Explanations of conformity. Conformity is defined by David Myers (1999) as a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure.
Conformity is defined by David Myers (1999) as "a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined group pressure." This definition focuses upon the kind of experience that most people have had at one time or another: the feeling that others are putting pressure on us to change our minds or behaviour. However Zimbardo (1995) defined it as a "tendency for people to adopt the behaviour, attitudes and values of other members of a reference group." This definition proposes that we tend to go along with those people that we compare ourselves to when evaluating ourselves. According to the Duel process dependency model (Duetsch and Gerard 1955), there are two powerful psychological needs that lead people to conform to social norms. The Normative social influence involves conforming in order to be liked or accepted by a certain group, although not necessarily because a we believe the things they are doing or saying. The tendency to conform comes from the need to be some form of agreement as far as rules, morals and behaviours because otherwise there would be issues among the members. Over time we conform more and more to the ways other people do things and it becomes a social obligation to fit in. Those who decide not to belong to the group are often called strange and deviant. The Informational social influence is where we assume the actions of others reflect the
Outline and evaluate two or more theories of bystander behaviour.
Outline and evaluate two or more theories of altruism and/or bystander behaviour. Within pro and anti-social behaviour, there is the idea of bystander behaviour. This refers to how people react in different situations. In times of need some people freeze, some act, some scream with fear, and these are all examples of bystander behaviour. There are a few theories as to why people will behave as they do when presented with different situations. When considering bystander behaviour, it is important to hold a particular view of altruism in mind-that people helping is, essentiality a selfish action, for example Aronson et al., 1997, "That was the very essence of selfishness. I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and let that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs." (Please note this is an adaptation of the original research) The first such model was devised by Piliavin et al., 1981, and was called the bystander-calculus model, or cost/arousal model. It attempted to explain some of the psychological and cognitive factors involved in bystander behaviour. This model only applies to emergency situations. It states that, when faced with an emergency, a bystander goes through five stages. The first is cognitive awareness of need- does the bystander perceive the situation as an emergency and does he/she have an understanding of the possible need of the people
Outline one theory of the maintenance of relationships. The social exchange theory (Thibaut and Kelley) revolves around profit and loss within relationships.
Outline one theory of the maintenance of relationships (9marks) The social exchange theory (Thibaut and Kelley) revolves around 'profit' and 'loss' within relationships. Each person attempts to maximise their rewards (profit) and minimise their costs (loss). Rewards range from sex, companionship and being cared for. Costs could be things such as effort, money or misses opportunities. A four stage model for a long term relationship was developed, this includes: Sampling, this where the couple explores the rewards and costs in a variety of relationships. Bargaining is where the couple 'costs out' the relationship and identifies the sources of profit and loss. Commitment is when the couple settles into a relationship; the exchange of rewards becomes predictable, and lastly, institutionalisation where the interactions are established and the couple have 'settled down'. Thibaut and Kelley both recognized the importance of influences beyond an analysis of the relationship itself. So, they introduced two 'reference' levels; the comparison level and the comparison level for alternatives. The comparison level is concerned with past and present; that is, the comparison between the rewards and costs of the reference relationship and what we have been used to in the past or believe is appropriate. We have motivation to stay in the relationship if it compares favourably to the
Discuss the use of animals in psychological research.
Discuss the use of Animals in Psychological research. (30 marks) There is much debate into the use of non-human animals in Psychological research in regards to their scientific suitability. In addition there are many ethical issues both in favour and against the use of animals in psychological research. There are a number of psychological experiments that over time have used animals as a means of testing various hypotheses, for example psychologist Harry Harlow used baby rhesus monkeys whilst researching the "cupboard love" theory into attachment which taught us that we do not merely attach for food but for other reasons in addition to this such as comfort. Pavlov also famously used dogs to investigate into operant conditioning. The use of animals in research however is heavily controlled, for instance there are strict guidelines in place and some animals are no longer frequently used in research such as cats and dogs, and great apes have been outlawed from usage in animal research completely. Research must also be approved prior to any studies beginning and must be carried out on licensed premises by competent licensed people. Studies also have to use the smallest number of animals it can and must keep discomfort and suffering to a minimum. There are several scientific reasons against using animals in psychological research. The biggest argument perhaps being that
Outline and evaluate two explanations relating to the breakdown of relationships
Outline and evaluate two explanations relating to the breakdown of relationships Duck's model of relationship breakdown describes the breakdown of romantic relationships in a series of phases. The first phase is the intrapsychic phase, which involves the realisation of negative aspects about one's partner. If the negative aspects are not resolved, the couple will enter the dyadic phase, in which the problems that one partner is experiencing are brought to the attention of the other partner, with resolution attempts following. If such resolution attempts fail, the couple will enter the social phase, in which the relationship is doomed to end, and partners think of face-saving accounts of why the relationship will end. Finally, the partners enter the grave-dressing phase, in which the relationship has ended, and both partners communicate a socially acceptable account of what happened. This model of relationship breakdown has been widely criticised for being unidirectional, implying that if the smallest of problems arises, a couple is doomed to separate. An improvement therefore may be Lee's model, which in five stages covers much of the same ground as Duck's model, but also incorporates negotiations and resolution attempts before the termination of the relationship. Some have proposed that a combination of the two models into a seven or eight-stage model would better describe
Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, psychologists tended to believe that the explanations offered by classical and operant conditioning were fully adequate to understand human behaviour. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus become associated, such that the former comes to elicit a response previously elicited only by the latter. It is also known as the Pavlovian or respondent conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which voluntary behaviour becomes more or less likely to be repeated depending on its consequences. It is also known as Skinnerian or instrumental conditioning. However, it is now believed that there are many other factors involved in human behaviour, such as cognitive factors, especially observational learning/modeling, and as most of these are based around experience, they are often grouped loosely together under the umbrella term of the social learning mechanisms. Dollard and Miller (1950) stated that, in humans, most learning is social and acquired through observing other people in social situations. Their Social Learning Theory, whilst having its roots in Skinnerian principles, aims to offer a more complex theory of learning in humans within a social context. Bandura (1977) states: "Learning would be extremely laborious, not to mention
Outline and evaluate explanations of institutional aggression
Outline and evaluate explanations of institutional aggression (25) marks Institutional aggression is described as aggression that occurs and becomes the norm in any form of institution. Examples of institutions are schools, offices, hospitals, offices, prisons, police forces, military and terrorist groups. Two models that have been proposed to explain IA are the situational model and the dispositional mode (sometimes called the importational model). The situational model includes several aspects of the institution and these can include the management style, staff characteristics (gender, age and experience) perceived and real deprivations and environmental factors such as noise, temperature and crowding. This model therefore states that an individual who is not normally aggressive can be made to behave aggressively due to factors within the institution. Much of the research into the situational model has been carried out in prisons and this model has much support. Sykes 1958 stated that the IA within prisons was due to the deprivations that prisoners were subjected to, he said that deprivations such as loss of autonomy lead to stress and that this stress caused the prisoners to act aggressively. For Sykes aggression was seen as a way of gaining some sense of control over the social order imposed upon them in prisons. This deprivation model could also explain aggression in
What is atypical behaviour?
What is atypical behaviour? In what ways is behaviour classified as being atypical or abnormal? This essay is going to look at ways behaviour is classed as atypical and discuss difficulties with classifying behaviour in this way. To do this it will examine the fine line between normality and abnormality to assess if it's as easy as it sounds to define the two. In 1980 a new system of diagnosis developed, this was known as DSM-III, which was short for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. This was revised to DSM-IIIR in 1987, this new system aimed to address the many weaknesses of previous classification systems such as Kraepelin's system (1913); his system was based on psychoses and neuroses. Psychoses are disorders, which involve a lack of contact with reality, i.e. hallucination, and neuroses are disorders in which the person as too much contact with reality, i.e. anxiety. The DSM-IIIR try's to gather information about the patient's disorders by using five factors or axes: clinical syndromes, personality disorders, physical disorders, psychosocial stressors and adaptive functioning. (Hayes 1994) Another system for diagnosis is ICD-10 (Clinical Coding Instruction Manual). This system uses a less number of categories to classify the disorders than the DSM-IIIR, however the two systems overlap and have several categories in common. We are all
Media influences on anti-social behaviour
Media influences on anti-social behaviour Cognitive priming: The cognitive priming explanation suggests that aggressive ideas shown in the media (particularly films) can 'spark off other aggressive thoughts in memory pathways as proposed by Berkowitz (1984). After a violent film, the viewer is 'primed' to respond aggressively because the memory network involving aggression is activated. Criticism: + Evidence to support the cognitive priming explanation was shown in the Hockey game study by Josephism (1987) who's boys who had been 'primed' to be aggression through viewing an aggressive film acted more aggressively in a subsequent hockey game where relevant behavioural cues were present. Arousal: The arousal explanation suggests that arousal increases the dominant behaviour in any situation. If the feeling of arousal is attributed to anger, then aggression is likely to result. Research has shown that the arousal produces by (violent) pornography facilitates aggressive behaviour as shown by Zillman (1978) Criticism: If arousal is attributed to factors other than anger, then arousal will not necessarily result in aggression? Cultivation effect: The cultivation effect by Gerbner and Gross (1976) suggests that the medium of television creates (or cultivates a distrust or unrealistic fear in viewers. This causes viewers to misperceive (or exaggerate) threats in real
Investigation into Gender Differences in Paranormal Beliefs within Society: Introduction
Introduction The late astronomer Carl Sagan once commented that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence (Sagan, 1980). Claims of paranormal phenomena are most certainly claims of an extraordinary nature, and the task of obtaining this extraordinary evidence is the job of the parapsychologist. According to the Journal of Parapsychology, the term paranormal describes "any phenomenon that in one or more respects exceeds what is deemed psychically impossible according to current scientific assumptions". The term encompasses such anomalous phenomena such as telepathy (the transfer of information between individuals by means other than known sensory channels), extra-sensory perception (the acquisition of information by means other than the known physical senses or deductions from past experience), ghosts and astrology amongst others. Such beliefs are incredibly prevalent in today's society, to an extent out of proportion with the evidence for such phenomena. Approximately 86% ('Worldwide Adherents of All Religions, Mid-2005', Encyclopædia Britannica) of the 6.7 billion human beings on this planet collectively share and rejoice in different sets of paranormal belief systems, even though they are not traditionally considered as such due to the extent to which they are woven into the fabric of human nature. Adherents to these belief systems believe that humans in the
