1. Social EQs

Question 1

It is Ani’s first day in a new job and he spends a lot of time watching to see what his colleagues are doing, so that he will fit in with them and be liked. Explain Ani’s behaviour in terms of compliance. (2 marks)

Answer 1

1. Compliance refers to behaviour that involves going along with the majority, even if privately their views are not accepted.
2. He wants to fit in and be liked, so will change his behaviour to be like the others but does not change his beliefs.

Question 2

Explain what is meant by internalisation. (3 marks)

Answer 2

1. Internalisation is where you accept the group’s beliefs as yours
2. You change both your public and private views
3. Permanent change as you continue to think this even when not in the group

Question 3

Explain what is meant by compliance. (3 marks)

Answer 3

1. Compliance is where you go along with the group to fit in
2. even if you don’t really believe their view point
3. for example, in Asch’s study, many of the naïve participants went along with the wrong answer so as not to look stupid

Question 4

A group of students has to decide what to do with the money left over in their school fund. Most of them want to give the money to a local charity. However, two students, Lisa and Sean, want to buy a pool table for the common room.
Briefly explain how two factors might affect whether or not Lisa and Sean will conform to the rest of the group. (4 marks)

Answer 4

1. If the group size is large / small
2. this will increase / decrease the likelihood that Lisa and Sean will conform to the group
3. Social support may affect conformity
4. As Lisa and Sean agree with each other, this will decrease the likelihood that they will conform to the rest of the group

Question 5

Most research into conformity takes place in a laboratory. Outline one strength of conducting research into conformity in a laboratory. (2 marks)

Answer 5

1. One strength of conducting research in a laboratory is that it allows the experimenter to control the variables, such as group size and difficulty of the task.
2. This manipulation of the IV allows conclusions to be drawn about cause and effect, and what the variables are that influence conformity.

Question 6

Outline one method that psychologists have used to study conformity. (2 marks)

Answer 6

1. Laboratory experiment (such as those carried out by Asch)
2. where confederates deliberately gave the wrong answer to see if the naïve participant conformed

Question 7

Explain one limitation of this method. (2 marks)

Answer 7

1. Lab experiments lack ecological validity
2. this means that the findings cannot be generalised to the real world

Question 8

Suggest an appropriate way of overcoming this limitation. (2 marks)

Answer 8

1. To overcome lack of ecological validity conduct the experiment in the real world
2. by setting up a field experiment so people behave as they would do normally

Question 9

Marcus wants to persuade his group of friends to go travelling in the summer but the rest of the group want to go on a beach holiday. Suggest how Marcus might use the three minority behaviours to persuade his friends to go travelling. (3 marks)

Answer 9

1. Consistency = keep on repeating the same message about how great travelling is
2. Commitment = explain how he is taking time and working hard to plan the trip
3. Flexibility = agree to go to the beach on the travelling holiday

Question 10

A senior army instructor is advising new instructors how to ensure discipline in training classes. He says, ‘Always wear your instructor jacket and stand up close when giving instructions. Make them all understand who has responsibility for the exercise. Serious problems should always be dealt with in the instructors’ office.’

Referring to research into obedience, explain three reasons why the instructor’s advice should be effective. (6 marks)

Answer 10

1. Uniform
2. Presence of a uniform, in this case the instructor’s jacket, conveys legitimate authority, as in Milgram’s experiment where the experimenter had a lab coat.
3. Proximity
4. Standing up close means that people are more likely to follow instructions, as in Milgram’s experiment where the authority figure was more effective when in the same room
5. Location
6. the use of the instructor’s office again conveys the force of legitimate authority as in the Milgram’s study where Yale was more likely to result in obedience than a downtown setting.

Question 11

Jenny is a psychology teacher who works with six other teachers in the department. Jenny believes strongly that homework should not be graded as it distracts students from reading verbal feedback on their work. She would like her colleagues to stop grading work. The other members of the department do not agree but have told Jenny they are willing to have a meeting about it. Using your knowledge of minority influence, explain how Jenny might be able to persuade the rest of the department to accept her view. (6 marks)

Answer 11

1. Jenny should demonstrate consistency
2. by not deviating from her view that not grading work is a good idea despite social pressure – she could point out that this is a view that she has held throughout her teaching career
3. Jenny should demonstrate commitment
4. by placing herself at some risk / inconvenience – she may volunteer to field criticisms from students, parents, other departments, etc. This will draw more attention to her ‘cause’ (augmentation principle)
5. Jenny should demonstrate flexibility
6. by adapting her view / accepting other valid counterarguments. Perhaps some pieces of work could be ungraded but not all – for instance, grading mock exams but not homework

