2019 paper 1 Flashcards
Outline two explanations of resistance to social influence.
[4 marks]
- One explanation for the resistance to social influence is locus of control.
- When individuals have an internal locus of control they are less likely to blindly obey authority figures as they are less likely to make the shift to agentic state because they believe they are responsible for their actions.
- They are also less likely to demonstrate normative social influence as they are less influenced by what others think.
- Another explanation for the resistance to social influence is social support. - Asch’s research demonstrated that when there is a dissenter in the group who supported the naïve participant and disagreed with the majority levels of conformity went down.
- This is similar to Milgram who fund that a disobedient ally who refused to continue decreased levels of obedience..
In 1987, a survey of 1000 young people found that 540 said they smoked cigarettes, whilst 460 said they did not. In 2017, a similar survey of another 1000 young people found that 125 said they smoked cigarettes, whilst 875 said they did not. Calculate the ratio of smokers to non-smokers in 2017. Give your answer in simplest form. [2 marks]
1:7
Which statistical test should be used to calculate whether there is a significant difference in reported smoking behaviour between the two surveys? Give three reasons for your answer. [4 marks]
Chi-squared test
- The researchers are investigating a difference between the no. of smokers and non-smokers in 2 surveys
- the data is nomial
- the young people sampled in 1987 and 2017 are independent groups so the data are unrelated
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]
In 1987 not as much was known about the harmful effects of smoking and therefore the group norm was to smoke as it was fashionable. This meant that young people would be influenced by normative social influence to smoke or risk rejection from the group. However as a minority of individuals began to understand the harmful effects and used minority influence processes to enact social change. This involves using internalisation to convince individuals of their beliefs using informational influence and people’s desires to be correct.
This might involve the formation of anti-smoking pressure groups which research by Moscovici has shown would need consistency in their message to be successful as he demonstrated that it was possible for a minority of confederates to influence a majority of naïve participants to believe slides were a different colour. This could be done, for example, by keeping to the message of the harmful effects on the body. In addition this research showed that demonstrating a commitment to the message by putting yourself at risk in some way (augmentation principle) also helps to convince the majority to listen to the message, for example with strikes demonstrations. Finally a degree of flexibility is useful such as asking people to cut back, use nicotine patches or not smoke in public places first. This makes the majority listen and take the message seriously, making them internalise the message.
This acts as a snowball, slowly gathering members until there becomes a tipping point and the minority becomes the majority and uses the social pressure of normative social influence such as young people today who are more concerned with health than smoking and frown on peers who smoke. This then results in social crypto amnesia where people don’t remember that it was ever acceptable to smoke in public places and that it was fashionable
Discuss ethical issues in social influence research. [8 marks]
A limitation of Asch’s research is there are ethical issues regarding it. For example, He broke several ethical guidelines, including deception and protection from harm. Asch deliberately deceived his participants, saying that they were taking part in a vision test and not an experiment on conformity. Although it is seen as unethical to deceive participants, Asch’s experiment required deception in order to achieve valid results. If the participants were aware of the true aim they would have displayed demand characteristics and acted differently. In addition, Asch’s participants were not protected from psychological harm and many of the participants reporting feeling stressed when they disagreed with the majority. However, Asch interviewed all of his participants following the experiment to overcome this issue.
The next ethical issue is where participants in social influence research fail to completely protect the participants from harm, both physical and emotional. For eg, in both Zimbardo and Milgram’s research, the participants learned that they were capable of harming, another human being because Milgram’s Ps were unaware the shocks were not real. In addition some of the prisoners in the Stanford prison experiment suffered severe distress – being humiliated and exhibiting psychosomatic illnesses. However, whilst these effects are distressing for the participants at the time the cost benefit analysis of what was gained from this research might argue that the harm was worth it for what we learnt about the dangers of taking on these social roles.
