Briefly outline some of the procedures used in social influence research and evaluate whether such procedures are ethical (18 MARKS) Zimbardos study investigated how people would conform to new roles

Briefly outline some of the procedures used in social influence research and evaluate whether such procedures are ethical (18 MARKS) Zimbardos study investigated how people would conform to new roles. Twelve male volunteers were selected and paid fifteen dollars a day to take part in this two week study. Three males were made guards and nine males were made prisoners. This study is important because it shows exactly how the prisons environment created the guards wicked behaviour towards the prisoners. This suggests that the roles people play shape their attitude and behaviour. This study has received many ethical criticisms- The prisoners were arrested without warning and therefore did not fully give consent for this to happen. They faced humiliation by the guards and had their identity taken away from them, and were given a number to be known by instead. This study has been criticised for causing the participants distress due to the guards attitudes towards them. This was not a realistic study for a number of reasons- The prisoners did not commit any crime, they were able to ask for freedom and three of them were released because of this. It took place in a university and all participants shared similar backgrounds. The reality in this study was that the prisoners emotions of distress and depression, being locked up and dehumanisation. Therefore it can be concluded

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Psychology
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Social Loafing and Recommendations on How to Reduce Its Occurrence within Groups Working on University Poster Presentations

Social Loafing and Recommendations on How to Reduce Its Occurrence within Groups Working on University Poster Presentations. Abstract Social loafing occurs in groups and reduces group effectiveness and productivity. Various literatures on social loafing reviewed suggest that the group size, the identifiably of the participants, the evaluation of their performance, people's beliefs about their feelings of uniqueness, envy, task difficulty, how people's beliefs about their feelings of uniqueness and expectations of co-workers are variables that influence social loafing in a group. Based on the literatures, a better understanding of social loafing was reached and some recommendations on how to reduce its occurrence within a groups working on University poster presentations were presented. However, most of the existing literatures reviewed were from experiments on proving variables that influence social loafing. Therefore, more research to find out methods that effectively reduce or eliminate social loafing needs to be done. Social Loafing and Recommendations on How to Reduce Its Occurrence within Groups Working on University Poster Presentations. Groups are used to enhance productivity and to accomplish tasks that require more than one individual. Committees, sports teams, government task forces, study groups and symphonies are examples of groups that require combined

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  • Subject: Psychology
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social interaction

Social Interaction (Psy 02) Word Count ,445 Maxine Jackson February 2008 Social interaction is part of social psychology; this investigates the reasons for human change, whether that change is thinking, feeling or behaviour. Depending on perspective a change in a person's beliefs could be due to education or propaganda. Social influence is the investigation of how others influence a person's way of life. What makes an individual change their beliefs of their behaviour? Social psychology areas include the investigation of several different topics, for example: * Stereotypes standardised image or conception of a type of person, ect. Categorise * Prejudice an opinion formed beforehand, esp. An unfavourable one based on inadequate facts * Discrimination unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, ect. Action based on prejudice * Frustration annoyance, disappointment, dissatisfaction, grievance, irritation, resentment * Aggression an attack or harmful action, esp. An unprovoked attack by one country against another, any offensive activity, practice, etc. Psycho. A hostile or destructive mental attitude. * Conformity compliance, allegiance, conventionality, agreement, conformance, harmony * Obedience the condition or quality of being obedient. Act or an instance of obeying; dutiful or submissive behaviour. Collins English Dictionary & Thesaurus (2000)

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  • Subject: Psychology
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Conformity in psychology.

Leighton Camara-Roberts Pluto 12 Psychology Assignment 1 CONFORMITY Psychologists have long been interested in the area of social psychology that shows the extent of human conformity, proving that we are not designed as solitary creatures but our very own characters are determined by our social influences. Sherif headed a study into conformity, using the auto-kinetic effect, (which by means of small movements in our eyes causes a beam of light in a dark room appear to move). He asked participants to estimate how far and in what direction the light moved, therefore creating their own personal norm, because they are relying on their own judgement. Each person's norm was very different to the next person. Sherif then placed three different participants with very different personal norms into a group, and after discussing and sharing their opinions, it was found that they become very similar in their opinion because their personal norm was replaced by a group norm, which is a strong indication of social influence. Interestingly, it was found that in general their group norm roughly averaged out at the mean of the personal norms. Furthering his study, Sherif found that commencing the experiment with groups of 3 and then asking the participants for their own estimate showed evidence of group conformity. However, Solomon Asch questioned Sherif's results because of the fact

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Outline one model of relationship breakdown. Evaluate this and one other approach/theory Stephanie Rollie and Steve Duck developed a model of the breakdown of relationships.

