Social issues in psychology

Question 1

What is society

Answer 1

Refers to a group of people living together in a large group

Question 2

What is a social issue

Answer 2

A problem or situation of conflict within society

Question 3

Examples of social issues

Answer 3

London riots 2011- in response to the police shooting Mark Duggan
Nazi regime in WW2- Anti-Semitism leading to the persecution of Jews

Question 4

Factors explaining social issues

Answer 4

Obedience
Conformity
Bystander effect
Deindividuation

Question 5

Obedience

Answer 5

Findings in Milgram’s study suggest that Nazi soldier behaviour can be partly explained through high levels of obedience to authority

Question 6

Conformity

Answer 6

Informational social influence can explain the London riots as people may not have known how to respond and looked to others for information on how to behave

Normative social influence can explain why members of the crowd may have felt the need to fit in and joined in with the rioting.

Question 7

Bystander effect

Answer 7

This can help us understand why German citizens failed to help the Jewish in Nazi Germany. They may have felt the cost of help was too high as they may have been killed or they diffused the responsibility

Question 8

Deindividuation

Answer 8

This can help us understand the behaviour of Nazi soldiers. They lost their personal identity and became more aggressive towards the Jews.