Over time, the rest of the department may become ‘converted’ (snowball effect) – for example, if Jenny’s students start to perform particularly well

Question 12

Outline what is meant by ‘agentic state’ as an explanation for obedience. (2 marks)

Answer 12

1. When a person acts on behalf of an authority figure
2. The actor feels no personal responsibility

Question 13

State one ethical issue with Milgram’s experiment and expain how to deal with it? (2 marks)

Answer 13

1. Deception
2. could be dealt with by debreifing the participant. It would have to be explained why it was necessary to deceive them and answer any questions that they might have wanted to ask, as well as reassuring them.

Question 14

In a hospital, you are very likely to obey a nurse. However, if you meet her outside the hospital, for example in a shop, you are much less likely to obey.

Using your knowledge of how people resist pressures to obey, explain why you are less likely to obey the nurse outside the hospital. (Total 4 marks)

Answer 14

1. Legitmacy of authority may not be recognised,
2. especially if there is no uniform.
3. Location
4. may not be legitimate for the nurse to give an order.

Question 15

Explain what is meant by locus of control. (4 marks)

Answer 15

1. Locus of control is how much a person believes that they have control over events that happen in their lives.
2. This is usually measured along a scale with internal control at one end and external control at the other.
3. Internal control refers to those people who see that they have a great deal of control over their own behaviour and will take responsibility for their own actions.
4. External control refers to those who believe that their behaviour is controlled by other forces such as luck or fate.

Question 16

Why does an internal locus of control mean you are less likely to conform? (3 marks)

Answer 16

1. Research has suggested that internal LOC people believe that they are in control of their environment and are less likely to conform.
2. These personality types are much more likely to behave independently.
3. Attributional style allows resistance to the pressure to conform.

Question 17

Briefly outline and evaluate the authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience to authority. (4 marks)

Answer 17

1. A personality type consisting of traits whereby individuals are obedient to those of a higher status.
2. These individuals have conventional views and have strict adherence to social values. This personality is associated with individuals who have experienced strict upbringings. 3. However it is hard to establish cause and effect between struct upbringings and authoritarianism, the relationship is simply correlational.
3. Furthermore, this explanation is unable to account for obedience of larger groups and whole societies

Question 18

Explain what is meant by social change. (2 marks)

Answer 18

1. Whole societies, (not just individuals) change
2. Adopt new attitudes, beliefs or behaviours through minority influence processes e.g snowball effect

Question 19

Steph’s psychology teacher is leaving at the end of term. Steph would like to organise
a surprise fancy dress party for her, but the rest of the class are not convinced that it
is a good idea.
Use your knowledge of two or more factors affecting minority influence to explain
how Steph can persuade the rest of her class to accept her idea. (6 marks)

Answer 19

1. Steph should demonstrate consistency
2. by not deviating from her view that the party is a good idea despite social pressure – she could point out that this is an idea she has had for some time/since she
   knew the teacher was leaving
3. Steph should demonstrate commitment
4. by placing herself at some risk/inconvenience – she may volunteer to pay for the refreshments/present for the teacher etc. This will draw more attention to her ‘cause’ (augmentation principle)
5. Steph should demonstrate flexibility
6. by adapting her view/accepting other valid counterarguments, perhaps agreeing to change the party for her teacher, eg not fancy dress/not a surprise party

Over time, the rest of the class may become ‘converted’ (snowball effect) – for example, if Steph’s friends start to change their mind, then others follow

Question 20

Outline two limitations of Zimbardo’s study into conformity to social roles. [4 marks]

Answer 20

1. This study suffers from a lack of ethical consideration
2. Zimbardo’s participants failed to leave the study in the same way they entered. Furthermore, they were exposed to intense mental harm, shown as one participant had to be removed from the study.
3. This study also suffers from a lack of ecological validity
4. despite Zimbardo going to lengths to making his study accurate to real life, but many aspects of real prison life were missed, for example the fear of longer sentences, lack of renumeration and the guilt of committing a crime

Question 21

A teacher was absent and left work for students to complete during the lesson. Some
students in the class did not do the work their teacher had left for them.
Use one possible explanation of resistance to social influence to explain why this
happened. (4 marks)

