Paper 1 struggles

Question 1

Evaluate conformity types and explanations

Answer 1

+research support ISI (Lucas et al)
+research support NSI (Asch)
-two process approach is oversimplified (isn’t always possible to know if they work
-individual differences NSI (nAffiliators)

Question 2

Outline the findings of variables affecting conformity
group size
unanimity

Answer 2

-group size : with 2 confeds it was 13.6 but with 3 it rose to 31.8%
unanimity : dissenter = 25%

Question 3

what is a sensory register

Answer 3

storage of information that we receive from our senses

Question 4

describe proximity in milgrams study with variations (3)

proximity variation :
touch proximity variation:
remote instruction:

Answer 4

original: adjoining rooms - teacher could hear learner but not see
proximity variation : same room dropped from 65% to 40%
touch proximity variation: dropped to 30% when teacher had to force learners hand onto a shock plate
remote instruction: experimenter gave telephones instructions obedience dropped to 30% (also gave fake ones

Question 5

location in milgrams study with variation

Answer 5

run down building 47.5% ( experimenter has less authority)

Question 6

uniform in milgrams study

Answer 6

grey lab coat
everyday clothes dropped to 20%
uniform acts as a strong visual authority symbol and cue to behave in an obedient manner

Question 7

evaluate situational variables

Answer 7

+research has control of variables (systematically altered one variable at a time)
+replicated in other cultures (Miranda et al found over 90% obedience in Spanish students
-obedience alibi (‘excuse for obedience’)
-lack internal validity

Question 8

Outline agentic state as an explanation for obedience (4)

Answer 8

-occurs when we act in behalf of another person
-opposite of agentic state is autonomous
-agentic shift occurs when a person refers to the authority figure
-binding factors reduce the ‘moral strain of obeying immoral orders.

Question 9

Outline legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience

Answer 9

-we obey people at the top of a social hierarchy
-authorities have legitimacy through society’s agreements
-we hand control of our behaviour over to authority figures due to trust and through upbringing
-charismatic leaders use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes

Question 10

Evaluate social psychological factors 2.2 (agentic state/loa)

Answer 10

+agentic state explanation has research support ( Blass and Schmidt)
+legitimacy of authority can be used to explain real life obedience (my lai massacre)
-agentic state cannot account for the behaviour of nazis (Mandel 1998 german reserve police battalion
- agentic shift doesn’t explain many of the research findings

Question 11

describe the authoritarian personality

Answer 11

• a high level of obedience is pathological
  -ap includes extreme respect for authority and contempt for ‘inferiors’
  -originated in childhood ( eg overly strict parenting)
  -hostility towards/ fear of parent sis displaced onto those who are socially inferior

Question 12

outline the procedure in adornos study

Answer 12

-investigated unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups of more than 2000 middle class white usas

several scales were developed eg
obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtue for children to learn
there is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel great love gratitude and respect for his parents

Question 13

outline the conclusions of adornos study

Answer 13

-authoritarians (ppl who scored. high ) = identified with strong and hate for weak
conscious of their own and others status showing excessive respect to those of higher status
cognitive of fixed distinctive stereotypes and no fuzziness between categories

Question 14

evaluate dispositional explanations (ap)

Answer 14

+support for the link between ap and obedience
-limited (germany
-f scale is politically bias ( christie and jahoda suggest f scale aims to measure tendency towards extreme right wing ideology)

Question 15

describe social support as resistance to si

Answer 15

-conformity is reduced by a dissenting peer
-effect is not long lasting
-obedience is reduced by one other dissenting partner ( frees the ppt to act from their own conscious milgrams research : independent behaviour increased in the disobedient peer condition ( from 35% to 90%)

Question 16

what is continuum in locus of control

Answer 16

a construct that is said to be part of our personality. It is a continuum which runs from a strong external locus of control at one end of the continuum to a strong internal locus of control at the other end

Question 17

evaluate resistance to social influence (loc)

Answer 17

+ research evidence (Asch)
+ research evidence ( Holland repeated milgrams study 37% internals did not continue 23% of externals did)
-role of LOC in resistance may be exaggerated
-not all research supports link between Loc and resistance (more people have become more independent but also more external

Question 18

outline baddeley coding in STM and LTM
procedure and findings / conclusions

Answer 18

acoustically similar or dissimilar
semantically similar words or dissimilar

immediate recall worse with acoustically similar words, STM is acoustic

recall after 20 minute worse with semantically similar words, LTM is semantic

Question 19

Jacobs capacity of stm

Answer 19

digit span: research reads 4 digits and increased until the ppt cannot recall the order correctly

on avg ppt could repeat back 9.3 numbers and 7.3 letters in the correct order immediately after they were presented

Question 20

miller capacity of stm

Answer 20

miller made observations of everyday practice. For example, he noted that sings come in sevens eg 7 days of the week , 7 deadly sins

the span of stm is 7 items (plus or minus 2 but can be improved by chunking -

Question 21

peterson’s and peterson’s duration of stm (count backwards)

