Alan Murphy

Diploma in Psychology
Define the study of Psychology
The word ‘psychology’ originates from two Greek words, psyche, which means mind and
logos, which means study; therefore the literal translation of ‘psychology’ is ‘the study of the
mind’.

There have been many definitions of psychology over the past 200 years. Some of those
definitions are outlined below.

“… the Science of Mental Life, both of it phenomena and of their conditions… the
Phenomena are such things as we call feelings, desires, cognition, reasoning, decisions and
the like”. (James, 1890)

“… that division of Natural Science which takes human behaviour – the doings and sayings,
both learned and unlearned – as its subject matter”. (Watson, 1919)

“…the scientific study of behaviour. Its subject matter includes behavioural processes that are
observable, such as gestures, speech and physiological changes, and processes that can only
be inferred, such as thoughts and dreams”. (Clark and Miller 1970)

The birth of the study of psychology as a separate entity is attributed to Wilhelm Wundt,
German in 1879. Wundt and his colleagues attempted to explain the workings of the mind
through the study of their own introspections (the study of how they thought). Wundt’s
attempts to understand the structure of thought processes is known as structuralism.

By the early 20th century, an American, John B Watson began to question the validity of
Wundt’s work based on the premise that one’s persons introspection on their thought process
was purely subjective and that if another person produced different results, how could the
‘correctness’ of either result be proved. Watson postulated that psychologists should focus on
behaviour as it is measurable and observable by more than one person; therefore, the study of
behaviour was objective. Watson’s form of psychology became known as behaviourism and
replaced structuralism. There were many different pieces of research which focussed on
learning or conditioning and behaviourism remained to the fore of research until around the
1950’s when a new approach to understanding psychology was developed. This new
approach became known as cognitive psychology.

Cognitive psychologists believed that the behaviouralists had simplified the thought process
that Wundt had tried to identify with their conditioning theories. Cognitive psychologist
called these processes, cognition or cognitive processes and they saw people are being
information processors. Although the workings of the mind, thought processes or mental
processes can only be inferred, they are now accepted as being a valid subject matter for
psychologists as long as they can be demonstrated publicly, for example, through memory
tests or problem-solving tasks.

The behaviouralism and cognitive approaches have dominated must of the psychology debate
over the last century, however, broadly speaking, a distinction can be made between the study
of psychology today into academic and applied branches of psychology.

Academic psychologists are usually attached to an educational institution and carry out both
pure research and applied research. Pure research is research with the purpose of gaining
more knowledge while applied research is research with the objective of solving a particular
problem. Applied research is usually funded by government institutions.

In my answer to question three below on the types of psychology, I will differentiate between
the process approach and person approach to psychology and how applied psychology is a
sub category of the person approach to psychology.
Explain the relationship between Psychology and other social sciences (consider
sociology, psychiatry and psychotherapy)
Firstly, in order to understand the relationship between psychology and the other social
sciences, it is useful to briefly outline what each of the above means or refers to.

As I outlined above, there have been many different approaches to psychology and over time,
the definition of psychology has changed. To put it in more simple terms, psychology deals
with the way the mind works and motivation. Psychologists can have many different careers
in many different organisations and industries.
Sociology is defined as the study of the origin, development, organisation and functioning of
human society.

Psychiatry is much more precise than psychology. Psychiatrists are medical doctors with
qualifications in psychiatry. Psychiatry, however, is concerned with the treatment of mental
disorders as opposed to how the mind works. As I previously discussed, psychologists try to
understand the workings of the mind, both from a negative and positive point of view.

Psychotherapy is aimed at helping people to overcome stress, emotional problems,

relationship problems or troublesome habits by employing many methods such as cognitive
behavioural therapies, psychoanalytic therapies and psychodynamic therapies.

From examining the definitions of each of the above, it is obvious that psychology, by
attempting to understand how the mind works, both from a physical sense and a process sense
is linked with the social sciences.

Sociologists may apply the learning of psychology to understand why people are motivated to
organise themselves into groups and tribes. Sociologists, by understanding the behaviour of
individuals or at least why people behave in a particular way may gain a better insight into
why a society functions as it does.
A psychiatrist will apply the learnings from individual psychology to clinical psychology in
an attempt to treat psychological abnormality.
Psychotherapy will also apply the learnings from various approaches to psychology to
formulate treatments such as psychotherapy as mentioned above. For example, Freud’s work
on psychoanalytic theory and how the unconscious mind works laid the foundations for
psychoanalysis – a form of psychotherapy.

Describe the principle types of Psychology

There are many different types of psychology, though, broadly speaking, psychology can be
categorised into two different approaches. Those are;
1. The process approach
2. The person approach – applied psychology can be described as a sub-category of the
person approach.

Under the process approach we find physiological, cognitive and comparative psychology.
Physiological psychologists are interested in the physical aspects of behaviour. Physiological
psychologists examine the effects that, for example, tiredness and stress have on behaviour.
Physiological psychologists try to identify which areas of the brain are specifically associated
with particular types of behaviour.

Cognitive psychology is the study of how we take in information and make sense of it – the
process of perception and cognition. Where physiological psychology is interested in the
physical aspects of behaviour, cognitive psychology tries to understand processes such as
memory, decision making and problem solving.

Comparative psychology also falling under the process approach is concerned with how
human differ and resemble other species. Comparative psychology, over time, has given an
insight into learning and conditioning. Probably one of the most famous pieces of
comparative psychology work is the work of Pavlov and his pavlovian conditioning.

The second approach to psychology is the person approach. Under this heading I will outline
the main types of psychology, namely, social, developmental and individual psychology.
Social psychology is concerned with interpersonal relationships and how our behaviour is
influenced by our interactions with others. Social psychologists, amongst other areas,
examine why people hold prejudices and discriminate against others.
Developmental psychology focuses on cognitive, social and emotional changes that occur
over the lifespan of people. Many developmental psychologists have accepted that
development continues throughout the entire life of a person.

The third type of psychology under the person approach is Individual psychology which
focuses on what makes people differ from one another. Individual psychology examines
personality, intelligence and psychological abnormality, which is closely linked with clinical
psychology – one of the applied branches of person psychology.
As a sub-heading of the person approach to psychology, I should outline that there are many
applied fields of psychology. Applied psychology is where psychological skills are applied to
different situations, examples of which include clinical psychology, counselling psychology,
educational psychology, occupational psychology and health psychology.

What is the difference between self-image and self –esteem?

Self-image refers to how we describe ourselves. When we try to describe ourselves or answer
the question “Who am I?” we come up with answers that can be divided into social roles and
personality traits. Social roles are objective; they are facts that can be verified by others. For
example, if I describe myself as father, brother, son I am describing myself in the context of a
social role. Personality traits are more a matter of opinion. Personality traits are what we
think we are like and perhaps in some circumstances what we believe we are like.
Self-image is described a being descriptive whereas self-esteem is evaluative. It refers to how
much we like our self-image or how we rate our worth. Our self-esteem can be regarded as an
indicator of how much we like our self-image. Our self-esteem is partly influenced by the
difference between our self-image and our ideal-self (the person that we would like to be).
What is meant by the term ‘self-actualisation’ and how does it relate to ‘self-concept’?
Self-actualisation is an idea that Abraham Maslow contributed to the world of psychology
when defining his ‘hierarchy of needs’. Maslow contended that humans had a number of
needs that he grouped as being physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, cognitive,
aesthetic needs and self-actualisation. Self-actualisation means “making real” the different
parts of ourselves, developing our interests and abilities, realising one’s full potential or
“becoming everything one is capable of becoming”. Needs lower down the hierarchy must be
achieved or fulfilled before a person can move to the next level.
Self-actualisation relates to the self-concept in how we rate our self-image. Our self esteem
will have a direct reflection of where we place ourselves towards the level of self-
actualisation. We may have attained the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs, however, if
we do not fulfil esteem needs we will not be able move to self-actualisation.