Researchers have been criticised for not letting Ps know that they can withdraw at any moment, however, studies like Milgram’s have not provided their Ps with that option and were pressurised to stay However, historically speaking, at the time when these studies were conducted ethical guidelines weren’t in place. Due to physical and emotional harm faced by Ps; these studies led to the introduction of ethical guidelines which protected future participants .
Which two of A, B, C, D and E are associated with the cognitive interview technique?
A: Alter the perspective
E: Reverse the order
Evaluate the cognitive interview as a way of improving the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony [6 marks]
This is supporting evidence for the efficiency of cognitive interviews. Geiselman et al 1985 they found that compared with standard interviews where Ps remembered only 29.4% of correct items those who were interviewed using the cognitive interview remembered 41.5% of the correct items. These findings add credibility to the use of Cl to retrieve more accurate information from EW and increases our confidence in it use. However it is important to note that Geiselman et al 1985 also found that Cl interviews retrieved more incorrect 7.3% and confabulated items 0.7% compared to standard interviews 6.1% and 0.4 %.
Research suggests that whilst all elements of Cl are equally valuable, some are more effective than others. Milne and Bull 2002 found that each element used singly produced more information than standard interviews and using a combination of report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any other conditions. This evidence further increases the credibility of Cl and our confidence in its efficiency. For this reason, advice to police would be to use at least 2 elements to illicit more accurate EWT.
However, police may be reluctant to use the Cl because it takes much more time than the standard police interview. More time is needed for training, officers will need to take time off work for this training. For these reasons it is unlikely that the proper version of the Cl is being used by police officers. This means care still needs to be taken when relying on police interviews as it is possible that an eyewitness account could be inaccurate if either the standard interview or the cognitive interview was used inappropriately.
it is important to note that there is evidence that challenges the true effectiveness and limitations of cognitive interviews. Geiselman 1999 reviewed a number of studies and concluded that children under 6 yrs actually reported events slightly less accurately in response to cognitive interview techniques. These studies conclude that it is important to use Cl with care as there is a chance that some of the information retrieved from EW could be incorrect. It is also important that the police are advised to avoid using the cognitive interviews procedure with children under 6 yrs old as they may find the instructions difficult to understand.
Most PIN codes are 4 digits long and are easy to remember. In contrast, mobile phonenumbers are 11 digits long. Most people would not be able to remember a friend’s new
mobile phone number unless they were able to say it to themselves several times without
interruption.Discuss the multi-store model of memory. Refer to the information above in your answer.[16 marks]
The MSM was put through by Shiffin and Atkinson and consists of 3 memory stores: the sensory memory store, the short-term memory store and the long term memory store. Each store has different characteristics. The SM has unlimited capacity and a duration of 0.5 to 2 seconds. The STM is encoded acoustically, has a capacity of 7+/-2 pieces of information and a duration of 18 to 20 seconds. The LTM is encoded semantically has unlimited capacity and an infinite duration which can last a lifetime.
In order for information to move from SM to STM, you must pay attention to it. Maintenance rehearsal must occur in order to keep it in your STM, but elaborative rehearsal is needed to move it to your LTM. Any information which is not rehearsed is either displaced or decayed (forgotten).
A strength of the MSM is that it has supporting evidence that agrees with the MSM’s view of rehearsal being needed to transfer information from the STM TO LTM. When Peterson and Peterson showed Ps sets of trigrams and asked them to recall them with no rehearsal (due to a distraction of counting down), they found that after 3 seconds recall was 80%, after 6 seconds it was 50% and after 18 seconds it was less than 10%. This low recall after 18 seconds shows that the information from the trigrams was unable to move into their LTM due to a lack of elaborative rehearsal. This is a strength because it proves that rehearsal is needed for information to be transferred, and also shows that the STM and LTM are 2 separate stores. This furthers our understanding of memory and the factors which can affect memory and also validates the MSM.
