Culture & Communication (DP IB Psychology): Revision Note

Here is an example of a Paper 3 source and 6-mark SAQ using motivation (HL extension) in the Human Relationships context:

Source 2

The table below shows the findings from a study into the correlation between ratings of the importance of communication and level of satisfaction in the marriage from a sample of Indians living in the USA.

The three groups are:

• Indians in arranged marriages living in India

• Indians in arranged marriages living in the USA

• Indians in free-choice marriages (i.e., not arranged) living in the USA

Table 1: The relationship between importance of communication and satisfaction in marriage

Q2: Analyse the findings from source 2 and state a conclusion based on the claim that people in arranged marriages do not value communication as highly as those in free-choice marriages.

[6 marks]

Model answer:

The findings are quantitative, which makes the results easy to compare at a glance and to convert to percentages and statistical testing. On the face of it, these findings refute the claim that people in arranged marriages do not value communication, as the second group (Indians in arranged marriages in the USA) have the highest correlation coefficient at .721. This is a reasonably strong correlation which suggests that communication and marriage satisfaction are linked. The lowest score of .433 for the free-choice couples living in the USA might be a reflection of divorce being easier in individualistic countries so there is less pressure to make the marriage work.

The findings should not be taken as definitive, however: a correlation can only show a relationship between variables, not cause-effect. There is always the possibility that social desirability bias or response bias influenced the ratings given by participants. If this were the case, it would decrease the validity of the data.

Guidance

• Your analysis should refer to the raw scores (if these are included) and/or the descriptive/inferential statistics presented in the findings

  • For descriptive stats this may comprise the mean/median/mode as measures of central tendency and the range/standard deviation as measures of dispersion

  • For inferential stats this may comprise a statement of significance and/or link to the level of probability used

• You should always state which condition of the IV performed better

• You should comment on what the stats seem to suggest about performance per condition

• If relevant, you should comment on what the data tells you about the population, e.g., is this a normal distribution or is it skewed?

• If the research is qualitative then you should focus on how the findings have been categorised/presented and whether there are drawbacks or limitations to how it has been gathered (e.g., sample size, potential bias)

• You should draw a conclusion based on what the data in the source/study tells you about what is being investigated

  • E.g., do the findings suggest that X does affect Y?