Answer 21

24 students were given a constant syllable ( eg YCG) to remember and a 3 digit number to count backwards for 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds

students recalled (avg) 80% of the syllables correctly with a 3s interval . avg recall aft 18s fell 3%

duration of stm without rehearsal is 18-30s

Question 22

bahrick et al duration of ltm

Answer 22

ppt were 392 americans aged 17-74
1. recognition test 50 photos from ppts high school yearbook
2. free recall test : ppt listed names of their graduating class

ppt tested 48 years aft graduation were about 70% accurate in photo recognition. Free recall was less accurate

Question 23

evaluate coding capacity and duration of memory

Answer 23

-baddeleys study didn’t use meaningful material
-Jacobs study was conducted a long time ago( extraneous variables)
-overestimated capacity of stm
+ Bahricks et als study had high external validity but confounding variables

Question 24

what schaffer and emerson’s find out role of the father

Answer 24

-primary attachment usually with mother (3% father 27% both)

Question 25

what percent do people eventually form secondary attachments with father

Answer 25

75% by 18 months (indicated by signs of protest when father leaves)

Question 26

what did grossmann find out in his longitudinal study at parents behaviour and relationships quality of attachment from children to teens

Answer 26

attachment with mother most related to teen attachment
fathers may be less important in long term emotional development

Question 27

name 2 other roles

Answer 27

-fathers have a different role in attachment ( play and stimulation)
-fathers can be primary caregivers ( field filmed 4 month primary caregivers fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants more

Question 28

what is level of response and why important

Answer 28

-smiling, imitating and holding infants help build attachment
- key to attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not gender

Question 29

evaluate role of the father

Answer 29

+
-social biases prevent objective observation
-important economic implications
-researchers are interested in different research questions (means psychologists cannot easily answer the simple question )
-fails to provide a clear answer about fathers and primary attachment

Question 30

Asch (1956) Social support in reducing the social influence
AO3

Answer 30

One of the confederates was instructed to give the correct answer throughout. In this variation, the rate of conformity dropped to 5.5%. This demonstrates that if the real participant has to support for their belief (Socia support), then they are more likely to resist the pressure to conform

Question 31

spector (1983) Locus of control

Answer 31

Measured locus of control and predisposition to nsi and isi in 157 undergraduate students.

• Found a correlation between locus of control and predisposition to normative social influence, with externals more likely to conform to this form of influence than internals.
• found no relationship

Question 32

What is a candidate gene in genetic explanations

Answer 32

specific genes which create a vulnerability for OCD
-serotonin
-dopamine genes
these are neurotransmitters and have a role in regulating genes

Question 33

what is ocd in genetic explanation

Answer 33

polygenic (not caused by one gene but several

Question 34

describe different types of OCD for other people in genetic explanation

Answer 34

one group may cause OCD in one person but a different group of genes may cause the disorder in another person ( aetiologically heterogeneous)

Question 35

how does low serotonin affect mood in neural explanation

Answer 35

-neurotransmitters are responsible for relaying information from one neuron to another
-eg if a person has low levels of serotonin then normal transmission of mood revelant information does not take place and mood is affected

Question 36

how does decision making affect OCD in the frontal lobe

Answer 36

OCD or in hoarding disorder is associated with the impaired decision making
may be associated with abnormal

functioning of the lateral frontal lobes of the brain (responsible for logical thinking)

Question 37

what functions abnormally in OCD neural explanation

Answer 37

evidence to support that an area called the left parahippocampal gurus associated with processing unpleasant emotions, functions abnormally in OCD

Question 38

evaluate the bio explanation for OCD

Answer 38

+supporting evidence for neural explanation of OCD
-environmental risk factors are also involved
-serotonin-OCD link may not be unique to OCD
-

Question 39

bio approach to treating OCD: what died drug therapy for mental disorders aim

Answer 39

to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to increase/ decrease their activity
-low levels of serotonin is associated with OCD therefore drugs work to increase the level of serotonin

Question 40

bio approach to treating OCD: what does selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors does

Answer 40

prevent the reabsorption and breakdown of serotonin in the brain.
This increases its levels in the synapse and thus continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron (compensates whatever is wrong with serotonin)

Question 41

bio approach to treating OCD: what is the typical dosage (SSRI)

Answer 41

SSRI is 20mg but may be increased if it is not benefitting the patient
takes 3-4 months to impact
can be increased to 60mg if this is appropriate

Question 42

bio approach to treating OCD: what are drugs often used alongside

Answer 42

-CBT to treat OCD
drugs reduce a patients emotional symptoms eg depressed or anxious. This means that patients can engage more effectively with CBT

Question 43

bio approach to treating OCD: what is an alternative to SSRI

Answer 43

tricyclics are sometimes used
same effect on serotonin system as SSRIs but side effects can be more severe

Question 44

bio approach to treating OCD: name another alternative SNRI

Answer 44

SNRI - a different class of antidepressants to treat OCD (serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor)
second line of defence for patients who don’t respond to SSRIs
increase levels of serotonin as well as noradrenaline

Question 45

evaluate bio approach to treating OCD

Answer 45

+cost effective and non-disruptive

-evidence for drug treatments is unreliable
-some cases of OCD follow trauma