying mixed‑methods

Look for both rating scales and open‑ended questions.

Participant extraneous variable

Differences in participants such as mood or ability.

Environmental extraneous variable

Differences in surroundings such as noise or temperature.

Researcher extraneous variable

Researcher behaviour influencing participants.

Confounding variable

An uncontrolled variable that affects the DV.

Identifying extraneous variables

Look for anything that could unintentionally affect results.

Demand characteristics

Participants change behaviour because they think they know the aim.

Experimenter effect

Researcher unintentionally influences participant behaviour.

Identifying demand characteristics

Participants try to please or guess the researcher.

Identifying experimenter effect

Researcher behaviour differs between groups.

Reliability

Consistency of results.

Test‑retest reliability

Same results over time.

Inter‑rater reliability

Different researchers produce similar results.

Identifying reliability issues

Look for inconsistent results or inconsistent scoring.

Validity

Accuracy — measuring what you claim to measure.

Internal validity

Results are due to the IV, not confounds.

External validity

Results can be generalised.

Construct validity

The tool measures the psychological concept.

Face validity

The tool appears to measure what it should.

Identifying validity issues

Look for irrelevant questions, confounds, or unrepresentative samples.

Informed consent

Participants must be fully informed and agree voluntarily.

Confidentiality

Protecting participant identity and data.

Voluntary participation

Participants can withdraw at any time without pressure.

Identifying ethical issues

Look for pressure, lack of information, or exposed identities.