Outline one model of relationship breakdown. Evaluate this and one other approach/theory Stephanie Rollie and Steve Duck developed a model of the breakdown of relationships. Unlike the previous four phase model by Duck, this model focuses on the processes of relationship breakdown rather than the phases people pass through. The six processes of this model are, breakdown, intra-psychic, dyadic, social, grave dressing and resurrection. The breakdown is when one partner becomes increasingly dissatisfied. The intra-psychic processes involve social withdrawal and a focus on a partner's faults and a sense of being under benefitted. It is suggested by research that when people are depressed they have a tendency to withdraw from social interaction with others (Segrin). The result of this may cause them to re-evaluate the relationship and consider possible alternatives. The dyadic process occurs when partners begin talking about the problems that at least one of them in unhappy with. These dyadic processes may bring up reasons for staying in the relationship (e.g. for the good of the children) but also reasons to leave (e.g. a belief of things cannot change). During the social processes the breakup is 'aired' and made public, for example to friends and family. Advice and support is sought from outside the relationship and alliances are created. These processes often include

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Explain to what extent psychologists have explained love

Explain to what extent psychologists have explained love Sternberg (1986) proposed a theory of love known as the 'triangular love theory'. It consists of three components: intimacy, commitment and passion. These three factors form the three sides of the 'love triangle', and the ideal situation would exist when there is a balance between the three: i.e. in the middle of the triangle. Other combinations lead to other types of love. For example, love which involves intimacy and commitment but no passion is described as companionate love. Love which does not involve any of the three factors is known as 'non-love', and may occur if partners are mutually desperate for company or are holding onto a relationship out of principle or social pressures rather than love itself. This theory can be criticised for focussing only on the present and not on the story of how the love became as it is. Sternberg combatted this by extending the theory to second approach, which states that people begin to form stories about what they believe love should be almost from when they are born by means such as observation. To support this, he interviewed students and identified a number of common stories used to describe love, such as the fairytale story of a prince and a princess (Sternberg, 1998). This shows that the way we interpret love may be influenced by our environment and culture. Although the

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Is attractiveness an vital factor in a relationship?

Is attractiveness an vital factor in a relationship? What is a relationship? Relationship is a state connection between two people. This relationship can be a casual friendship in the workplace to a romantic relationship. However I'm going to concentrate on romantic relationships. There are many factors which a important in a romantic relation e.g. physical appearance, personality, status and background. In addition it has been said that physical appearance is the first thing we seem to observe when meeting a stranger. Walster and Walster created a The Matching Hypothesis (We are attracted to people who are the same level of attractiveness as ourselves). Walster and Walster (1966) carried an experiment to witness whether the matching hypothesis was accurate or wrong. Their aim was to see if physical appearance matters in a relationship. To do this they advertised a "Computer Match Dance". Seven hundred and fifty two students took part and they were rated their physical by four independent judges. Further more participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire for the computer matching purpose, however they were used to rate similarity and paired randomly (no man was paired with a taller women). During the dance participants were requested to rate their date, rustles were interesting the attractive participants were favoured as dates over the less attractive participants. So

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Describe what psychologists know about leadership.

Q. Describe what psychologists know about leadership? "Leadership" is defined as the ability to guide a group towards the attainment of goals. Throughout history, psychologists have conducted research to determine what constitutes effective leadership. The earliest theories were the universalistic theories, which sought to uncover the universal characteristics of effective leaders. The second category comprises the behaviourist theories, which focus on the behaviours of effective leaders, instead of inferred leader characteristics. The largest category contains the contingency theories, which investigate the dynamics between elements of the work situation and characteristics of the leader. Additional theories of leadership have concentrated on the exceptional characteristics of some leaders that inspire and motivate their followers. This answer will outline the salient features of the last three categories mentioned. The behavioural theories of leadership focus on particular behaviours that are related to effective leadership. They are based on two research projects, one conducted at Ohio State University by Halpin & Winder (1957) and the other at Michigan University by Likert (1967), both of which arrived at similar conclusions about leadership. According to the Ohio State Leadership Studies, all leader behaviours can be narrowed into two general categories: initiating

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Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression

Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression. (24 marks) Bandura believed that the potential for aggression may be biological, but the expression of aggression is learned. The social-learning theory (SLT) states that learning occurs through observation of a model. Imitation of an observed behaviour is more likely if the model is someone we aspire to or identify with or if they are rewarded. This is vicarious reinforcement. A child forms a mental representation of an event, including the possible rewards or punishments of the behaviour. When a child imitates an aggressive behaviour, they gain direct experience, and the outcome of the behaviour influences the value of aggression for the child. If they are rewarded they are more likely to repeat the behaviour. Children develop self-efficacy, which is confidence in their ability to successful carry out a behaviour. If aggressive behaviour is unsuccessful for a child, they will have a lower sense of self-efficacy so are less likely to behave this way in future. There is strong empirical evidence to support the SLT. For example, Bandura's Bobo doll studies found that children who observed a model behaving aggressively to the Bobo doll behaved more aggressively than those who observed a non-aggressive model and also imitated specific aggressive acts. This supports the theories claims that behaviour can be

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To What Extent Are We All 'Victims' Of Social Influence?

To What Extent Are We All 'Victims' Of Social Influence? Social influence is the science of influence, persuasion and compliance and is employed by an 'agent' or 'practitioner' upon a 'target'. The tactic used or the message given is the agent's 'advocacy'. We have the ability to be either agents or targets at any given time or in any situation. The moment we interact with another person or group of people we almost always affect one another's behaviour. Therefore one might describe the definition of social influence as the changes in a person's behaviour, attitude or belief, induced by the presence or actions of others. Inducing a change in behaviour is called 'compliance'. Inducing a change in attitude is called persuasion. Inducing a change in belief is called either education or propaganda, depending on your stand point. Being knowledgeable in the ways of social influence can help to move someone to adopt a different attitude, belief or action. Being aware of social influence can help us resist the influence attempts of others. However, most people are unaware of these influences because the social influence processes can be subtle and indirect i.e. simple suggestion. At the other end of the scale there is the process of intensive indoctrination sometimes known as brainwashing. Social influence is probably one of the most heavily researched topics in social

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