What is meant by the term ‘self awareness’ and how does this relate to the ‘self-
concept’?
Self-awareness is the ability to understand and accept both the positive and negative aspects
of our own personality. Self-awareness if the experience of one’s own individuality. Self-
awareness relates to the self-concept in that if we are aware of ourselves in the context of our
self-image and where it is in relation to our ideal-self we can work towards achieving our
ideal-self. Having a clear understanding of ourselves and our self esteem needs can give us an
understanding of what we need to do to achieve “self-actualisation”.

What is a ‘hypothesis’?
A hypothesis is a testable statement that psychologists will try to verify or refute. When
someone formulates a hypothesis, he or she does so with the intention of testing it, and he or
she should not know the outcome of potential tests before the hypothesis is made. When
formulating a hypothesis, the ideals of the scientific method are often kept in mind, so the
hypothesis is designed to be testable in a way which could be replicated by other people. It is
also kept clear and simple, and the hypothesis relies on known information and reasoning.

Describe the two types of hypotheses which can be used to formulate research questions.
Give an example for each.
There are two types of hypothesis;
1. An Experimental Hypothesis
2. A Null Hypothesis
An experimental hypothesis states that there will be a significant difference between the
groups that are being studied. An example of an experimental hypothesis is that using a
particular medication will have an effect on a person’s mood.
A null hypothesis is a hypothesis that states there will be no significant difference between
the performances of the two groups. A null hypothesis would be one stating that viewing
violent television programmes will not increase aggressive behaviour.
Describe three important considerations for achieving an appropriate sample when
conducting research.
When conducting research the three important considerations are as follows;
1. Participants
2. Population
3. Sample

The animals or people who are the subjects of research are called the participants.
Generally, the hypothesis put forward will determine the type of participants in the research.
For example, if the hypothesis put forward involves pre-school children, then obviously it is
important that the participants are exactly that. The next important consideration is that the
participants are representative of the population. Generally, a small number of participants
will be investigated, therefore, it is important to select participants in such a way that the
conclusions of the research can be generalised for the entire population. The third important
consideration is the sample. A sample is either random or representative. For a sample to be
truly random all members of the population should have an equal chance of being selected.
For example, if you could access the department of social and family affairs (DSFA) database
of PPS numbers and have a computer programme select numbers - that would be a random
sample. It may not always be possible to conduct research using a random sample so a
representative sample should be used. Continuing the example above, if you cannot access
the entire database of the DSFA you may be able to access the database for south Dublin, if
the participants are chosen at random within this limited database the sample will be
representative of the population. The final important point to note on sample is the size of the
sample. If research is conducted with a small sample, the results may not be representative of
the entire population, therefore it is more difficult to generalise the findings of the research.
The bigger the sample is the easier is will be to generalise the findings to the entire
population, provided that the sample is representative of the population in the first instance.
To illustrate this, if research is conducted after a football match in Croke Park the likelihood
is that there will be a large sample of participants, however, the sample may not be
representative of the population as it would be made up of participants who attend GAA
matches.
What is meant by the ‘experimental method’?
The experimental method is usually taken to be the most scientific of all methods when
conducting research. The experimental method involves the deliberate manipulation of one
variable, while trying to keep all other variables constant. For example, when conducting to
investigate how long it takes a ball to slide down a slope, the incline of the slope is changed
(manipulated), however, the ball is always placed at the top of the slope (constant). In this
experiment the incline of the slope is known as an independent variable and the time taken
for the ball to roll down the slope is the dependant variable. I will explain this in more detail
in my answer to the next question.

What are the ‘dependant’ and ‘independent’ variables?

Dependent variables and independent variables refer to values that change in relationship to
each other. The dependent variables are those that are observed to change in response to the
independent variables. The independent variables are those that are deliberately
manipulated to invoke a change in the dependent variables. As I explained in the above
experiment, the incline of the slope was the independent variable while the time taken for the
ball to roll down the slope was the dependent variable.
Taking another example, if one were to measure the influence of different quantities of
fertilizer on plant growth, the independent variable would be the amount of fertilizer used
(the changing factor of the experiment). The dependent variables would be the growth in
height and/or mass of the plant (the factors that are influenced in the experiment) and the
controlled variables would be the type of plant, the type of fertilizer, the amount of sunlight
the plant gets, the size of the pots, etc. (the factors that would otherwise influence the
dependent variable if they were not controlled).

Explain the three basic experimental designs

The three basic experimental designs are listed below;
1. The independent-participants design
2. The matched-participants design
3. The repeated-measures design

In the independent-participants design, participants are randomly allocated to the

experimental conditions (N.B.  Random = everyone has an equal chance of being selected).
So if we have two groups of patients drawn randomly from a hospital waiting list for a
particular condition or illness, then the numbers of males and females should be similar
across the two groups, so should the age distribution, height, weight, and a host of other
factors which may or may not be relevant to the study. Thus if the two groups are this similar,
then when the experiment is conducted, any differences between the two groups as measured
by the dependent variable, is more likely to have been caused by the experimenters
manipulation of the independent variable.
In the matched-participants design the participants are matched in pairs on one particular
variable to begin with then they are allocated randomly to the control or experimental groups.
Continuing from the example above, the male patients may be allocated to the control group
while the female patients may be allocated to the experimental group. This type of
experiment design is used when there is a third variable that is likely to affect the outcome on
the dependent variable, which for example could be that medication used which may have
differing gender-specific effects.
The repeated measures design is where the participants perform under both experimental
conditions. This design, while perfect control of the participants is achieved as the
participants perform under both conditions could be influenced by learnings that the
participant carries from one condition to the other. This experimental design is used most
effectively when there is no learning link between both experimental conditions.

What is meant by an emotion? Give four examples of emotions we experience.

An emotion is a physiological feeling that affects both the mind and the body. Emotions are
both biological and psychological. Emotions can be broken into three components;
1. The subjective experience of happiness, sadness, anger etc.
2. Physiological changes, involving the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine
system over which we have very little control.
3. Associated behaviour such as smiling, crying, laughing etc.

Some of the emotions we experience are happiness, sadness, anger, aggression, submission.
What physical signs may be indicative of experiencing emotions?
Some physical signs of emotion are;
 Smiling, indicating happiness
 Butterflies in the stomach signalling fear
 Blushing indicating embarrassment
As I mentioned above, these signs are physiological changes over which we have little or no
control.

Explain the James-Lange Theory of autonomic arousal.

This theory believes that something happens that produces in us a subjective emotional
experience, and, as a result of this, certain bodily and/or behavioural changes occur. In other
words, the theory believes that human emotions come from our perceiving the physical state
we are in.
An example to illustrate this is that if a man were to meet a bear in the woods he would run.
The James-Lange Theory maintains that the man is frightened because he had run.

Describe the arguments of one researcher which supports and one researcher which
challenges this theory.
In 1966 Vallins carried out experiments which supported the James-Lange Theory. Vallins
provided participants in his experiment with feedback on their heart rate while watching
slides of Playboy pin-ups.
Using what is known as the false-feedback paradigm the participants were given false
feedback that their heart beat faster when particular slides were shown. The participants
judged the slides on which there was an apparent heart rate increase as being more attractive
than those slides which did not show any heart rate increase.
Vallins suggested that overt behaviour may cause subjective feelings.

