Describe and evaluate research into social influence
· Describe and evaluate research into social influence
· used appropriate psychological terminology with reference to social influences
· identify and explain ethical issues in psychological research
· identified and explained the relevant ethical issues associated with research into obedience or conformity
· evaluated the research in terms of its methodology, validity and usefulness
· identify and explain ethical issues in psychological research
· identified and explained the relevant ethical issues associated with research into obedience or conformity
Reference list
Cardwell, M., Clark, L., & Meldrum, C. (2008) “Psychology AS for AQA A” (4th ed) HarperCollinsPublishers: London
Cardwell, M. & Flanagan, C. (2012) “Psychology AS The Complete Companion Student Book” (3rd ed) Oxford University Press: Oxford
Faudemer, K., Hayden, K., McHale., & Simson, C. (eds) (2015) “A-Level Year 1 & AS Psychology Exam Board: AQA” Coordination Group Publications Ltd (CGP)
The Milgram Experiment | Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/milgram-experiment (Accessed 03/11/2020)
Resourcd File – SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/Resourcd/resourcd-file-48931483 (Access 05/11/2020)
– The Com
plete Com
panion
TH
IR
D
eD
ITIo
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ard
w
ell • Flanag
an
1
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The Complete Companion
Student Book
Mike Cardwell • Cara Flanagan
T H I R D e D I T I o n for AQA ‘A’
2
– The Complete Companion
Written by leading Psychology authors, Mike Cardwell and Cara Flanagan, this new edition of the best-selling
Student Book is designed to help turn your understanding of psychology into even better examination performance.
Revised to match the AQA A specification first examined from January 2012 it has the features that
students value so much from the previous edition plus invaluable enhancements to organisation,
content and exam advice.
Content matches the revised specification first examined from January 2012
Combines the best that a conventional student book can offer plus invaluable features
typically found in revision guides
Full-colour, magazine-style, highly illustrated pages clearly highlight AO1 topic material and
AO2 evaluation
A clearly defined focus on evaulation will help you to construct effective answers to extended
writing questions
Practice exam style-questions throughout closely reflect typical examination questions
Diagrammatic summaries and sample examination questions with student answers and examiner
commentaries provide invaluable revision support
Mike Cardwell and Cara Flanagan have many years of experience as senior examiners, teachers and best-selling
authors. They are respected and trusted by teachers and students who have successfully used their resources for years
and see them at revision conferences and teacher CPD courses across the country.
Mike is a former Chief Examiner for A Level Psychology and a Senior Lecturer at Bath Spa University. He has written
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organiser and CPD trainer.
Check out our blog at www.oxfordschoolsblogs.co.uk for up-to-date research, and useful psychology links.
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The Complete Companion
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Dedication
To Chris and Chloe (MC)
To Philippa, Jack, Rosie and, of course, Rob (CF)
Acknowledgements
Our greatest thanks go to Rick Jackman. Rick is simply
the best; he has found us a new home and unstintingly
dealt with all our queries, problems and worries, without
ever complaining. Louise Wilson (editor) and Patricia
Briggs (designer) deserve an enormous thank you for the
tremendous job they did on the second edition. For this third
edition, we are grateful for the steady hand of Carrie Makin,
and others at GreenGate Publishing Services, and Sharon
Wesselby for kindly allowing us to adopt her beloved Coco as
our cover cat. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone at OUP,
most especially Sarah Flynn and Claire Beatt for giving us the
chance to make this a project to be proud of.
About our cover cat
Weighing in at little more than a couple of bags of sugar, Coco
is a pedigree Birman. She lives in a tiny Somerset village with
her sister Misty after they were rescued by their owner Sharon
when they were just two years old. Fourteen years later they
divide their time between proofreading their owner’s business
reports, sleeping for England and drinking tea. Like her sister,
Coco is a constant reminder that you never own a cat, a cat
always owns you.
Mike Cardwell Cara Flanagan Coco
912981_prelims.indd 2 26/04/2012 16:19
c o n t e n t s
How to use this book 4
The AS examination 6
Types of AS exam question 8
Improving exam performance: A few key pieces of advice 10
Effective revision 11
Revision techniques 12
Introduction 13
chapter 1 Cognitive psychology: Memory 17
chapter 2 Developmental psychology: Early social development 47
chapter 3 Research methods 81
chapter 4 Biological psychology: Stress 131
chapter 5 Social psychology: Social influence 159
chapter 6 Individual Differences: Psychotherapy (Abnormality) 185
References 217
Answers 226
Index 227
912981_prelims.indd 3 24/04/2012 16:06
4
How to use this book
The contents of this book are mapped exactly onto the AQA A AS specification. The book is divided into six chapters that match the topics in the specification, plus an
introductory chapter.
