A Level Psychology OCR Practice Exam

In Happé's Strange Stories, what do participants need to do with the presented stories?

1. Watch a movie adaptation of the story

2. Write their own version of the story

3. Answer questions about the story

4. Summarize the story in their own words

The correct answer is: Answer questions about the story

Participants in Happé's Strange Stories are required to answer questions about the stories presented to them. This task assesses their ability to comprehend the narrative, make inferences, and understand the social situations and intentions of the characters involved. The stories often include elements that are not straightforward and require the participants to read between the lines, demonstrating their understanding of Theory of Mind, which is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Answering questions allows researchers to gauge the participants' interpretation of these complex scenarios and their overall cognitive and social understanding. In contrast, watching a movie adaptation would require passive viewing rather than active comprehension and critical thinking about the text. Writing one's own version might encourage creativity but would not directly assess the understanding of the original story. Summarizing in their own words, while useful in some contexts, does not target the same in-depth understanding and inference-making that answering specific questions does, making it less effective for the aims of this particular study.