The Canon-Baird Theory greatly challenges the James-Lange Theory by saying that there
were four major weaknesses in it.
1. It assumes that for each subjectively distinct emotion there is a corresponding set of
physiological changes. However as we know, there are a number of different
emotions which can be associated with the same physiological changes.
2. Even if the above assumption was true, the physiological changes may not necessarily
produce an emotional state.
 3. Physiological arousal may not be necessary to experience emotion.
4. The speed with which we often experience emotions seems to exceed the speed of the
response of the viscera, so how could the physiological changes be the source of
sudden emotion?
Canon argued that the same visceral changes occur in very different emotional states and in
non-emotional states. Canon suggested that the James-Lange Theory was built on the
assumption that different emotional stimuli induce different patterns of ANS activity which
result in different emotional experiences.
According to the Canon-Baird Theory, the ANS responds in the same way to all emotional
stimuli. This means that there must be more to our emotional experience than simply
physiological arousal; otherwise we could not be able to distinguish one emotional state from
another.
The figure below shows the subjective emotion is independent of the physiological changes
involved. The emotion producing stimulus is processed by the thalamus (in the brain). This
sends impulses to the cortex, where the emotion is consciously experienced and to the
hypothalamus, which sets in motion certain autonomic physiological changes.

Thalamus sends impulse to cortex Perception of

emotion arousing
stimulus

Perception of
emotion arousing
stimulus

Perception of
Thalamus sends emotion arousing
impulse to stimulus
hypothalamus
What is meant by cognitive appraisal?
Cognitive appraisal theory claims that some minimal cognitive analysis always precedes
emotional experience, although this can be unconscious and automatic.
In his work, Lazarus (1982) proposed that cognitive appraisal invariably precedes any
reaction though it may not involve conscious processing.

Which psychologist is associated with the cognitive labelling theory? What did this
researcher conclude?
The psychologist associated with cognitive labelling theory is Stanley Schechter. Schachter
concluded that the James-Lange Theory was mistaken in claiming that physiological changes
caused the feeling of emotion.
While sharing the belief with the James-Lange Theory that physiological changes precede the
feeling of emotion, Schachter argued that we have to ‘decide’ which particular emotion we
are feeling, or in other words, what label we attribute our arousal to. This label, Schachter
postulated depends on what we attribute the arousal to.
Schachter’s approach is also known as the two factor theory of emotion with factor one being
physiological arousal, which is necessary for the experience of emotion and factor two being
how we interpret the arousal.
The experiment that demonstrated this cognitive theory of emotion is known as the
‘adrenaline experiment’ which was conducted by Schachter in 1962.

What are the four main categories of psychological reactions to stress?

The four main psychological reactions to stress are;
1. Anger, which may be an inward or outward reaction.
2. Anxiety, which may cause one to ask ‘what if’ questions about possible scenarios in
one’s life. Such worries may leave one indecisive.
3. Aggression is a common reaction to any state of arousal. Aggression may cause one
to react violently to situations. It may cause one to fight when faced with the ‘fight or
flight’ situation.
4. Depression is the opposite reaction to aggression. Depression may make a person
become more introverted and feeling unhappy.
Name two systems which are involved in physiological reactions to stress.
The first system involved in physiological reactions to stress is the sympathetic nervous
system. This is the part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is often termed as the
fight or flight response.
The second system involved in physiological reactions to stress is the adreno-cortical system.
This is the system controlled by the adrenal cortex which is part of the adrenal gland which
controls and conserves the amount of glucose in the blood which makes fats available for
energy, increased blood flow and generally stimulate behavioural responses.

Describe some of the physical and mental effects of long term stress. Provide some
examples from your own experience.
Long term stress can lead to serious health problems. Some of the physical effects are
hypertension (high blood pressure), asthma, coronary heart disease and peptic ulcers. Some
of the mental effects of stress are depression and sleeping disorders.
In my experience as a HR Manager I have encountered a number of people who have
suffered from depression for varying reasons. One employee had an accident at work which
caused his absence from work for an extended period of time. Even though he had recovered
from his physical injuries he suffered from depression for a number of reasons including, a
fear of the accident happening again and the loss of the ‘routine’ of life i.e. coming to work,
not only to do the job but for the social interaction with other employees.

Why is an internal locus of control helpful in dealing with stress?

People with a positive attributional style have what is known as an internal locus of control.
Having an internal locus of control is important for dealing with stress because those who
have the internal locus of control see threats that they face as a challenge that they can
influence and overcome therefore they have a higher propensity to channel their energies in a
positive manner, which in turn may lead to them coping with stress better than if they have a
depressive attributional style. A person who has a depressive attributional style tends to think
of situations that confront them in a negative manner.
What is meant by ‘problem-focused’ strategies? Give an example of a problem focused
strategy which could be used for dealing with stress.
A problem focused strategy is one that tries to short circuit negative emotions by taking some
action to modify, avoid or minimise the threatening situation which one faces.
Logical analysis is a problem focused strategy. Take the example of a business owner who
faces the possibility of informing his workforce that he may have to make employees
redundant. This scenario causes some stress to the business owner so he uses logical analysis
to look at alternatives to redundancy. This logical analysis involved systematically reviewing
all parts of his business to identify where he can cut costs without having to make employees
redundant.

Define what is meant by a ‘sensation’.

Sensation is the first stage in the biochemical and neurologic events that begin with the
impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a sensory organ. A more simplified
explanation of the above is that sensations are messages carried to the brain about what is
going on in the world. These messages reach the body through a number of sense organs, in
particular, the senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

How do perception and sensation differ?

Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the sensory information
referred to above.
Sensation and perception differ in that sensation occurs as described above, for example the
retina of the eye senses light and sends impulses to the brain. Perception follows the sensation
in that the brain then translates the impulses into something meaningful, for example, the
light impulses are converted into the image of a football match on television.

Explain how when looking at two-dimensional images our visual system can see objects
as three dimensional.
When you look at an object, that object is known as the distal stimulus. That object will
produce an image on the retina of the eye. This retinal image is sometimes known as the
proximal stimulus. The actual experience of seeing the object is called the percept.
Ordinarily, we don’t see double images, because the brain combines two images in a process
called stereopsis. This allows us to experience one 3-D sensation rather than two different
images.
What do ambiguous figures and distorted illusions suggest about visual perception?
An ambiguous figure is one that can be seen in two different ways and a distorted illusion is a
visual display in which the viewer is likely to make mistakes in judgement of size.
This suggests that visual perception is an active, constructive process in which our visual
system constructs a percept of ‘what is out there’ in the world. Other examples that support
this argument aside from the two above are paradoxical figures (impossible objects) and
fictions.

What did Gregory (1983) mean by the statement “I wouldn’t separate the hypothesis
from the perception … perceptions are predictive hypotheses”.
Gregory’s theory of perception as inference states the view that perception is an active
process involving selection, inference and interpretation.
Essentially what this means is that our visual system receives information and then
reconstructs it, faced with certain stimuli the brain makes an inference or hypothesis as to
what is going on.
In my opinion, Gregory means that one cannot separate the hypothesis, i.e. what the brain
infers is going on, as that hypothesis is what we perceive, or is our perception of what is
going on.
Gregory’s theory does not explain why, if perception is essentially constructive, why so many
people have such common perceptual experiences, however, his theory seems to hold up
when stimuli are ambiguous or incomplete.

Describe the three gestalt principles of perception.

