Psychology aqa a level

• What is conformity? - change in behaviour/ideals/beliefs - usually to fit in with a group
• 3 types of conformity: - compliance - internalisation - identification
• What is compliance? - temporary change in public behaviour - private views maintained
• Give an example of compliance: - being quiet in class then loud when teacher leaves
• What is internalisation? - both public behaviour and private views change
• Give an example of internalisation: changing political views to fit in with friends
• What is identification? - behaviours and views change to fit in with a group - temporary or permanent depending on desire to fit in
• Give an example of identification: starting smoking because your friends do
• 2 explanations for conformity: - informational social influence - normative social influence
• What is informative social influence? - agreeing with majority view - often in unfamiliar situations - other group perceived to be right
• Give an example of informative social influence: not knowing an answer to a question but agreeing with majority answer
• What type of conformity does informative social influence lead to? internalisation
• What is normative social influence? - agree with majority view to be accepted by group - often caused by peer pressure
• Give an example of normative social influence: smoking due to peer pressure, privately disagreeing with it
• What type of conformity does normative social influence lead to? compliance
• A strength of normative social influence as an explanation for conformity is that it has research support from [...]. The study showed that when participants were asked to write answers down instead of say them out loud, conformity dropped to [...]. This validates NSI as an explanation for conformity as [...], which is one of the main principles of NSI. However, there are a few criticisms of this study. It used an [...], so the results can't be applied to [...], such as in a work environment. Therefore, we can't use NSI to explain why we conform in real life situations. A strength of normative...
• A limitation of informative social influence as an explanation of conformity is that it doesn't affect everybody in the same way. Asch found that students were less conformist than other participants at [...] compared to 37%. Perrin and Spencer's study found that [...] rarely conformed as they felt [...] about measuring lines than the original sample. This disproves ISI as an explanation for conformity as it states that people conform because they aren't confident and will follow those they perceive to be right. If this is the case, then all of the students in Perrin and Spencer's study wouldn...
• A strength of informative social influence as an explanation for conformity is that it is supported by research by [...]. This study asked students to give answers to maths questions that were easy or more difficult. There was [...] to incorrect answers when questions were harder, especially for those who said they had [...]. This provides support for ISI as an explanation for conformity, as it evidences that [...]. However, they could've also conformed due to [...], which would mean that it was NSI. Therefore, it is difficult to [...] and deduce why people conform. A strength of informative s...
• What did Asch's research focus on? variables affecting conformity
• Asch's research into conformity: - 1 real participant in group, 6-8 confederates - participants shown 2 cards - 1 card had [...] and the other had [...] - asked [...] - 18 trials total and 12 [...] - confederates gave [...] [...] conformed at least once participant gave a wrong answer [...] of the time Asch's research into conformity: - 1 real participant in group, 6-8 confederates - participants shown 2 cards - 1 card had standard line and the other had 3 comparison lines - asked which of 3 lines matched standard - 18 trials total and 12 critical trials - confederates gave wrong answer 75% ...
• What did Asch find in the increased group size variation of his study? - up to 3 confederates = conformity rose to 32% - adding more after this made little difference
• What did Asch find in the disrupted unanimity variation of his study? - added confederate who disagreed with others - resulted in reducing conformity & participant becoming more independent
• What did Asch find in the increased task difficulty variation of his study? - standard line and comparison lines are more similar length - conformity increased (due to ISI as situation is ambiguous)
• A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that [...]. It was conducted in [...], which is an [...] culture country where people [...]. Similar studies in [...], such as China, found that conformity rates were much higher. This shows that Asch's findings on conformity cannot [...], as they only account for [...]. A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that it suffers from cultural bias. It was conducted in the USA, which is an individualist culture country where people are more concerned about themselves, rather than their social group. Similar studies in collectivist cultures, such ...
• A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that there is ethical issues surrounding the task. Participants were [...] into thinking that [...]. Realising this in the debrief may have left participants feeling [...]. However, it can be argued that [...] as the results of Asch's study are highly useful in explaining conformity. A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that there is ethical issues surrounding the task. Participants were deceived into thinking that the confederates were real participants. Realising this in the debrief may have left participants feeling embarrassed and self...
• A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that it used an [...]. As the task was quite trivial, participants may have acted due to [...] and pretended to conform, as they knew they were in a study. This is a weakness as it means we can't [...], especially where the [...] are much more important. A weakness of Asch's study into conformity is that it used an artificial task. As the task was quite trivial, participants may have acted due to demand characteristics and pretended to conform, as they knew they were in a study. This is a weakness as it means we can't generalise Asch's results to e...