Answer 21

1. Locus of control
2. disobedience is more likely to occur in those who have an internal locus of control
3. the students who disobeyed the instructions may all have had this personality trait in common
4. this meant they relied on their own judgement of whether to complete the work, rather than the teacher’s

Question 22

In a sixth form debating society, Samina is the only student in a group of six who does not
believe that drugs should be legalised.
Using your knowledge of minority influence processes, explain two ways in which Samina could convince the other students in the debating society to agree with her. (4 marks)

Answer 22

1. Samina could demonstrate consistency
2. by not deviating from her view that drugs should not be legalised – she could point out that this is a view she has held for many years
3. Samina could demonstrate commitment
4. by defending her view that drugs should not be legalised through some personal investment – for instance, offering to speak in assembly about the dangers of
   drugs. This will draw more attention to her case (augmentation principle)
5. Samina should demonstrate flexibility
6. by adapting her view/accepting other valid counterarguments.
   Perhaps some ‘softer’ drugs could be decriminalised, rather than legalised

Over time, the rest of the debating society may become ‘converted’ (snowball effect) – for example, if Samina makes her case particularly well

Question 23

What observations was Zimbardo’s study? (2 marks)

Answer 23

controlled and participant observations

Question 24

Students Natasha and Tanya are buying food in the supermarket on their way home from school. As they are paying, they notice their psychology teacher, Mr Boat, at the far end of the queue. They both smile and wave. Mr Boat shouts, “Hey, you two! I think you owe me homework. Wait there so we can have a quick chat.” Natasha and Tanya finish paying, glance at each other giggling and hurry out of the
supermarket.
Using your knowledge of obedience research, explain possible reasons why the students failed to obey their teacher. (6 marks)

Answer 24

• social support – Tanya and Natasha have support
  from each other which gives them the confidence to disobey/defy Mr Boat
• proximity of the authority figure – Mr Boat is at the far end of a queue so disobedience is more likely
• (lack of) legitimacy of the setting – Mr Boat and the students are not at school and so the order lacks legitimacy in this setting (the supermarket),
• Mr Boat is not wearing his work clothes, making disobedience more likely
• Natasha and Tanya are in an autonomous, rather than agentic, state.
• dispositional factors eg. Natasha and/or Tanya have an internal locus of control so disobey Mr Boat

Question 25

Outline informational social influence as an explanation for conformity (3 marks)

Answer 25

* occurs because of a desire to be right * occurs in ambiguous situations * conforming for cognitive reasons * leads to internalisation * a permanent change in view/behaviour.

Question 26

A teacher asked her class for a volunteer to talk to future A-level students. The teacher asked Sarah first, but she refused. The teacher then asked Emily to help. Use your knowledge of resistance to social influence to explain Emily’s likely response to the teacher’s request. (3 marks)

Answer 26

Social Support Possible content: * Emily resists the teacher because she is influenced by Sarah’s refusal * Sarah acts as social support which makes Emily feel confident to also refuse Locus of control Possible content: * Emily resists Sarah’s influence because of her own internal locus of control * Emily’s internal LOC makes Emily feel confident in making her own decisions, ignoring Sarah’s behaviour.

Question 27

Maya wants to encourage the workers in her office to use their own reusable cups at box work, rather than the disposable paper cups provided by the company. Explain how Maya might show either commitment or flexibility to persuade the workers to change their behaviour. (2 marks)

Answer 27

1. commitment: Maya might place herself at some inconvenience – she may volunteer to buy some reusable cups. 2. This will draw more attention to her ‘cause’ (augmentation principle)

Question 28

Briefly outline three findings from Asch’s research into conformity. (3 marks)

Answer 28

* naïve participants gave a wrong answer about 37% of the time * 25% of participants did not conform/75% conformed at least once * increasing the size of the majority increased conformity * increasing task difficulty increased conformity * presence of a dissenter who did not conform reduced conformity (to 5%)

Question 29

Explain one limitation of Asch’s research into conformity. (3 marks)

Answer 29

* lacks temporal validity: Asch’s findings may not be so relevant today – the outcome may have been influenced by social attitudes of the 1950s – post-war attitudes that people should work together and consent rather than dissent * lacks mundane realism: Asch’s task was artificial – therefore not a valid measure of real-life conformity where conforming takes place in a social context and often with people we know rather than strangers. * lacks ecological validity: the research was carried out in a laboratory/controlled conditions, so behaviour may not represent real world conformity * demand characteristics: artificiality of situation/task may have caused some participants to go along with the confederates, reducing internal validity * gender bias/lack of generalisability: use of a male sample thus may not represent female behaviour. * lacks population validity: use of volunteer sample whose behaviour may not represent that of a wider population * ethical problems including deception (participants believed they were taking part in a test of perception) and protection from harm (participants were put in a stressful and embarrassing situation).