1. Similarity means we have a tendency to group together items or stimuli that seem
similar to one another. For example, hearing all the voices in a choir as one entity
illustrates the principle of similarity.
2. Proximity means that items or stimuli that are close to each other are seen as
belonging together. An example of this in auditory terms would be a musical melody
because the notes occur soon after one another in time.
3. Closure means an incomplete figure tends to be seen as if it were complete. An
example of this is when letters are missing from a word. Generally the brain can
compensate for the missing letters and perceives or infers what the missing letter
should be.
Give two examples of monocular and two examples of binocular depth cues.
Judging how far away things are is called depth (distance) perception. We judge distance by
what are known as depth cues. Monocular depth cues can be seen with one eye. Examples of
such are;
1. Linear perspective – where parallel lines (e.g. tram lines) appear to converge as they
recede into the distance.
2. Textile gradient – where textured surfaces look rougher close up than from a distance,
e.g. pebble dashed walls.

There are depth cues that require two eyes. These are known as binocular depth cues.
Examples of binocular depth cues are;
1. Convergence is when we look at an object, both our eyes pointing directly at it. If the
object is near then our eyes will converge quite a lot. When we look at distant objects
our eyes converge much less. The brain receives information about how much the
eyes are converging, which provides distance information.
2. Retinal disparity occurs when, because our two eyes are set some distance apart they
don’t get quite the same view of objects. The resulting difference between the images
on the two retinas is called retinal disparity. The nearer the object is the greater the
disparity will be, so the brain is able to judge distance.

Name five factors affecting perception and explain why this is the case for each.
1. Motivation – Someone with a particular need will be perceive in different ways. An
example of this is as follows; if you are thinking about buying a new car, a mini for
example, you will more than likely ‘notice’ more minis on the road.
2. Values also influence perception. For example, Lambert et al (1949) found that when
children were taught to value something more highly than they had previously done,
they perceived the valued thing as being larger. This effect is known as perceptual
augmentation.
3. Previous experience of a particular situation will affect how we perceive. In my role
as a HR Manager my perception of a particular disciplinary issue may be altered
because I had previously dealt with a similar situation in the past.
4. Instructions – To highlight how instructions can influence perception I refer to the
Vallins experiment in 1966 when participants were given feedback about their heart
 rate when looking at playboy images. As a result of the (false) feedback given, the
participants perceived certain images to be more attractive than others.
5. Our perceptual set is probably the most influential factor in explaining perception. In
most cases we see what we expect to see. Our perceptual set is also known as a
schema (Vernon, 1955). An example of this is that if you flick through a deck of
playing cards you expect to see the hearts suit as being red in colour, however, if
someone changed some of the hearts cards from being red to black the likelihood is
that when flicking through the deck of cards you would still see the black hearts as
being red. This is because your perceptual set tells you that hearts are red.

Jenny and Michael visit the zoo. Jenny is told that a chameleon is to be found on some
plant life in the enclosure. Michael is not given this information. Both Jenny and
Michael look in the enclosure. Jenny sees the chameleon whereas Michael sees only a
plant. Why might this be?
One aspect of the context of perception is instruction. In this example Jenny was given
instructions that there was a chameleon in the enclosure. This instruction altered Jenny’s
perceptual set or expectation that there was a chameleon in the enclosure; therefore she was
more likely to see one.

Sarah and Tom are shown a video clip and asked to note the number of blue vehicles.
Sarah is offered a reward for counting the correct number (ten). No reward is
mentioned to Tom. Sarah comments that there were ten blue vehicles whereas Tom is
adamant that there were only five. Why might this be the case?
In this example Sarah is offered a reward for counting the correct number of blue vehicles. If
someone is offering you a reward, you are more likely to perceive things in a way that you
think the rewarder wants you to perceive them.

Give me an everyday example of a mistake our visual perception may make regarding
movement, size and distance (provide one example for each).
An example of a visual perception mistake in relation to movement is if you look at a
stationery spotlight in a completely dark room, the light will appear to move when it is not.
This is known as the autokinetic effect and is caused by small, uncontrollable eye movements
and the absence of a stimulating background against which movement can be measured.
An example of how we might make a mistake of size in terms of visual perception is
highlighted when we look at how film makers exploit our perception of size. If we look at the
space ships in the film ‘Star Wars’ we perceive them to be large space vessels many hundreds
of metres in size when in fact, they are small studio constructed models. Film makers exploit
the relative size depth cue to achieve this affect.
In order to highlight how we can make a mistake about distance, think about when you look
down at people from the top of a tall building. The people will appear as small ant-like
creatures; however, you know that they are people. Our perceptual system maintains shape
constancy; however it does not see size because of the distance from the people.

What is meant by ‘encoding’ and how might this occur?

Encoding is also known as registration. It is the transformation of sensory input into a form
which allows it to be entered into memory. One method of encoding information is rehearsal.
This is repeating a piece of information e.g. a telephone number over and over again.

What is meant by ‘storage’ and how might information be stored on memory?

Storage is the operation of holding or retaining information in the memory. Storage of some
information in the memory can be for short or long periods of time.

What is meant by ‘retrieval’?

Retrieval is the process by which stored information is extracted from the memory.

Explain the ‘degree of organisation’ principle by Restle (1974).

Restle (1974) proposed the degree of organisation principle. This suggested that the better we
organise new material (relating it especially to existing knowledge), the better we will retain
it.
Generally the idea is that long term memory is organised and if you want to have a better
chance of remembering something you need to organise material (and associate it with
something you already know) at the time of the storage and at the time of retrieval.

Why is elaboration of information important for remembering?

Elaboration of information is important in determining whether information is stored or not.
Elaborating information is to add to it. Craik and Tulving carried out experiments on levels of
processing in 1975. Elaboration, which is a deeper level of processing enabled participants to
recall words better than those which had a shallow level of processing.

Why does information which is distinctive assist our ability to remember?

Distinctiveness relates to the nature of processing. Distinctive items which are novel,
incongruent, contain features that do not match features of previous items or involve the
processing of difference in the context of similarity can assist our ability to remember.
Distinctiveness increases memory by;
a) Increased attention to the distinctive items (processing)
b) Increased retrievability of distinctive items.

Name two aspects of everyday life where memory research can be applied?
The first area where memory research can be applied to everyday life is crime and the legal
process, particularly, eyewitness testimony. Elizabeth Loftus conducted a he body of research
in this area involving over 20,000 subjects. Her work has shown that eyewitness testimony is
often unreliable, that false memories can be triggered in up to 25% of individuals merely by
suggestion, and that memory can be interfered with and altered by simply giving incorrect
post-event information.

The second application of memory research to everyday life is in learning. There are different
approaches to learning, however, broadly speaking, learning is seen as being a process by
cognitive psychologists.

According to memory research when is reliability of testimony likely to be greatest?

The reliability of eyewitness testimony is likely to be greater if the witness is able to;
c) Use recognition recall (identity parade).
d) Return to the context in which the incident occurred (the same place and the same
state).
e) Recall as soon after the event as possible and
f) Misleading questions and suggestibility is minimised.
According to memory research when is recall in exams likely to be best?
Recall for exams is likely to be best when the information;
a) Has been fully rehearsed.
b) Has been actively organised by the learner.
c) Has been elaborated in ways that will link it with existing knowledge.
d) Is distinctive or has been made distinctive by elaboration.
e) Is stored in a context that is retrievable e.g. using the method of loci. The loci method
is placing what you want to remember in a familiar location and using the location to
cue memory.

Define the principles of Classical conditioning.

