social area questions

Question 1

what are the 2 principles of the social area

Answer 1

1)human thought processes and behaviour can be strongly influenced by the presence of individuals and groups
2)this area assumes that our behaviour is determined by the social environment; this influences us even when we are alone

Question 2

how might the social area help us in real life

Answer 2

predict and tackle the tendancy to obey orders to those in authority
encouraging the reporting of unethical practice in the workplace
cultural differnces in helping behaviour

Question 3

what are two strengths of the social area

Answer 3

provides a situational explanation of behaviour
studies behaviour in a scientific way

Question 4

what are two weaknesses of the social area

Answer 4

artificial situations are created that can be unethical
can be considered ethnocentric

Question 5

Point: One strength of the social area is that is provides a situational explanation of behaviour
give the explanation and evidence

Answer 5

This is a strength because it provides an understanding of how different social situations strongly influence behaviour and therefore giving explanations for extreme behaviour. Bocchiaros study shows how the situational presence of an authority figure influences p’s obedience to recommending an unethical study to their friends.

Question 6

Point: Studies behaviour in a scientific way
give the explanation and evidence

Answer 6

This increases the internal validity of the study helping to show cause and effect. Levines study was carried out in a very scientific way as it was highly standardised- all researchers were trained prior to the study to ensure they all carried out the conditions in the exact same way .

Question 7

Point: One weakness of the social area is that the artificial situations that are created can be unethical
Give the explanation and evidence

Answer 7

This is a weakness as the research may loose credibility or loose participants making the results less generalisable. Milgrams study raised ethical issues as p’s were not protected from harm shown through their display of stress: sweating and 3 particpants also had full blown seizures

Question 8

Point: One weakness is that research can be considered ethnocentric
Give the explanation and evidence

Answer 8

Research is often carried in one culture and therefore the behaviour shown cannot be generalised to other cultures. Pilliavans study was only carried out on the new york subway which has an individualistic culture and therefore it makes it harder to compare to other cultures