Psychology C2 - treatment and managements

Question 1

social support

Answer 1

-social network, collection of people we interact with
-includes family members, friends and colleagues
-small network, get a lot of support from close friends
-big network, find that relationships aren’t as close, can’t provide support

Question 2

instrumental support

Answer 2

-practical help
-be in a form of physically doing something to help or giving information

Question 3

emotional support

Answer 3

-feelings
-provide emotional support when we express warmth, concern, empathy etc.
-not meant to be practical, offer it to comfort recipient

Question 4

esteem support

Answer 4

-give esteem support when we feel someone needs to have more faith in themselves
-express confidence in them
-increases self-esteem and self-efficacy – reducing levels of stress

Question 5

explaining the benefits – buffering hypothesis

Answer 5

-Cohen and Wills (1985), social support protects us against the negative effects of stress, creating psychological distance
-cognitive process - support network gives us ‘breathing space’ + chances to think about stressor
-support = a ‘reserve’ that dampens impact of stressors – doesn’t help at all times

Question 6

explaining the benefits – direct effects hypothesis

Answer 6

-social support =beneficial at all times, not just stress
-has positive effects on health and well-being
-helps us relax and reduce arousal of nervous system

Question 7

relationship between types

Answer 7

-3 types of support = not independent, overlap and use more than one at a time
-example, ‘shoulder to cry on’, you are a practical helper, person feel better and increase confidence – three types of support
-instrumental support can be ‘business-like’ and lacks emotional engagement - can provide emotional support, provider cares
-emotional/esteem support offered all the time online

Question 8

practical uses
(evaluation)
+

Answer 8

-types of support can be usefully applied in different cultures
-example, found that Asian-Americans were less likely than European-Americans to seek and use support when stressed, they don’t want to disrupt communities (Taylor et al. 2004)
-more effective for Asian-Americans, doesn’t make too many demands on people
-shows that understanding cultural differences can make social support more useful in different cultures

Question 9

support for effectiveness
(evaluation)
+

Answer 9

-research evidence showing social support can help reduce stress
-Cohen et al. (2015), studied effects of giving hugs on likelihood of becoming ill during stressful times, hugging = behavioural form of emotional support
-pps exposed to common cold, monitored
-those who believed who had they had greater support had reduced risk of becoming ill
-1/3 of protective effect, from hugs
-findings showed that emotional support = protection against negative effects

Question 10

risk of backfiring
(evaluation)
-

Answer 10

-can backfire and have negative effects
-not always useful or effective
-benefits depends on who provides it and when
-example, practical information from same sources = inaccurate and emotional support from a relative = unhelpful
-suggests that social support = more useful when it is requested by the person undergoing stress