The principles of classical conditioning are such that a person or animal will respond to
particular stimuli or conditions in a particular way. This is also often known as association
learning. There are main principles associated with Classical conditioning which I shall
outline below.
The Unconditioned Stimulus
The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers
a response. For example, when you smell one of your favourite foods, you may immediately
feel very hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.
The Unconditioned Response
The unconditioned response is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the
unconditioned stimulus. In our example, the feeling of hunger in response to the smell of
food is the unconditioned response.
The Conditioned Stimulus
The conditioned stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with
the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response. In our earlier
example, suppose that when you smelled your favourite food, you also heard the sound of a
whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound of the whistle was
paired multiple times with the smell, the sound would eventually trigger the conditioned
response. In this case, the sound of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus.
The Conditioned Response
The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. In our
example, the conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the
whistle.
Define the principles of Operant conditioning.
The principles of Operant Conditioning are as follows;
 The required behaviour is reinforced immediately.
 All other behaviour is ignored.
What this essentially means is that behaviour which is rewarded is likely to be repeated. For
the reinforcement to happen the learner must first produce the required behaviour. The
conditioning procedure will then reinforce the behaviour so that it is produced more often and
more reliably.

How does reinforcement occur in Classical conditioning?

Reinforcement in classical conditioning occurs by what is known as association learning. If I
refer to the example of Pavlov’s dogs I can illustrate more clearly. Before learning, food
(unconditioned stimulus) is introduced to the dog which causes the dog to salivate
(unconditioned response). During learning a bell (conditioned stimulus) is introduced with
the food. After learning the food is removed and the bell is rung. During learning the dog
learned to associate the bell with the food so when the bell is rung (conditioned stimulus) and
the food not present, the dog still salivates (conditioned response).

How does reinforcement occur in Operant conditioning?

Reinforcement occurs in operant conditioning when the learner produces the required
behaviour; usually the behaviour is rewarded or reinforced. In order to receive the reward the
learner will repeat the behaviour, therefore, the reward or reinforcer causes the learner to
learn the required behaviour by association with the reward. All other behaviour is ignored.

How does aversion therapy illustrate the principles of Classical conditioning?

Aversion therapy is a form of behaviour therapy in which an aversive (causing a strong
feeling of dislike or disgust) stimulus is paired with an undesirable behaviour in order to
reduce or eliminate that behaviour.
The goal of aversion therapy is to decrease or eliminate undesirable behaviours. Treatment
focuses on changing a specific behaviour itself, unlike insight-oriented approaches that focus
on uncovering unconscious motives in order to produce change. The behaviours that have
been treated with aversion therapy include such addictions as alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and
smoking; pathological gambling; sexual deviations; and more benign habits—including
writer's cramp.
For example to cure a person of alcohol addiction, they are first asked to drink water
containing a substance which will cause them nausea and vomiting. They are then allowed to
drink alcohol. Soon, they will associate the smell and taste of alcohol with vomiting. The
treatment is repeated several times until the person finds alcohol unpleasant.

How does behaviour modification therapy illustrate the principles of operant

conditioning?
Behaviour modification therapy is based on the idea the behaviour can be reinforced by
rewards. To modify an individual’s behaviour you reward the kind of behaviour that you
require. An example of how this therapy can be used is when dealing with a child who may
not have hardly ever spoke. For each utterance the child produced you could give a reward of
a hug or a cuddle, praise or even a sweet. You could then used shaping to get make the child
utter more and more speech-like sounds until they speak fluently.

Give an evaluation of aversion therapy.

Aversion therapy has been used with some success to treat patients with alcohol addiction.
Meyer and Chesser (1970) found that about half of their alcoholic patients abstained for at
least a year after treatment, and that aversion therapy is better than no treatment at all. One of
the pitfalls of the treatment of alcoholics with aversion therapy is that they often replace the
addiction of alcohol with an addiction for another substance.
Aversion therapy has also been used in controversial circumstances to “cure” homosexuality.
The idea being that homosexual fantasies are associated with an unpleasant stimulus. This use
of aversion therapy has raised many ethical issues which I shall not delve into here.
Another variant of aversion therapy is covert sensitisation. This is a form of behaviour
therapy in which undesirable behaviour is paired with an unpleasant image in order to
eliminate that behaviour.
Aversion therapy's long-term success in treating patients is questionable; patients may appear
to be treated by therapy, but once out of the view of doctors, where the deterrent drugs or
electric shocks are removed, they may feel able to return to their addictions or undesirable
behaviour.
The Wager summarized studies of 5 studies into aversion therapy's application of
pathological gamblers:

No. of Number Number

Study Technique
Cases 'Cured' relapsed
Barker & Miller 2
Aversion therapy 3 1
(1968)  
Aversion therapy & other
Cotler (1971) 1 0 1
techniques
Goorney (1968) Aversion therapy 1 1 0
Koller (1972) Aversion therapy 12 6 6
Aversion therapy & other
Seager (1970) 16* 5 6
techniques
* 2 cases were lost, 3 were in prison
 
Source: The Wager [Barker, J.C., & Miller, M. (1968). Aversion therapy for compulsive gambling. The Journal of Nervous and Mental
Disease, 146(4), 285-302; Seager, C.P. (1970). Treatment of compulsive gamblers by electrical aversion. British Journal of Psychiatry, 117,
545-553; Lester, D. (1980). The treatment of compulsive gambling. The International Journal of the Addictions, 15(2), 201-206.]

Aversion therapy has endured much criticism in previous decades in its use in abusing
patients. At a time when homosexuality was considered by some to be a mental illness, gay
people were made to undergo aversion therapy for their lifestyles. A number of fatalities have
also occurred during aversion therapy.

Give an evaluation of behaviour modification theory.

One of the positives of behaviour modification is that it is non-punitive therefore is works
well for individuals who do not respond to punishment. The individual who is being treated
does not need to understand the procedure so it can be used with the very young and those
with learning disabilities.
On the negatives of behaviour modification, it is very time consuming to be used effectively.
The token economy, which is based on the principle of secondary reinforcement, may only
lead to token learning. This means that the individual may only produce the required
behaviour once the rewards are forthcoming, they may become over dependent on reward.
Finally, because behaviour modification is so powerful, it is open to abuse. This could mean a
situation where vulnerable people could be manipulated by their carer(s).

What is meant by latent learning?

Latent Learning is a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response;
it occurs without obvious reinforcement to be applied later.
Latent learning is when an organism learns something in its life, but the knowledge is not
immediately expressed. It remains dormant, and may not be available to consciousness, until
specific events/experiences might need this knowledge to be demonstrated. For instance a
child may observe a parent setting the table or tightening a screw, but does not act on this
learning for a year; then he finds he knows how to do these.
In a classical experiment, Tolman and C.H. Honzik (1930), placed three groups of rats in
mazes and observed their behavior each day for more than two weeks. The rats in Group 1
always found food at the end of the maze. Group 2 never found food. Group 3 found no food
for 10 days, but then received food on the eleventh. The Group 1 rats quickly learned to rush
to the end of the maze to find their food. Group 2 rats did not learn to go to the end. Group 3
acted as the Group 2 rats until food was introduced on Day 11. Then they quickly learned to
run to the end of the maze and did as well as the Group 1 rats by the next day.

What is meant by transfer learning?

Information or skills related to one topic can sometimes either help or hinder the acquisition
of information or skills related to another topic. When learning from one situation assists
learning in another, this is referred to as positive transfer. This positive transfer is most likely
to occur when the learner

 recognizes common features among concepts, principles, or skills;

 consciously links the information in memory; and

 Sees the value of using what was learned in one situation in another.

 For example, knowledge about the Revolutionary War may be helpful in understanding the
Civil War. Knowledge of French may help a student learn Spanish. Skill at tennis may help a
person learn racquetball.

When learning from one situation interferes with learning in another situation, this is referred
to as negative transfer. This negative transfer is most likely to occur when the learner
incorrectly believes there are common features, improperly links the information while
encoding it, or incorrectly sees some value in using information from one setting in another.
For example, knowledge of the Revolutionary War may actually confuse the student about
events in the Civil War. Knowledge of French may confuse the student with regard to
Spanish. Skill at tennis may cause a person to make mistakes at racquetball. Negative transfer
is usually detrimental to learning.

