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Question 223

Instagram and TikTok Study

Instagram and TikTok are popular visual social media platforms with a vast younger audience. A group of researchers wanted to investigate whether specific psychological motivations were related to active posting behaviour on these platforms.

The researchers recruited 250 participants via an online portal. There were 110 males, 135 females, and 5 non-binary individuals aged 16–30, with a mean age of 21. Participants provided informed consent and completed a questionnaire designed to measure three motivational drivers:

  • Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): the apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Items included statements like 'I get anxious when I don't know what my friends are up to'.
  • Self-Promotion: the desire to present an idealized version of oneself to others. Items included statements like 'I carefully curate my photos to look successful'.
  • Social Connection: the feeling of connectedness and community. Items included statements like 'Posting helps me feel closer to my peers'.

Statements were scored using ranked scale questions with five options ranging from 'Strongly Disagree (1)' to 'Strongly Agree (5)'. The responses for FOMO, self-promotion, and social connection were averaged for each participant to yield a score from 1 to 5, where a high score indicated high levels of that motivation.

The researchers in the Instagram and TikTok study used the mean score to analyse the data from their ranked scale questions.

Explain one weakness of using the mean score to analyse the data in the Instagram and TikTok study.

[2]
Markscheme

Methods Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Methods

638 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Methods. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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