Also, the case study of HM is supporting evidence that shows that the STM and LTM are individual stores. When HM got his hippocampus removed, his STM was unaffected yet this LTM was. He was unable to recall or form any new long memories. The fact that only his LTM was affected, shows that the STM and LTM stores are located in different regions of the brain. This is a strength as it proves that they are separate and therefore adds credibility and validates the MSM. This furthers our understanding of memory even more and gives us an insight into the location of the LTM in our brains.
However, there are methodological problems with the supporting evidence used. For example, Conrad used a lab experiment to investigate how the STM is encoded. Lab experiments are very artificial and the tasks have low mundane realism. Conrad’s tasks of recalling letters that either sounded or looked similar do not reflect the kind of things we try to recall on a daily basis. This is a limitation because it discredits and undermines the validity of the MSM. Inorder for both the evidence and the MSM to be more valid, the tasks should be more representative of real-life situations.
Also, Tulving argues that the MSM’s view of CTM is too simple and inflexible. He argues that LTM is not a unitary stare but actually has 3: semantic LTM, episodic LTM and procedural LTM. This is a limitation as Tulving’s theory is supported by brain scans (PET) and many studies. Therefore whilst this validates Tulvings’s view on LTM, it discredits and lowers the validity of the MSM as it has not taken into account that the LTM may not be a unitary store. Therefore we are unable to fully trust the MSM as it appears to be too simple and incomplete.
4 -digit numbers are easy to remember as 7+/- items is the average capacity of STM, so the 11 digit mobile numbers would exceed this limited capacity. However, these longer mobile numbers can be recalled if people ‘say it to themselves several times’ so it can stay in STM and can be trsnafer into the LTM. Interruption disrupts recall because it causes displacement from STM . These digits can be easily remembered by using chucking
Outline findings from research into the role of the father in attachment.
[4 mark
Fathers are less likely to be the main attachment figures as spend less time with child and are less psychologically equipped. Grossmann 2002 found the fathers as attachment figures is less important and they have a different role in attachment play and stimulation not nurturing.This is as they lack emotional sensitivity women have, which may be due to levels of oestrogen and cultural expectations.Even thought fathers have a different role this is still crucial to the child’s wellbeing.
However, Field 1978 found that fathers can be nurturing attachment figures and that the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness and not the gender of the parent.This shows that men can actually be primary attachment figures, as seen in studies with single fathers, but biological and social factors discourage this.
Explain the economic implications of research into the role of the father in attachment.
[4 marks]
Research into the role of fathers has far-reaching implications for the economy due to its impact on employment laws and policy. Showing the relative importance of fathers and their ability to play an equal role of caregiver sensitivity and therefore welfare of children could impact paternity laws. This research has already influenced a shift towards shared parental leave and increased paternity leave for new fathers.
This has implications for employers in terms of paying for productivity which they are not seeing. In addition parental leave is partially funded by both the employer and the government which has implications for funding if both partners seek to take leave. The shared parental leave however is a double-edged sword, whilst it may reduce males in the workforce as they seek to take more leave when they have children, this would allow mothers to take less leave and therefore return to work, allowing them to resume contribution to the employer or in some cases parents may choose to divide the leave so each works part-time, which may mean fewer cover issues in some workforces.
Consequently, the impact is likely to be one which levels the gender pay gap as parents seek more equality in the workplace and childcare – taking equal advantage of the roles played by mothers and fathers or taking joint primary attachment status.
Discuss research into the influence of early attachment on childhood and/or adult relationships.
[16 marks]
Research on the early influence of attachment suggests the first attachment made is a template for future relationships. The quality of a child’s first attachment is crucial as it provides a template that will affect the nature of future relationships. This is due to the Internal Working Model created by Bowlby. If a child’s first attachment is a good experience, they will have the assumption of how all relationships are meant to be and are more likely to have successful relationships later in life, however if it’s a bad experience they may struggle to form relationships and not know how to act within them.