• What did Zimbardo's research investigate? conformity to social roles
• What is a social role? the role people play subconsciously as members of society e.g. parent, child student - has expectations of appropriate behaviour
• Outline Zimbardo's research into conformity to social roles: - investigated [...] - mock prison, 2 week study - participants [...] prisoner or guard role - prisoners referred to by [...], guards had [...] - local police transported them to experiment [...] - guards conformed and harassed prisoners so much that study ended after [...] - prisoners rebelled after [...] Outline Zimbardo's research into conformity to social roles: - investigated how quickly people would conform to roles of prisoner or prison guard - mock prison, 2 week study - participants randomly allocated prisoner or guard rol...
• A strength of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that there was an attempt to [...]. This was done by [...] to participants. A benefit of this is that it reduces the chance of assigning roles [...]. However, Zimbardo's study did have some investigator bias - [...]. This is a weakness as it reduces the [...] of the results and how they can be used to explain why we conform to social roles. A strength of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that there was an attempt to reduce investigator bias. This was done by randomly allocating roles to participants. A benefit of this is that it reduces t...
• A weakness of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that it suffered from sample bias. The sample was [...]. This means we are unable to [...] the results of this study to any other demographic, and therefore it can only be used to explain why [...] conform to social roles. There is also an issue with [...] as the sample was solely men - there is little research into why women conform into social roles, and the sample of Zimbardo's study means it's unhelpful in this case. A weakness of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that it suffered from sample bias. The sample was solely male American...
• "A weakness of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that it lacks ecological validity. The prison environment was [...], meaning it lacked many aspects of prison life like [...]. This is an issue as without these aspects, there is a reduced [...] between prisoners and guards and so it's difficult to compare the conformity to social roles in [...]. On the other hand, it can be argued that some aspects were similar - prisoners were ""arrested"" before being brought to the prison." "A weakness of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that it lacks ecological validity. The prison environment was ...
• "A weakness of Zimbardo's study into social roles is that it was massively unethical. Participants were [...] into thinking they were really being arrested, and placed under [...] during the whole experiment. They were also denied the [...]. This is very problematic as it heavily disregards the BPS guidelines. The ethical issues caused by the experiment's ""necessary setup"" may have caused [...] to the participants. However, it can be said that the ethical issues are [...] in order to keep the realism of the environment. After 6 days, Zimbardo [...] due to the stress participants were under."...
• What did Milgram's research focus on? obedience
• Milgram's research into obedience investigated [...] even when it involves injuring an innocent person. [...] volunteered from a newspaper ad and received [...] for participating. There was 2 confederates - [...]. The learner and participant [...], but it was [...]. Teacher was told they must give [...] to learner each time they answered wrong. Learner sat in another room and pretended [...]. At [...], the learner stopped responding, and the experimenter told the teacher [...]. [...] of participants shocked the learner up to 450V [...] shocked up to 300V, when the learner first fell silent ...
• One of the biggest criticisms of Milgram's study into obedience is that it was very unethical. Participants were deceived about [...], how [...] and most importantly that the [...]. This is problematic as it disregards the [...] and also puts participants at risk of [...]. However, it can be argued that the [...] was necessary to set up the experiment properly and get the right results. One of the biggest criticisms of Milgram's study into obedience is that it was very unethical. Participants were deceived about the study's true aim, how roles weren't randomly allocated and most importantly th...
• A weakness of Milgram's study into obedience is that it lacks ecological validity. It is a [...] - this means that although the study was highly controlled and gave accurate results, we can't [...] and explain why we obey authority figures. However, similar research by [...] was conducted in a real life setting and supports Milgram's conclusion that [...] than a normal person. A weakness of Milgram's study into obedience is that it lacks ecological validity. It is a lab experiment - this means that although the study was highly controlled and gave accurate results, we can't apply the results t...
• A weakness of Milgram's study into obedience is that the results were affected by demand characteristics. Participants were recruited via a [...] - they may have [...] to fit what they think the experimenter wants (social desirability) in order to get the money. They may have learned that [...], which could explain why [...] shocked up to 450V. However, research by [...] disputes the theory of demand characteristics. Their research was similar to Milgram's, but their sample was [...]. The shocks were visibly real, but 20 of 26 participants gave the maximum shock. This supports Milgram, as it ...
• A strength of Milgram's study into obedience is that it was a lab experiment. These are [...], so we can be sure that [...] have affected the results. We can also establish a [...] relationship between the IV and DV. The level of control means the study is easily [...] and gives more reliable results each time. A strength of Milgram's study into obedience is that it was a lab experiment. These are highly controlled environments, so we can be sure that no extraneous variables have affected the results. We can also establish a cause-effect relationship between the IV and DV. The level of control...
• The basic assumptions of the biological approach are: - behaviour is caused by [...] - [...] are innate. This is due to [...], [...] or [...], such as neurotransmitters & hormones - human genes [...] to [...] - psychology should be the study of [...] - the [...] and the [...] are the same The basic assumptions of the biological approach are: - behaviour is caused by biological structures and processes - behaviour and thought processes are innate. This is due to genetic makeup, brain structure or chemical processes, such as neurotransmitters & hormones - human genes evolve to adapt to environme...