Cambridge International AS & A Level
PSYCHOLOGY 9990/04
Paper 4 Specialist Options: Application For examination from 2020
SPECIMEN PAPER 1 hour 30 minutes
You must answer on the enclosed answer booklet.
*0123456789*
You will need: Answer booklet (enclosed)
INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer four questions in total:
Answer questions from two options.
Section A: answer two questions.
Section B: answer one question.
Section C: 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 6 pages. Blank pages are indicated.
© UCLES 2019 [Turn over
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Section A
You must answer two questions from this section.
Answer all the parts for the two questions you choose.
Psychology and abnormality
1 A study (Ost, 1991) identified the causes of blood and injection phobias. The following table shows
the percentages of participants in each category.
Cause of phobia Blood Injection
phobia phobia
Conditioning 49.4% 57.1%
Vicarious experiences 25.9% 21.4%
Instruction/information 7.4% 5.4%
No recall 17.3% 16.1%
(a) Give one conclusion that can be drawn from this table. [2]
(b) Give two advantages of the treatment of applied tension for blood phobia. [4]
(c) Fear of blood and injections are common phobias.
Describe how a different phobia can be explained through conditioning. [4]
(d) Discuss the evidence suggesting that phobias are learned. You should consider both sides of
the argument and include a conclusion. [5]
Psychology and consumer behaviour
2 In relation to the participants in their experiment, Braun-LaTour et al. write:
Sixty-six undergraduates (32 female, 34 male) at a large Northwestern University participated in
this experiment for course credit. The average age was 21. Participants were randomly assigned
to one of two conditions.
(a) Outline what Braun-LaTour et al. mean by ‘participants were randomly assigned’. [2]
(b) Identify one strength and one weakness of the sample in this study. Give reasons for your
answer. [4]
(c) Describe two alternative ways in which a sample for this study could have been gathered.
[4]
(d) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using students in psychology experiments.
You should include a conclusion in your answer. [5]
© UCLES 2019 9990/04/SP/20
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Psychology and health
3 Newspaper headline: patients over-estimate drug treatment for an ulcer.
A study was conducted by Dr Roth in which patients had been prescribed medication for treatment
of an ulcer. 89% of patients claimed that they took the pills prescribed, while Dr Roth found that
only 47% had actually taken them. Dr Roth suggested that although pill counting is more accurate
then patients’ estimates, a physiological test is the only accurate measure of patient adherence.
(a) Outline one physiological measure of patient adherence. [2]
(b) Give two weaknesses of subjective self-reports to measure adherence. [4]
(c) Suggest two reasons why physiological tests of adherence are valid. [4]
(d) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using pill counts to measure patient adherence.
You should consider a conclusion in your answer. [5]
Psychology and organisations
4 Mowday et al. devised the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). One question is:
‘I would accept almost any type of job assignment in order to keep working for this organisation.’
Answers are scored on a 7-point scale:
strongly disagree
moderately disagree
slightly disagree
neither disagree nor agree
slightly agree
moderately agree
strongly agree
(a) Give one weakness with the wording of the OCQ question in the study. [2]
(b) Give two strengths of psychometric tests using the OCQ as an example. [4]
(c) Suggest how an alternative method to a questionnaire could be used to gather qualitative
data. [4]
(d) An alternative scale has 6 points, without ‘neither disagree nor agree’.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of including this point on a scale. You should
include a conclusion in your answer. [5]
© UCLES 2019 9990/04/SP/20 [Turn over
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Section B
You must answer one question from this section.
Psychology and abnormality
5 (a) Design a study to investigate whether obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is more
effectively treated by psychological or biomedical techniques. [10]
(b) Explain the psychological and methodological evidence on which your study is based. [8]
Psychology and consumer behaviour
6 (a) Design an experiment to investigate whether different types of music influence consumer
behaviour in a shop. [10]
(b) Explain the psychological and methodological evidence on which your experiment is based.
[8]
Psychology and health
7 (a) Design an experiment to test whether sending a reminder improves attendance at a medical
appointment. [10]
(b) Explain the psychological and methodological evidence on which your experiment is based.
[8]
Psychology and organisations
8 (a) Design a study to investigate worker preference for job rotation or job enrichment. [10]
(b) Explain the psychological and methodological evidence on which your study is based. [8]
© UCLES 2019 9990/04/SP/20
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Section C
You must answer one question from this section.
Psychology and abnormality
9 ‘Conducting a case study is the best way to find out about obsessive, compulsive and related
disorders.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Use examples of research you have studied to
support your answer. [12]
Psychology and consumer behaviour
10 ‘Studies of retail/leisure design environments have not helped psychologists understand buyer
behaviour.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Use examples of research you have studied to
support your answer. [12]
Psychology and health
11 ‘Arousing fear is the most effective way to promote health.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Use examples of research you have studied to
support your answer. [12]
Psychology and organisations
12 ‘A high level of pay is the only motivator any worker needs.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement? Use examples of research you have studied to
support your answer. [12]
© UCLES 2019 9990/04/SP/20
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BLANK PAGE
Copyright Acknowledgements:
Question 1 © Lars-Göran Öst; ‘Acquisition of blood and injection phobia and anxiety response patterns in clinical patients’; in Behaviour
Research and Therapy.
Question 2 © Kathryn A Braun-LaTour et al; ‘How and When Advertising Can Influence Memory for Consumer Experience’; in Journal of
Advertising vol.33 issue 4; December 1 2004.
Question 4 © Richard T Mowday et al; ‘The measurement of organizational commitment’; in Journal of Vocational Behaviour.
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of
Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which itself is a department of the University of Cambridge.
© UCLES 2019 9990/04/SP/20
