Key Question Flashcards
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Social Psych
How can knowledge of social psychology be used to reduce prejudice in situations such as crowd behaviour or rioting?
Discuss the Key question
Social Psych
How can knowledge of social psychology be used to reduce prejudice in situations such as crowd behaviour or rioting?
In today’s society there have been instances of rioting and crowd disturbances which have led to tension between police and the community. This question focuses on using various theories and research to reduce the behaviours of rioting.
In today’s society there have been instances of rioting and crowd disturbances which have led to tension between police and the community. This question focuses on using various theories and research in social psychology to reduce the behaviours of rioting. The impact of reducing riots may be sought through reducing conflicts between communities, civilians and police, and other various social groups.
In today’s society there have been a numerous amount of riots and tension between the police and members of the public. Normally in riots the police have a small amount of control.The police had experienced Divisional effect, where the impact of the police had lessened due to the large amount of people. Kitty Genovese had experienced divisional effect as she was a strong social source, however due to there being 38 people present, she had a lessened effect. In 2021 there was a riot centred around football hooliganism , this can be explained by Social identity theory where there was prejudice between football teams, ingroup and outgroup, the group rioted to heighten the group self-image and their own self-esteem. Sherif’s realistic conflict theory had suggested that prejudicial behaviours such as rioting was a result of limited resources, in this case, the limited resources were the trophies which the team received. In 2005 there was Birmingham Riots , in areas of Lozells and Handsworth, this can be explained by Realistic conflict theory, as the police and community tension can be resolved by using superordinate goals such as fundraising events. Social identity theory opposes this as it suggests that there is no way of reducing prejudice and as a result, superordinate goals would not help. In 2011 there were riots which had occurred in Birmingham, the rioters were the ingroup and the police were the outgroup, they had prejudice between one another due to the ingroup (rioters) wanting to heighten their own self-esteem. Realistic conflict theory opposes the idea, there could’ve been conflict due to the limited resources of power and justice instead of self-image of the groups. In conclusion, rioting behaviours can be reduced due to providing superordinate goals which the police and the public can work towards, however , based on social identity theory, the prejudice between the groups will never be resolved due to a constant heightening of group self-image.
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Cognitive Psych
How can knowledge of working memory be used to inform the treatment of dyslexia?
Discuss your key question
Cognitive Psych
How can knowledge of working memory be used to inform the treatment of dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a reading disorder which affects many children across the world, dyslexia result in delayed reading, writing and language ability as well as lack of educational progress. Dyslexia affects approximately 10% of the general population. Even though it is not linked to intelligence, it can make coping at school or work difficult for many people. They find it difficult to Read fluently and accurately and spell, even though they understand the content and can comprehend it. Cognitive psychology explains that one problem dyslexic people have is linking letters to sounds. In the WMM, phonological loop makes this link, shorter Phonological loop span than normal ,will explain confusion of similar-sounding words. Smith-Spark et al (2003) found that adults with dyslexia had impaired verbal memory and unimpaired spatial WMM when he compared to control group. English children learn to read slowly because letter-sound links are inconsistent e.g The words read and lead sound like they’re the same, however one of them can have an “Ed” sound, and the other can have an “eed” sound. Goswami (2003) observed that the languages in consistent spellings such as German, dyslexics learn more quickly, supporting the role of phonological loop. Children with dyslexia therefore need specific teaching in Phonics.
Dyslexia leads to other problems such as difficulty following instructions, may need more help with organisation and sequencing. Working memory issues in dyslexia may extend to Visuo-spatial sketchpad. Smith-Spark and Fisk (2007) tested VSS span in dyslexic adults using computerised visual block (corsi) test. Showed dyslexics have shorter VSS span than controls (Non-dyslexics).Therefore, to help children with dyslexia, systematic, sequential information is needed, e.g., simplifying complex ideas via lists and visual maps to aid VSS.
Finally, evidence suggests there may be central executive impairments in dyslexia. Some evidence comes from everyday experiences such as distractions.Swanson and Sasche-Lee (2001) tested children with reading disabilities. Those with lowest CE function were poor on a range of tasks including memory and sentence listening tests. Suggests that support for dyslexia may assist overall information processing, e.g., Shaywitz and Shaywitz (2004) described systematic intervention for dyslexia and teaching phonemic awareness that build into reading/writing. Not only did reading improve but brain activity changed.
Help for dyslexic children is currently based on overcoming PL problems, e.g. letter sound links, however newer evidence suggests that help with VSS and CE functions will also be beneficial for dyslexic people.
