Flashcards · 8182 · Topic 2

Paper 2 – Social Context and Behaviour flashcards

33 cards on Topic 2, subtopics 3.2.1 to 3.2.4. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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3.2.1 Social Influence

What did Asch's study of conformity find?: When confederates gave an obviously wrong answer on a line-judgement task, participants conformed on about a third of critical trials, and about three-quarters conformed at least once.
Which social and dispositional factors affect conformity?: Social: group size, anonymity (conformity falls when answers are private) and task difficulty (conformity rises). Dispositional: personality (e.g. confidence) and expertise.
What is Milgram's Agency theory?: People obey when they see themselves as agents carrying out an authority figure's wishes rather than acting autonomously. Agency, authority, culture and proximity all affect obedience.
What is Adorno's Authoritarian Personality?: A dispositional explanation of obedience: people raised by strict, harsh parents develop rigid thinking, respect for authority and hostility to those of lower status, so are more likely to obey.
What did Piliavin's subway study find?: A victim who collapsed carrying a cane was helped on almost all trials, while a victim who seemed drunk was helped on about half: the cost of helping affects bystander intervention.
Which social and dispositional factors affect bystander intervention?: Social: the presence of others (diffusion of responsibility) and the cost of helping. Dispositional: similarity to the victim and expertise, e.g. first-aid training.
Social loafing vs deindividuation in crowds: Social loafing: people put in less effort in a group than alone. Deindividuation: people lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility in a crowd, which can lead to antisocial (or prosocial) behaviour.

3.2.2 Language, Thought and Communication

Piaget vs the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis on language and thought: Piaget: language depends on thought (thought develops first). Sapir-Whorf: thinking depends on language (language shapes thought). They are opposite positions.
How can language affect our view of the world?: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis predicts that the words a culture has affect how its members recall events and recognise colours, e.g. variation in colour recognition in some Native American cultures.
What did Von Frisch's bee study show?: Bees communicate the direction and distance of a food source through a waggle dance. This is animal communication for survival (food), limited to a fixed set of signals about the present.
How does human communication differ from animal communication?: Animal communication has limited functions: survival, reproduction, territory and food. Human language can discuss things not present, plan ahead and talk about past and future events, and can produce endless new sentences.
What are the functions of eye contact?: Regulating the flow of conversation, signalling attraction and expressing emotion.
Open vs closed posture, postural echo and touch: Open posture (uncrossed arms and legs) signals acceptance; closed posture signals rejection or defensiveness. Postural echo is copying another's posture, signalling rapport. Touch can signal support or status.
How does personal space vary?: It varies with culture (some cultures stand closer), status (people keep more distance from those of higher status) and gender (e.g. women often sit closer to one another than men do).
Darwin's evolutionary theory vs Yuki's study of emoticons: Darwin: non-verbal signals are innate and evolved because they aid survival (also seen in neonates and the sensory deprived). Yuki: Japanese and American people focused on different facial areas (eyes vs mouth) in emoticons, so some non-verbal behaviour is learned.

3.2.3 Brain and Neuropsychology

Central vs peripheral nervous system, and somatic vs autonomic: Central: brain and spinal cord. Peripheral: all other nerves, divided into the somatic system (voluntary movement and senses) and the autonomic system (involuntary functions such as heart rate).
What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?: The physiological response (e.g. raised heart rate) comes first, and the emotion (e.g. fear) is the brain's interpretation of that bodily arousal. Exam trap: it is not the emotion that causes the arousal.
Sensory vs relay vs motor neurons: Sensory neurons carry messages from the senses to the CNS. Relay neurons pass messages within the CNS. Motor neurons carry messages from the CNS to muscles and glands.
What happens in synaptic transmission?: Neurotransmitters are released into the synapse and bind to receptors on the next neuron, which may be excited (more likely to fire) or inhibited (less likely). Leftover neurotransmitter is taken back up (reuptake).
What is Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth?: When neurons fire together repeatedly, the connections between them strengthen, forming cell assemblies. Learning physically changes the brain.
What are the basic functions of the four lobes and the cerebellum?: Frontal: thinking, planning and movement (motor area). Parietal: touch and body sensation (somatosensory area). Temporal: hearing and memory. Occipital: vision. Cerebellum: balance and coordination.
What did Penfield's study of the interpretive cortex find?: Electrically stimulating the temporal lobe of conscious patients during brain surgery made some recall vivid past experiences, suggesting this area is involved in memory.
What did Tulving's gold memory study show?: Using a radioactive gold tracer to scan blood flow, episodic memories were linked to more activity at the front of the cortex and semantic memories to the back, suggesting they are stored in different areas.
CT vs PET vs fMRI scans: CT: X-rays build a picture of brain structure. PET: a radioactive tracer shows active areas. fMRI: measures changes in blood oxygen to show active areas, with no radiation.

3.2.4 Psychological Problems

How has the incidence of significant mental health problems changed over time?: Recorded incidence has risen, linked to the challenges of modern living (e.g. isolation) and to greater recognition of mental health problems with less social stigma, so more people seek help.
Unipolar depression vs bipolar depression vs sadness: Sadness is a normal, temporary response to events. Unipolar depression is persistent low mood with other symptoms. Bipolar depression involves swings between depression and mania.
How is unipolar depression diagnosed using the ICD?: By the number and severity of symptoms, including low mood, reduced energy levels, changes in sleep patterns and appetite, and a decrease in self-confidence.
Biological vs psychological explanation of depression: Biological (nature): an imbalance of neurotransmitters such as low serotonin. Psychological (nurture): negative schemas and negative attributions about oneself and events.
Antidepressants vs CBT for depression: Antidepressants increase neurotransmitter levels such as serotonin (reductionist; quick but with side effects). CBT challenges negative thoughts (more holistic; longer-lasting but needs effort). They can be used together.
What did Wiles' study of CBT find?: Patients whose depression had not responded to antidepressants improved more when CBT was added to their medication than with medication alone.
Addiction (dependence) vs substance misuse: Substance misuse is occasional harmful use. Addiction (dependence syndrome in the ICD) includes a strong desire to use despite harm, difficulty controlling use, and giving the substance higher priority than other activities.
What did Kaij's twin study find about alcohol abuse?: Concordance rates for alcohol abuse were higher in identical (MZ) than non-identical (DZ) twins, supporting a genetic vulnerability to addiction.
Aversion therapy vs self-management programmes for addiction: Aversion therapy pairs the substance with an unpleasant stimulus (e.g. a drug that causes vomiting with alcohol). Self-management programmes include self-help groups and 12-step recovery programmes.