Areas

Question 1

two principles of the cognitive area

Answer 1

• centres on the study of internal mental processes such as memory, attention, language and perception.
• the mind works like a computer processor as it inputs, stores and retrieves information.

Question 2

two principles of the social area

Answer 2

• other people and the surrounding environment are major influences on an individual’s behaviour, thought processes and emotions.
• we behave differently in different situations depending on the social roles we take and on the perceived or actual presence of others

Question 3

two principles of the developmental area

Answer 3

• Suggests that behaviour may be innate (due to genetics) or may be learned from the environment (including other people).
• Assumes our behaviour changes throughout our lifetime (sometimes in pre-determined stages).

Question 4

similarity and difference of dev and social and examples

Answer 4

s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Bandura + Milgram)

d - social area higher in ecological validity (Kohlberg + Piliavin)

Question 5

similarity and difference of dev and cog and examples

Answer 5

s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Grant + Chaney)

d - cog mainly uses snapshot, dev mainly longitudinal (Simons and Chabris + Kohlberg)

Question 6

similarity and difference of social and cog and examples

Answer 6

s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Milgram + Grant)

d - social area often less ethnocentric (Levine + Loftus and Palmer)

Question 7

2 strengths of social area

Answer 7

• often high in ecological validity (Piliavin)

- often less ethnocentric (Levine)

Question 8

weaknesses of the social area

Answer 8

• socially sensitive, difficult to stay within ethical guidelines (Milgram)
• may not be true for all time

Question 9

strengths of the developmental area

Answer 9

• considers both nature and nurture and how they impact development (Bandura)
• can study participants over time to reduce participant variables (Kohlberg)

Question 10

weaknesses of the developmental area

Answer 10

• some theories often too deterministic (Kohlberg)

- research with children may raise ethical issues e.g. consent, protection from harm (Bandura)

Question 11

strengths of the cognitive area

Answer 11

• often considered to be scientific due to use of controlled methods and standardised procedures (Simons and Chabris)
• Easier to test for reliability with controlled scientific study (Loftus and Palmer) NEED TO IMPROVE

Question 12

weaknesses of cognitive area

Answer 12

• lab experiments often used, so can lack ecological validity + demand characteristics (Moray)
• often relies on self report, reduces validity of findings (Loftus and Palmer)

Question 13

applications of the social area 3

Answer 13

• security camera: ppl think they are being watched and act accordingly
• can help us understand how individuals can commit atrocities
• the power that others have over individuals
• why people receive or don’t receive help

Question 14

applications of the cognitive area

Answer 14

• can help police officers understand the validity of eyewitness accounts and informs the police to not use leading questions
• can be useful for students who can use the idea of context-dependency to improve their revision

Question 15

applications of the developmental area

Answer 15

• can be of particular use to teachers and parents and doctors (medication, observed behaviour)
• it gives advice to parents in how to NOT act in front of their children