Question 30

What is an example of commitment? (1 mark)

Answer 30

Members of a religious group give up their Saturday mornings to distribute leaflets about the importance of worship.

Question 31

What is an example of flexibility? (1 mark)

Answer 31

An environmental group acknowledges that recycling can be time-consuming while emphasising its importance for the future of the planet.

Question 32

What is an example of consistentcy? (1 mark)

Answer 32

All of the members of the ‘Flat Earth Society’ agree that the Earth is flat and not round.

Question 33

Describe how Zimbardo investigated conformity to social roles. (4 marks)

Answer 33

* set up mock prison in the basement of Stanford University * observational study – controlled, participant, overt * emotionally stable volunteers were assigned to roles of either prisoner or guard * prisoners ‘arrested’, blindfolded, strip searched, etc * guards given a night stick, dark glasses, uniform etc and told to maintain order * prisoners’ daily routines were heavily regulated by guards working in shifts * dehumanisation of prisoners, eg wearing nylon stocking caps and numbered smocks, etc * the study was planned to run for two weeks, but was stopped early.

Question 34

Fewer and fewer people use single-use plastic items, such as water bottles and plastic straws. Using your knowledge of social influence processes in social change, explain why fewer and fewer people are using single-use plastic items. (6 marks)

Answer 34

Minority influence processes: * consistency, commitment (augmentation principle), flexibility * the snowball effect – how behaviour/views on use of plastic change gradually over time. Conformity processes: * normative social influence/compliance – the group norm among young people particularly is to care about the environment; people who go against this norm (by ignoring the costs to the planet) risk rejection from the group/are less likely to fit in * informational social influence/internalisation – more is now known about the harmful effects of single-use plastic items on the environment/climate change, people may have become convinced by such evidence. Obedience processes: * rules on single-use plastic items have changed, eg charges for plastic shopping bags, etc.

Question 35

Outline and explain the findings of Milgram’s investigation into the effect of location on obedience. (4 marks)

Answer 35

1. measured obedience using electric shock experiment: change of venue to run-down building 2. obedience levels dropped by 17.5% (accept 65% at Yale vs 47.5% in run-down office) 3. the status of the location changed the participant’s perception of the legitimacy of the authority of the investigator 4. lower authority in run-down building led to lower levels of obedience.

Question 36

One of the participants, Ava, strongly believed that the amount of homework she was set was fair. However, when the teacher interviewed her with her three friends, the friends said they thought they had too much homework. Ava also said she thought there was too much homework. Use your knowledge of conformity to explain one reason for Ava’s behaviour (2 marks)

Answer 36

1. Ava wanted the approval of her friends so she agreed with them about having too much homework in order to be liked – normative social influence 2. although Ava privately disagreed with her friends about the amount of homework she was set, she publicly agreed with them – compliance 3. Ava wanted to have affinity with the group as they were her friends – identification 4. Ava was influenced by her three friends as three is the optimum number for conformity – Asch’s research.

Question 37

The survey shows that fewer young people are smoking today than in 1987. Using your knowledge of social influence processes in social change, explain possible reasons for this change in behaviour. (6 marks)

Answer 37

Minority influence processes: * examples of the influence of pressure groups/anti-smoking lobbies and how they may convince the majority through consistency, commitment (augmentation principle), flexibility * the snowball effect – how smoking behaviour/views on smoking change gradually over time. Conformity processes: * normative social influence/compliance – the group norm among young people is to maintain health and fitness; people who go against this norm (by smoking) risk rejection from the group; smoking is anti-social, violates social norms, so young people who smoke are less likely to fit in * informational social influence/internalisation – more is known now about the harmful effects of smoking, young people may have become convinced by such evidence. Obedience processes: * laws on smoking have changed, e.g. banned in public places, which may have influenced young people’s behaviour.