Securely attached infants form the best childhood, insecure avoidant children are likely to be victims whilst insecure resistant are most likely to be bullies. Hazan and Schaffer’s Love Quiz findings show secure attachment types were mostly likely to have longer lasting romantic relationships, but avoidant resistant types tended to have more issues in relationships.
Bowlby’s original assertions are incredibly deterministic the internal working model is set within the critical period and will go on to influence later childhood relationships with friends. and later adult friendships and romantic relationships. This suggests that the outcome of these. relationships is fixed from a very early point and there is no ability to change them. This minimises the possible impact of a range of factors in someone’s intervening years and may oversimplify the issue. For example, Zimmerman found that childhood attachment did not predict later adult relationships, instead, it was a major life event in childhood. such as the death of a parent or divorce which shows a movable state for attachment. In addition, Feeny et al discovered that individuals changed attachment styles between partners, suggesting that having a securely attached childhood did not exclude the possibility of later insecure relationships, which in turn did not exclude the possibility of a secure one later on. This was based on individual interactions, lending more criticism to the deterministic and fixed nature of the. internal working model.
A limitation of studies into the influence of early attachment on adult relationships, such as the study conducted by Hazan and Shaver, is the use of self-report techniques to assess the quality of infant-parent attachment. The validity of the self-report techniques is limited because the validity depends on the respondents being honest and having a realistic view of their own relationships, and social desirability bias may affect results. The validity of the results also relies on how accurately respondents can recall their relationship with their primary attachment figure. Therefore, using self-report techniques such as interviews and questionnaires may lack validity.
Some researchers, including Bowlby, have probably exaggerated the significance of this influence. Clarke and Clarke describe the influence of infant attachment on later relationships as problematic. People are not doomed to always have bad relationship problems. They just have a greater risk of problems. Therefore there is a further issue that by emphasising this risk we become too pessimistic about people’s futures.
Outline two behavioural characteristics of depression. [4 marks]
- change in activity levels - Having a lack of energy may result in withdrawing from social activities or start to neglect social hygiene.
- disruption to sleep - their sleep might increase (hypersomnia) or decrease (insomnia)
- desruption to eating behaviour - increased eating might lead to weight gain/ decreased eating might lead to weight loss
- act more aggressively towards others or oneself eg. self harm
Agoraphobia is an extreme fear of open or public spaces. It affects box less than 1% of adults
in the UK. In many cases, people with agoraphobia are unable to leave their homes and
may not even be able to look outside, perceiving threats everywhere. The condition is
very stressful for the individual, and for their family, and may prevent sufferers from living a
normal life and achieving their potential.
1 3 Referring to the description above, outline three definitions of abnormality.
[6 marks]
Statistical infrequency defines abnormality as any behaviour which is mathematically rare in a population - for example Agoraphobia “affects less than 1% of adults”. Whereas Failure to Function Adequately defines abnormality as anything which interferes with everyday life often causing personal distress or observer discomfort – for example Agoraphobia is described as “very stressful for the individual and their family” and “may prevent suffers from living a normal life”. Finally Deviation from Ideal Mental Health defines abnormality as behaviour which fails to meet the criteria for psychological wellbeing. This includes having an accurate perception of reality, being resistant to stress and being able to self-actualise - for example Agoraphobics are described as “perceiving threats everywhere” it is “very stressful” and “prevents sufferers…achieving their potential”
Outline one limitation of the two-process model.
[2 marks]
The 2-process model assumes that all phobias arise from a traumatic experience however, not all individuals who experience a stressful event go on to develop a phobias.
Explain one or more reasons why it might be better to conduct a case study than a
questionnaire. [4 marks]
Case studies are longitudinal, so changes in the patient’s experience can be observed over time whereas questionnaires tend to provide just a snapshot of the experience.
case studies involve several methods such as observation, interviews, etc. enabling checks for consistency, reliability, and validity whereas a questionnaire is only a single method of data collection. Case studies produce rich, detailed qualitative data, whereas questionnaires tend to produce less detailed information.