What is meant by insight learning?

Insight learning is the grasp of the solution to a problem without the intervening series of the
trial and error steps that are associated with most types of learning (e.g., a monkey housed
behind the bars of a cage who, without proceeding through countless hours of futile attempts
with one stick or the other, fits two sticks together to retrieve a banana outside the distance
measured by either stick alone).

What significance may the above three mentioned types of learning have in everyday
life?
Latent learning is the process of learning something that is capable of being activated
although not currently visible. Latent learning is linked with the idea of schemas. Tolman
(1932) developed the idea of cognitive maps that we hold in our minds. For example, if we
are trying to make a long and difficult journey we might try to remember specific landmarks
along the way, not recalling anything of what is between those landmarks. What has
happened here is that latent learning has helped to break the journey into smaller “digestible
chunks”. A method used by many trainers in technical training situations in everyday life.
Transfer learning is significant in that it is a process whereby we build on old learned
experiences to give us a head start when something new is to be learned or an unfamiliar
problem is faced and it may be used in everyday life. In my profession as a HR Manager I
have learned how to deal with situations where people’s roles change due to the introduction
of new technology or processes. I have learned from previous change management initiatives
how people tend to react in the face of changes to their role or work practices so I can
develop effective change management strategies.
Insight learning is relevant in everyday life in that it was seen by Gestalt psychologists as
involving perceptual restructuring of the elements that constitute a problem situation. On this
basis, insight learning has many everyday business applications, for example, business
leaders may be thought problem solving techniques based on insight learnings.
Explain what is meant by the nature-nurture debate.
The nature – nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual’s innate
qualities versus personal experiences in determining or causing individual differences in
physical and behavioural traits.
On one side there are the nativists who believe that various aspects of behaviour are innate,
meaning that we are born with certain behavioural traits.
On the other side are the empiricists who believe that these behaviours must be learned and
are influenced by the child’s experience in their environment.

Explain reciprocal behaviour, how this develops and how it relates to socialisation.
Reciprocal behaviour relates to the relationship that an infant forms during its first year with
its mother. The nature of this relationship is reciprocal - this means that it is a mutual
relationship between mother and child.
The infant learns that there are responses from the outside world to its actions, particularly
from its mother. Over time and through numerous shared experiences the infant becomes a
social being.
Reciprocal behaviour relates to socialisation as it is this bi-directional process that helps the
child to learn to live with other human beings, in other words, reciprocal behaviour is the start
of the long process of socialisation.

Describe the theory of attachment.

According to Kagan et al (1978) an attachment is “an intense emotional relationship that is
specific to two people that endures over time, and in which prolonged separation from the
partner is accompanied by stress and sorrow”.
While the description above refers to attachment formation at any stage of the life cycle, our
first attachment acts as a model for all later relationships.
Bowlby said attachment refers to the tendency of the infant to seek closeness or proximity of
certain others and feel more secure in their presence.

How might the theory of attachment be practically applied in an everyday situation?

Consider evidence to refute where possible.
Bowlby suggested that infants are born with innate behaviour patterns known as attachment
behaviours. If one applies Bowlby’s theory on attachment to everyday life, the relationship
between a mother and her child is a practical everyday example of the attachment theory.
Research by Schaffer and Emeson (1964) found that a substantial minority of their subjects
formed several attachments, with the father being an important one of these, also siblings.
This would suggest that Bowlby’s belief that the child would only form an attachment with
its mother is flawed.

Describe deprivation theory.

Deprivation theory is based on Bowlby’s claim that the mother-infant attachment couldn’t be
broken in the first few years of life without serious and permanent damage to social,
emotional and intellectual development.

How might deprivation theory be practically applied in an everyday situation? Consider

evidence to refute where possible.
Maternal deprivation may be applied in everyday situations when trying to understand
delinquency. In Bowlby’s study of 44 thieves he found that most had endured separation of
more than 6 months from their mothers in their first five years, however Yarrow (1961)
refuted this by discovering that there is a high correlation between delinquency and broken
homes, however, it does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.

Describe privation.
Privation occurs when there is a failure to form an attachment to any individual. Privation is
different from deprivation in that deprivation assumes that a bond or attachment was formed
and subsequently taken away or deprived.

How might privation be practically applied in an everyday situation? Consider evidence

to refute where possible.
Affectionless psychopathy is a term that Bowlby used to describe individuals who have no
sense of shame or guilt; they lack social conscience. This is one of the ways in which
privation may be practically applied in everyday situations.
This is refuted by Rutter (1972) who suggested that the chief bond that a child makes is
especially important because of its greater strength but most children will develop several
bonds with several people and these are basically similar to the main one. In my opinion,
based on this research the fact that a child has not formed a bond with its mother does not
mean it will suffer affectionless psychopathy.
What research would suggest the importance of the contribution of cultural/social
influences on the development of gender identity?
The research of Margaret Mead, which attempted to investigate the sex roles of cultures that
are radically different to our own, showed the importance of cultural/social influences on the
development of gender identity.
Mead studied the social roles of men and women in three different tribes, The Arapesh, The
Mundugumor and the Tchambuli. Mead’s findings suggested that there may be a great deal of
cultural and social influences on the child’s gender identity.

Summarise the findings of the Goldberg/Lewis study. What does this show?
Goldberg and Lewis conducted a study of 32 girls and 32 boys with their mothers. First
observations were made at 6 months old and further observations were made at 13 months
old. The experiment involved children being placed in a room with 9 different types of
objects including pegboards, doorknobs and toys. Firstly, the child played for 15 minutes
with their mother seated in the corner of the room. In a later play session the children’s
behaviour to partial separation from their mother was observed when a mesh barrier was
placed between them and their mother. The following is a summary of the findings of the
study;
Girls tended to choose cuddly toys or toys needing delicate and intricate movements. They
also tended to be more dependent on their mother whilst spending more time touching her
and talking to her. Typically, when separated from their mother girls moved to the centre of
the barrier and cried for their mother.
Boys enjoyed playing with bigger noisier toys that they could bang around. They tended to be
more active and less dependent on their mother. Finally, when separated from their mother
they sought where the wall met the barrier and tried to struggle their way through it.

Describe what is meant by categorisation. Give two examples.

Categorisation is a by-product of the attribution process. Attribution is the process whereby
we judge people by what they actually do and on the situation in which that behaviour occurs
– we make judgements based on our first observations. With these judgements of people we
categorise them (clever, stupid, rough etc.).
Two examples of categorisation are;
1. You meet someone who has piercings and tattoos so you categorise them as being a
‘roughneck’.
 2. You meet someone with glasses and braces on their teeth so you categorise them as
being a ‘nerd’.

Describe what is meant by stereotyping. Give to examples.

Judging someone based on our first impression of them or their appearance is also known as
making a snap judgement. Snap judgements are based on small amounts of information and
are often over simplified. This over-simplification is called stereotyping. It is a fixed,
commonly held notion or image of a person or group based on these over-simplifications.
Two examples of stereotyping are as follows;
1. Saying that someone is a drunk because they are Irish.
2. Saying that a beggar on the street is lazy.

What problems might categorisation cause? Describe two issues in detail.

One of the problems that categorisation may cause is that we may form a negative opinion of
someone. As humans we love to prove ourselves right. On this basis we may look for
supporting evidence to back up our negative first impression whilst overlooking or ignoring
many of the person’s positive attributes. As a HR Manager this could lead me to not offer
someone a job based on my first impression of them. A current example of this is a recent
survey which showed that candidates with foreign names were less likely to be called for
interview by employers.
Categorisation may also lead to conformity, even against a person’s own beliefs. Conformity
means agreeing with the majority view. People may show conformist tendencies for fear of
causing offence or even being isolated, depending on the society in which they live. Asch
(1952) showed that people will actually lie about their opinion and beliefs or opinions for fear
that they could be categorised in a particular way which could lead to marginalisation or
isolation in their society.