Each chapter begins with an introductory spread where you will find:
I N T R O D U C T I O N
1918
Cognitive psychology: Memory
But exactly how does memory
benefi t animals in the struggle for
survival? An ability to remember
and adjust later behaviour in line
with previous learning is evident
in many diff erent aspects of
animal behaviour. The impressive
behaviour of Clark’s nutcrackers
would not be possible without
a very effi cient spatial memory
which permits exploitation
of available food resources.
Animals must also compete over
resources such as food, territory
or mates, often with the same
individuals, and on a regular
basis. Retaining a memory for the
outcome of previous contests,
and being able to remember
specifi c individuals would work
to the advantage of both the
winners and losers of previous
contests. Reducing the incidence
of fi ghts would have the major
advantage of reducing the
likelihood of injury, thus making
more time available for feeding
and other activities. The same
is true for social groups where
animals rely on cooperation
between individuals. Male olive
baboons, for example, ‘take turns’
at keeping guard while the other
mates, and so individuals must
remember those with whom they
have previously cooperated, so
that the favour can be returned.
By the same token, the ability
to remember ‘cheats’ (who take
but do not return the favour) is
essential so that the same mistake
is not made again.
These examples tell us that
memory comes in many forms,
and serves an important adaptive
function for all animals. For Clark’s
nutcrackers, a good memory is
essential if they are to survive
a harsh winter where food is
extremely scarce. For our own
ancestors, also struggling to
survive in a harsh environment,
memory was an equally
important adaptation for more
or less the same reasons. What
is clear, however, is that the type
of task we face today is not the
type that memory fi rst evolved
to solve. Remembering lengthy
passages of factual information,
or trying to recall several diff erent
usernames and passwords or the
birthdays of all those nephews
and nieces, was never a problem
for our ancestors. As you embark
on your study of memory,
remember why it evolved in the
fi rst place.
Now if I could only remember
where I left those pine nuts… .
Now that is interesting…
Clark’s nutcrackers are not the only animals capable of impressive
feats of memory. We humans are pretty good at it as well. It appears,
however, that we need to be interested in something in order to
remember it well – the more interested we are,
the better motivated we are to remember it. For
example, Chase and Simon (1973) showed that
expert chess players were much better at recalling
chess positions than were novice players. Similarly,
Morris et al. (1981) found that football enthusiasts
could recall scores better than people with little or
no interest in football. This particular relationship
is fairly easy to test – simply get some people,
test their knowledge (and therefore interest in…)
football using the test below, then ask them to
read through the football scores. These scores are
randomly chosen from the 2011 season – you could
choose a diff erent day if you don’t like the result for
your team! Likewise you may have to change some
of the questions if Tottenham sack their manager
or Chelsea’s owner changes. About 30 minutes
or so later, give your participants the same list of
matches, but this time with the scores removed.
Their task is to fi ll in the scores. You might give
2 marks for a completely correct score and just
1 mark if the result is right (e.g. Liverpool winning)
although the score was wrong (e.g. 0–2).
Clark’s nutcrackers – the memory skills
of this bird are essential to survival during
the long winter months.
When you have tested a few people and worked out
their scores for the two tests, you can correlate them
(see page 115 to read about correlation) to see if
people who score higher on the football knowledge
test also score higher on their recall of the scores.
There should be a lesson in this for your own study of
psychology – if you haven’t worked out what that is,
maybe you just aren’t interested enough…!
A male olive baboon. Remembering
who you owe favours to and who owes you
is essential in baboon society.
S P E C I F I C AT I O N B R E A K D OW N
Specification Comment
content
In this fi rst part of your study of memory you
will look at two explanations of how your brain
deals with incoming information and stores it.
The fi rst explanation or ‘model’ of memory is
the multi-store model (MSM). This model is
about 40 years old, but is important because it
has infl uenced our understanding of memory
for a long time.
A key part of the MSM is the distinction
between short- and long-term memory (STM
and LTM). STM lasts a short time (duration)
and can only hold a limited amount of
information (capacity), whereas LTM lasts
a long time and holds a potentially infi nite
amount of information. Information is stored
in a diff erent form (encoding) in STM and LTM,
as we shall see.
