Comparisons in Explanations Flashcards
SP: Role of Groups (SIT and RCT)
They both emphasise that in-group favouritism and negative out-group bias leads to prejudice but RCT focuses more on the competition for resources whereas SIT doesn’t
SP: Agency and Social Impact Theory
-Both acknowledge the importance of an authority figure/ source in obedience. Agency theory suggests the authority figure’s presence causes an agentic shift, whereby we pass responsibility onto them and follow orders given. Social impact theory suggests that if a source is seen as high in status or expertise we are more likely to obey. However, S.I.T suggests that there are other important factors that the agency theory fails to mention; for example the number of sources and targets.
-Both have research support from Milgram’s variations; eg Agency theory can be supported by Milgram’s ordinary man study which found that when the authority of the experimenter is reduced there was lower levels of obedience. This demonstrates that authority figures are an important factor in obedience and may lead to an agentic shift. Social impact theory can also be supported by this variation as it reinforces the notion of the ‘strength’ of the source. One of the factors that affect the impact of a sources’ social influence over a target is the importance of the individual. When dressed in a uniform (giving a perception of status/ power) there was higher levels of obedience when compared to the ordinary man variation.
-Both therefore can be criticised on the grounds that research support may lack ecological validity and mundane realism. Milgram’s lab based support used an artificial task of administering electric shocks to an innocent learner in order to assess levels of obedience. In such a controlled environment and with a task lacking mundane realism, such behaviour is unlikely to have reflected real life obedience.
-Both are reductionist as they fail to address the importance of dispositional factors in obedience. Authoritarian personality suggests that obedience is high in those with an authoritarian personality; people who have experienced a strict and punitive upbringing. Such people value authority figures and leaders so are therefore more likely to obey.
Both theories are useful practically; agency theory can be used to retrospectively explain acts of genocide such as the Holocaust in order to prevent acts of blind obedience from occurring again. Agency theory would suggest that German soldiers were in an agentic state and passed responsibility for their actions onto commanding officers whilst feeling moral strain. Therefore, agency theory could encourage people to question the orders of authority in order to avoid acts of destructive obedience from happening again. The social impact theory can be useful practically in explaining everyday behaviour such as football hooliganism. It suggests that when we are surrounded by rebellious peers we may be less inclined to follow authority, hence when in a mob or surrounded by other football supporters the influence of the source diminishes and people behave in a disobedient way. You could perhaps then compare the usefulness of these applications and any possible limitations.
SP: SIT and RCT
-Social identity theory suggests that the mere existence of groups in society is what leads to prejudice. When groups are formed, people categorise themselves as part of the in-group and take on the morals of the group. They then put down the out-group to make themselves seem superior, which in turn leads to prejudice. Realistic conflict theory also acknowledges the importance of an in-group and out-group but suggests that what causes prejudice is not the existence of groups, but the competition or conflict between groups over limited resources. This theory suggests that prejudice therefore increases when resources are finite as each in-group may seem themselves as more deserving of the resource.
-Both acknowledge an evolutionary perspective to prejudice; social identity theory suggests that we have a natural tendency to form groups as this aids our survival. Similarly, RCT suggests that from an evolutionary perspective, those that were more competitive over resources (and therefore more prejudiced) would survive and pass on their genes, which explains why prejudice is a characteristic that still exists today.
Both can be supported by Sherif; SIT has support from phase 1 where the mere existence of groups lead to out-group discrimination. As soon as the boys heard of the out-group they expressed an immediate dislike of them. RCT can be supported by phase 2 as when Sherif introduced competition, the hostility between the groups rose.
-Weaknesses of this research support as a research method can also be a similarity.
-Practical application: SIT can be used to explain and prevent football hooliganism. If the creation of in-groups causes prejudice then the removal of these boundaries should help reduce it. For example, teams of opposing fans could sit together and shirts could be banned; this would remove the distinction of ‘them’ and ‘us’. RCT suggests the use of superordinate goals would help reduce prejudice between opposing groups so may be useful in the classroom- Jigsaw technique. This could also be useful for football fans as international games may bring opposing teams/ rivals together to reduce prejudice when a common goal is introduced.
Both theories fail to recognise the importance of dispositional factors in prejudice. Authoritarian personality suggests that prejudice may arise in those who have had a strict and punitive upbringing as they do not tolerate people of opposing views and opinions. As such, both theories may be seen as reductionist in this sense as they focus on situational factors only.
CogP: MSM and WMM
- They both look at structure. Both consist of 3 seperate stores. Both supported by experimental evidence like Glanzer and Cunitz (MSM) and Baddeley (WMM), both use artificial tasks so lack validity
- MSM shows a unitary STM whereas WMM has many ST stores that process different information, dual task performance can be explained by WMM but not MSM
Cognitive Psychology
- Four theories of memory
- Comparing methodology
Social Psychology
- Two theories of obedience
- Two theories of prejudice
- Factors affecting obedience
- Factors affecting prejudice
- Methodology
- Qual and Quant Data
Biological Psychology
- Individual bio explanations
- Biological and Freudian explanations of agg
Learning Psychology
-CC, OC and SLT
-Explanations and Treatments for Phobias
-Qual and Quant
-Animal and Human Research
=Phobias can be explained in many different ways (LT,bio, psychodynamic, cog) and determine which is most appropriate
Clinical Psychology
- ICD and DSM
- Biological and non-biological explanations for Szh/AN
- Bio and Non-Bio treatments
Criminal Psychology
- Explanations of criminal behaviour (bio,social and learning)
- Treatments for criminal behaviour
- Ethical Interviewing Vs traditional interviewing (witness and suspects)