What problems might stereotyping cause? Describe two issues in detail.

The first problem with stereotyping is in relation to behaviour. Our expectations of people’s
personalities or capabilities may influence the way we actually treat them, which in turn may
influence their behaviour in such a way that it conforms to our expectation. This ‘self-
fulfilling prophecy’ may have a negative impact on the person’s (or group’s) behaviour,
depending on the characteristics or behaviour expected because of the stereotype. For
example, if you take the stereotype of Irish people abroad being that we are loud and drunk, a
group of lads going on holiday behave this way because it is expected of them on this basis –
“ah, sure we’re allowed to be drunk all the time, we’re Irish”.
The second problem with stereotyping is in relation to memory. Stereotypes may ‘support’
memories of a particular event. Buckhout (1974) gave participants a series of drawings in
which some stereotypical pattern was violated. One drawing showed a casually dressed white
man threatening a well dressed black man on a train, with the white man holding a razor.
After seeing the picture for a short time, approximately half of the participants ‘remembered’
seeing a black man holding a razor. This type of influence that a stereotype has on memory
could have devastating consequences for example in criminal legal proceedings.

Give an example of an individual and an interpersonal prejudice.

Individual prejudice is a person's general biased attitude toward other groups and other
individuals. An example of this could be that a HR Manager would not call candidates from
the travelling community for an interview as the manager holds the belief that travellers don’t
make good employees.
Interpersonal prejudice is an individual's biased attitude toward another specific person. An
example of this could be that I would not talk to my next door neighbour because he is
Nigerian and I have negative views of Nigerians.

How might prejudices occur at inter group levels.

Prejudices might occur within groups when a group thinks it is being deprived of something
if it were not for the existence of another group. In today’s environment for example, an
unemployed Irish person might think he would have a job if it “were not for all those
foreigners”. When there is competition for a scarce resource i.e. jobs the deprivation may
itself be a cause for prejudice.
The robbers cave experiment conducted by Sherif (1961) showed how quickly prejudice can
develop and how ‘anti-social’ the consequences can be.

Explain 5 possible consequences of prejudice in behaviours.

Allport (1954) proposed five categories of prejudicial behaviour in order of seriousness;
1. Antilocution – hostile talk, verbal denigration and insult, racial jokes.
2. Avoidance – keeping a distance but without actively inflicting harm.
3. Discrimination – exclusion from housing, civil rights, employment.
4. Physical attack – violence against a person and property.
 5. Extermination – Indiscrimate violence against an entire group (including genocide).

Describe three ways in which prejudice may be reduced in everyday situations.

Prejudice may be reduced in everyday situations through;
1. Education – Prejudice thrives on ignorance so by educating people one may help
alleviate ignorance, thus reducing prejudice.
2. Co-operation rather than competition – As I previously discussed competition may
lead to prejudice so by encouraging people to co-operate one may eradicate
competition, thus reducing prejudice.
3. Equalisation – This is treating all individuals equally.

What are the pros and cons of treating individuals equally?

Prejudice may be reduced by equal status contacts between majority and minority groups in
the pursuit of common goals. According to Allport (1954) the effect of reducing prejudice is
greatly enhanced if sanctioned by institutional supports.
The disadvantage of this is that the contact must be as equals. The contact, because of the
nature of the relationship for example between an employer and an employee may actually
increase prejudice.

What are the pros and cons of co-operation rather than competition?
The pros of co-operation rather than competition are that is that all the members of the group
have a shared common goal. By all of the members working towards the same goal they may
learn tolerance of people from other backgrounds and races.
The cons are that competitive rivalry within the group may cause in-groups within the group,
each protecting their own interests.

What are the pros and cons of educating people towards prejudice?
Separation and segregation may make it difficult for people to get to know each other as
people so by educating people we may re-draw the boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Re-
drawing these boundaries may lead to everyone being included, or no one being excluded.
The opposite of this then is that the group that all people are now included in may grow
prejudices to those who are not in the group!
Explain what is meant by social facilitation.
Social facilitation is the tendency for people to be aroused into better performance on simple
tasks (or tasks at which they are expert or that have become autonomous) when under the eye
of others, rather than while they are alone (audience effect), or when they are working
alongside other people (coactor effect). Complex tasks (or tasks at which people are not
skilled), however, are often performed in an inferior manner in such situations. This effect
has been demonstrated in a variety of species. In humans, it is strongest among those who are
most concerned about the opinions of others, and when the individual is being watched by
someone he or she does not know, or cannot see well.

Explain the difference between facilitation and competition and the effects on individual
performance.
The difference between facilitation and competition is that during competition the person is
working or competing against another where as with facilitation is where the person is
working alongside another, for example they can see the other person perform. Although the
person is not in competition with the other they raise their performance on this basis. This
raising of performance is also prevalent when a person performs in front of an audience – the
audience effect.

The affect that the audience affect has on performance depends on how simple and well
learned a task is. In some cases the audience affect may actually inhibit the person’s ability to
learn new responses. This could stifle creativity or ‘thinking on your feet’.

The very presence of an audience will usually cause arousal however; this arousal will only
increase performance to a point. The performance level will also be influenced by whether
the audience is displaying encouragement or hostility.

What is meant by the bystander effect?

The bystander effect is the somewhat controversial name given to a social psychological
phenomenon in cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when
other people are present. The probability of help has in the past been thought to be inversely
proportional to the number of bystanders. In other words, the greater the number of
bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. This has never been
successfully proved beyond the very basic research given here. Scientists have never been
able to link the number of people to the chances of reporting in any way.

The case of Kitty Genovese is the most famous example of the so-called bystander effect. It
is also the case that originally stimulated social psychological research in this area. Ms.
Genovese was stabbed to death in 1964 by a serial rapist and murderer. According to
newspaper accounts, the killing took place for at least a half an hour. The murderer attacked
Ms. Genovese and stabbed her, but then fled the scene after attracting the attention of a
neighbor. The killer then returned ten minutes later and finished the assault. Newspaper
reports after Genovese's death claimed that 38 witnesses watched the stabbings and failed to
intervene or even contact the police. This led to widespread public attention, and many
editorials.

What three factors may affect a bystander from acting effectively in the presence of
others and why is this the case for each?
There are three major factors that contribute to the bystander effect.
First, the presence of other people creates a diffusion of responsibility. Because there are
other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the
responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of those present.

The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. When other
observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or
not appropriate. Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to intervene if the
situation is ambiguous. In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnesses reported that
they believed that they were witnessing a "lover’s quarrel," and did not realize that the young
woman was actually being murdered.

The third reason is the cost to the individual that is involved. To see how this applies in the
above case one should think that in 1964 there were no mobile phones so the witnesses would
have had to go out of their way to find a phone to make the call to the police. There would
also have been the fear of wasting police time and each person may have had an appointment
to be somewhere else.
How might the number of people in a group influence the majority on the formation of
norms? Consider evidence for and against.
In the basic Asch paradigm, the participants — the real subject and the confederates — were
all seated in a classroom. They were asked a variety of questions about the lines such as how
long is A, compare the length of A to an everyday object (which line was longer than the
other, which lines were the same length, etc.) The group was told to announce their answers
to each question out loud. The confederates always provided their answers before the study
participant, and always gave the same answer as each other. They answered a few questions
correctly but eventually began providing incorrect responses.

