How to use supporting research evidence as an AO3?

Hi there,

I am currently doing A level Psychology from the AQA syllabus. I am very confused how do you use the supporting research evidence as a piece of AO3 in the evaluation of the 12/16 marks essay.

For example, in the Equity Theory for relationship,a piece of supporting evidence is a research conducted by Utne et al, and basically it confirms that the theory is valid. But isn't it sounds too plain? What else can you write other than this from supporting evidences?

Reply 1

nishabliss

7

It's only 16 markers now (from what I've got told).

But you may start by saying 'A strength of this study is there is strong supporting evidence to confirm the validity of the concept of the Equity Theory for relationships'. And then explain the research conducted by Utne et al and then use this evidence to explain how it is useful in supporting the Equity Theory for relationships (so basically evaluating it). And then you could counteract this argument by saying a disadvantage of the research and how this affects entirely supporting the theory.

Don't know if this makes any sense

Reply 2

ellen_419

OP

8

Original post by nishabliss

It's only 16 markers now (from what I've got told).

But you may start by saying 'A strength of this study is there is strong supporting evidence to confirm the validity of the concept of the Equity Theory for relationships'. And then explain the research conducted by Utne et al and then use this evidence to explain how it is useful in supporting the Equity Theory for relationships (so basically evaluating it). And then you could counteract this argument by saying a disadvantage of the research and how this affects entirely supporting the theory.

Don't know if this makes any sense

Do you mean like this? Sort of?

One strength of the equity theory is that it is supported by other research, proving that the theory is valid. Utne et al (1984) for example conducted a research on 118 new-weds using self-report technique. He found that the couples whose relationship is more equitable considered their relationship to be more satisfied than the couples who are over/under-benefited from their relationship. This supports the theory as it demonstrates that equity in relationship is more important than gaining profit from their investment for a relationship to continues. However, because the research uses the self-report technique, it can be argued that people may not be entirely honest due to demand characteristics,decreasing the internal validity of the experiment.

Ellen

How to use supporting research evidence as an AO3?

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