exam style questions psychopathy and social influence Flashcards
Apart from ethical issues, briefly evaluate the methodology of Milgram’s research into obedience?
• can easily be replicated, therefore reliability can be assessed
• it is easier to control the variables, so that it is only the independent variable that is being
manipulated
• can determine whether the IV does cause the DV to change, causal conclusions can be drawn
• as the situation is artificial, there is a loss of validity
• lack of mundane realism in the electric shock task
• demand characteristics may cause participants to behave in ways that are not normal
• investigator effects can also cause participants to behave differently
• issues relating to the sample leading to bias and lack of representativeness
• use of evidence to support or refute the evaluation.
Why would a researcher want to produce primary data? And state one limitation of this?
The questionnaire would be used to collect data specifically for the purpose of the investigation
It may be more costly than secondary data which can be easily accessed
briefly outline one way that a cognitive psychologist might treat depression by challenging irrational thoughts
• rational confrontation; ABCDE model – D for dispute, E for effect (reduction of irrational thoughts);
shame attacking exercises; empirical and logical argument (Ellis)
• patient as scientist; data gathering to test validity of irrational thoughts; reinforcement of positive
beliefs (Beck).
Using your knowledge of social influence processes in social change, explain why fewer and fewer people are using single use plastic straws
Minority influence processes:
• examples of the influence of environmental campaign groups/celebrities and how they may convince
the majority through 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
Which ONE of the following is most associated with informational social influence?
It is morel ikely to lead to a permanent, rather than temporary, change in attitude.
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?
• Samina could demonstrate consistency 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
• Samina could demonstrate commitment 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)
• Samina should demonstrate flexibility 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
credit other valid points, eg persistence, confidence.
Explain how ascots study can be replicability ?
Aschs studies had standardised procedures for example the number of confederates which meant that they could be repeated/replicated to assess consistency of the findings therefore this increased the validity of the conclusions drawn
Briefly evaluate the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality?
comprehensive criteria for mental health
• based on similar models of physical health – but mental health may not be the same • criteria are too demanding – most of us would be defined as unhealthy
• Western individualist bias.
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
1 mark for chi-squared test.
Plus
1 mark for each of the following:
the researchers are investigating a difference between the number of smokers and non-smokers in
the two surveys (or an association between date and number of young people smoking/not smoking)
the data is in the form of categories of smoker/non-smoker, ie nominal/categorical/non-parametric
the young people sampled in 1987 and 2017 are different people/unrelated/independent groups so the data are unrelated.
Minority influence processes:
the snowball effect – how smoking behaviour/views on smoking change gradually over time.
Soical influence discussion:
research was conducted at a time when ethical guidelines had not been established; could be argued that studies led to introduction of guidelines which protected future participants.
deception/lack of informed consent – when participants are misled or information is withheld, e.g. Asch’s participants were told the study was investigating visual perception and knew nothing of the confederates; Milgram’s participants were unaware the shocks were not real
protection from harm/psychological distress – participants should not be placed ‘at risk’; gain new negative knowledge of themselves, e.g. prisoners in the Stanford prison experiment (SPE) were humiliated, showed signs of severe distress; some guards felt pressured to follow the more dominant guards
right to withdraw – participants should be free to leave when they choose to, e.g. Milgram’s participants were given ‘verbal prods’ to encourage them to remain within the experiment; prisoners in SPE pressurised to stay.
Explain the economic implications of research into the role of the father in attachment.
increasingly fathers remain at home and therefore contribute less to the economy consequently more mothers may return to work and contribute to the economy
changing laws on paternity leave – government-funded so affects the economy; impact upon employers
gender pay gap may be reduced if parental roles are regarded as more equal
early attachment research, e.g. Bowlby suggests fathers should provide an economic rather than an emotional function.
Outline one limitation of the two-process model.
evidence suggests that not all people with a phobia can recall a traumatic experience, e.g. Di Nardo (1990)
Explain one or more reasons why it might be better to conduct a case study than a
questionnaire
• case studies can be longitudinal and so changes (in Patient X’s experience) can be observed over time whereas questionnaires tend to provide just a ‘snapshot’ of experience
case studies usually involve several methods (observation, interviews, etc.), enabling checks for consistency/reliability/validity whereas a questionnaire is a single method of data collection
case studies produce rich, detailed qualitative data, whereas questionnaires tend to produce less detailed information.
the role of neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine – levels associated with abnormal transmission of mood-related information/obsessive thoughts
success of drug treatments, e.g. SSRIs, suggests that low serotonin is a causal factor
• many neural mechanisms have been identified but these are not always present in all cases