In a control group, with no pressure to conform to an erroneous view, only 1 subject out of 35
ever gave an incorrect answer. Solomon Asch hypothesized that the majority of people would
not conform to something obviously wrong; however, when surrounded by individuals all
voicing an incorrect answer, participants provided incorrect responses on a high proportion of
the questions (36.8%). 75% of the participants gave an incorrect answer to at least one
question.

The above results show that it was not the size of the group that matter but the unanimity of
the group that mattered in forming norms. The findings of Gerard (1968) and Latane & Wolf
(1981) found that the conformity rate would carry on increasing (but by less each time) the
more unanimous confederates were added.
Asch found that the following factors influenced conformity:

 Group size – - Conformity does not increase in groups larger than four, so this is
considered the optimal group size.
 Ambiguity - increasing the difficulty of the task – when the comparison lines were
made closer in length, the rate of conformity increased.
 Unanimity – when one other person in the group gave a different answer to the others,
and therefore the group answer was not unanimous, conformity dropped.

Crutchfield (1954) tested conformity in situations where participants answered questions in

private. They sat in a booth with a row of lights in front of them; each of the lights was
supposed to indicate the answers others had given to the same question. Participants gave
answers by pressing a button. Crutchfield found on average about one-third conformity (a
result similar to Asch’s) and also noted that some participants were very conforming and
others very independent.

Smith and Bond (1998) argued that whether conformity levels are ‘high’ or ‘low’ depends on
the cultural context. For example, the 37% conformity in Asch’s study may be considered
high in the USA, where independence and individualism are valued.

Shouval et al (1975) compared conformity to peer group pressure between 12-year-old Israeli
and Russian children, finding that the Russian children (in a more collectivist society) much
more conforming.

Smith and Bond compared conformity studies from several countries, noting that variations
between them made direct comparison impossible. But there were some patterns of in the
levels of conformity found:
 Collectivist cultures (where the importance of one’s family, religion or race is
paramount) produced higher levels than individualist cultures (where independence is
most valued). For example, there was higher conformity in Japan than in France.
 Common experiences among participants (for example Indian teacher in Fiji) showed
high levels of conformity to their group.
 Students generally showed lower levels of conformity.

Explain what is meant by conformity. How might independence and anti-conformity

affect social conformity?
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours are
influenced by other people. This influence occurs in both small groups and society as a
whole, and it may be the result of subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social
pressure. Conformity also occurs by the "implied presence" of others, or when other people
are not actually present. For example, people tend to follow the norms of society when eating
or watching television, even when they are at home by themselves.
People often conform from a desire to achieve a sense of security within a group—typically a
group that is of a similar age, culture, religion, or educational status. Any unwillingness to
conform carries with it the very real risk of social rejection. In this respect, conformity can be
seen as a safe means of avoiding bullying or deflecting criticism from peers. Conformity is
often associated with adolescence and youth culture, but it affects humans of all ages.
Independence and anti-conformity can be seen as forms of non-conformity though
independence is more highly regarded within our culture that anti-conformity. Independence
– a lack of consistent movement, either for or against is part of what makes us individuals in
modern society. Anti-conformity may lead to the establishment of sects or groups removed
from social conformity.

What are the differences between compliance, obedience and internalisation?

Compliance refers to the act of responding favorably to an explicit or implicit request offered
by others. The request may be explicit, such as a direct request for donations or a law, or
implicit, such as an advertisement promoting its products without directly asking for
purchase. In all cases, the target recognizes that he or she is being urged to respond in a
desired way.
Obedience, in human behaviour, is the quality of being obedient, which describes the act of
carrying out commands, or being actuated. Obedience differs from compliance, which is
behaviour influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behaviour intended to match
that of the majority.
Humans have been shown to be surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate
authority figures, as demonstrated by the Milgram experiment in the 1960s, which was
carried out by Stanley Milgram to discover how the Nazis managed to get ordinary people to
take part in the mass murders of the Holocaust. The experiment showed that obedience to
authority was the norm, not the exception. A similar conclusion was reached in the Stanford
prison experiment.
Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms established by people or groups
which are influential to the individual. The process starts with learning what the norms are,
and then the individual goes through a process of understanding why they are of value or why
they make sense, until finally they accept the norm as their own viewpoint.

Normative influence is balanced by informational influence. Explain.

Normative social influence occurs when one conforms to be liked or accepted by the
members of the group. It usually results in public compliance, doing or saying something
without believing in it. Normative influence is a function of social impact theory which has
three components. The number of people in the group has a surprising effect. As the number
increases, each person has less of an impact. A group's strength is how important the group is
to a person. Groups we value generally have more social influence. Immediacy is how close
the group is in time and space when the influence is taking place.
Informational social influence occurs when one turns to the members of one's group to obtain
accurate information. A person is most likely to use informational social influence in three
situations: When a situation is ambiguous, people become uncertain about what to do. They
are more likely to depend on others for the answer. During a crisis immediate action is
necessary, in spite of panic. Looking to other people can help ease fears, but unfortunately
they are not always right. The more knowledgeable a person is the more valuable they are as
a resource. Thus people often turn to experts for help. But once again people must be careful,
as experts can make mistakes too. Informational social influence often results in
internalization or private acceptance, where a person genuinely believes that the information
is right.

What is meant by a “role”?

A role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as fulfilled by a person or
persons in a social situation. It is an expected behaviour in a given individual social status
and social position.
People spend much of their lives in groups. Within these groups, people often take distinct
positions. Each of these positions can be called a role, with a whole set of functions that are
moulded by the expectations of others. Formalized expectations become norms when enough
people feel comfortable in providing punishments and rewards for the expected behaviour.
Individuals are generally conformists, and insofar as that is true, they conform to roles. The
anticipation of rewards and punishments inspire this conformity.

Why do positive and negative expectations affect why we conform to the expectations
generated by roles?
Positive and negative expectations affect why we conform to the expectations generated by
roles because by and large people will conform to the behaviour expected of them in a
particular role.
If we look at the self-fulfilling prophecy concept we see that people may behave to meet the
expectations of a particular label applied to them. So, if for example my boss continually tells
me that I lack attention to detail I may be less inclined to pay attention to detail because that
is what is expected of me. It is obvious from this example that the affect is negative so it is
important that we encourage positive rather than negative expectations.
We can further examine this matter by looking at the vicious circle of negative expectations.
If we continue the example above whereby I have paid less attention to detail as it is expected
of me it will lead to performance issues in my role. My boss then telling me that I have
performance issues may lead me to believe that I am no good at my job, which will cause
behaviour to meet that expectation, thus reducing my performance further.
One of the ways to alleviate negative expectations is to encourage people to focus on their
strengths. This has led my company to prescribe a book called Strengths Finder (Tom Rath,
2007) to the entire management team. The premise is that you discover your strengths and
work on those and also that you are aware of the strengths of the others on your team so the
team can perform better.

Explain how obedience may affect why individuals conform to the expectations
generated by roles.
Obedience, in human behaviour, is the quality of being obedient, which describes the act of
carrying out commands, or being actuated. Obedience differs from compliance, which is
behaviour influenced by peers, and from conformity, which is behaviour intended to match
that of the majority.
Humans have been shown to be surprisingly obedient in the presence of perceived legitimate
authority figures, as demonstrated by the Milgram experiment in the 1960s, which was
carried out by Stanley Milgram to discover how the Nazis managed to get ordinary people to
take part in the mass murders of the Holocaust. The experiment showed that obedience to
authority was the norm, not the exception and that a substantial proportion of people do what
they are told to do, irrespective of the content or consequences as long as they perceive that
the order comes from a legitimate authority.
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