The second model of memory is the ‘working
memory model’ – a slightly more recent
development. The working memory (WM)
model focuses on one particular area of
memory – immediate or working memory. This
is the part of memory which is active when
you are working on a problem or remembering
someone’s phone number.
We will look at research evidence that supports
or challenges each model, as well as its
strengths and limitations.
• The multi-store
model, including
the concepts
of encoding,
capacity and
duration.
Strengths and
limitations of the
model.
• The working
memory model,
including its
strengths and
limitations.
Memory research has many applications
in everyday life. It can be used to explain
our behaviour and the behaviour of people
around you.
One key application is in understanding our
memory of events that occurred at the time
a crime was committed – details of who
committed the crime, what they did and
events surrounding the incident. If you are
asked to provide such information this is called
‘eyewitness testimony’ (EWT).
The big question about EWT is whether
it is correct. It’s not much use if it isn’t, so
psychologists have conducted many studies
to try to understand the criteria that increase
or decrease its accuracy, such as misleading
questions, anxiety and age of witness.
Psychologists have used their knowledge to
suggest techniques that police can use to
improve the accuracy of eyewitnesses’ recall. The
cognitive interview is an example of a technique
developed from psychological research.
Another application of memory, which is of
especial interest to students, is how to improve
your memory. The fi nal part of this chapter
looks at techniques that can be used to improve
what you can remember, and also looks at the
success (and failure) of these techniques as
well as related research evidence.
• Eyewitness
testimony (EWT).
Factors aff ecting
the accuracy of
EWT, including
misleading
information,
anxiety, age of
witness.
• Improving
accuracy of EWT,
including the use
of the cognitive
interview.
• Strategies
for memory
improvement.
Models of memory
Memory in everyday life
A
C T I V
I T
Y
ST
AR
TER
A
C T I V
I T
YA
R R
F O O T B A L L K N O W L E D G E T E S T
1 What country does Chelsea’s owner come from?
2 Who is manager of Tottenham Hotspur?
3 Which British club plays at ‘The Stadium of Light’?
4 What was the name of the Liverpool goalkeeper whose heroics helped them to win
the Champions League fi nal in 2005?
5 How many substitutes can be used by one team during a Premier League match?
6 What colour shirts do Everton wear?
7 For which Spanish club did David Beckham play until his transfer in 2007?
8 Which team has the nickname ‘The Canaries’?
9 England’s 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore played for which club side?
10 Who is ‘Motty’?
Premier League scores for 5 February 2011
Aston Villa 2 – 3 Fulham
Chelsea 0 – 1 Liverpool
Everton 5 – 3 Blackpool
Manchester City 3 – 0 West Bromwich
Newcastle 4 – 4 Arsenal
Stoke 3 – 2 Sunderland
Tottenham 2 – 1 Bolton
West Ham 0 – 1 Birmingham
Wigan 4 – 3 Blackburn
Wolverhampton 2 – 1 Manchester Utd
T H E O R I G I N S O F M E M O R Y
Have you ever been called ‘bird-
brained’? Well, that may not be
as insulting as you might think.
Scientists at the University of New
Hampshire in the US are trying to
learn more about the evolution
of human memory by studying
the Clark’s nutcracker, a bird
regularly faced with a particularly
challenging task – remembering
where it buried its supply of food
for winter. Like many animals
preparing for the winter, every
autumn the Clark’s nutcracker
spends several weeks gathering
food stores. What makes it unique
among foraging animals is that it
harvests more than 30,000 pine
nuts, buries them in thousands
of diff erent food ‘stores’ over a 15-
mile area, and then relies almost
solely on its memory of where
those stores are located to survive
through winter. Evolution appears
to have solved this problem for
Clark’s nutcrackers as they have
developed a particularly good
memory for spatial information.
Nutcrackers have a better
developed spatial memory than
other corvidae (such as crows)
that are not as dependent upon
the recovery of food during the
winter for their survival.
Memory and learning abilities
in animals are in fact adaptive
specialisations that have been
shaped by natural selection to
solve the specifi c problems posed
by their environment. Darwin’s
theory of ‘evolution by natural
selection’ is based on three main
assumptions. First, only a small
proportion of each generation
survives to reproduce. Second,
off spring are not identical
to their parents, and so each
generation exhibits a degree of
variation, and at least some of
this variation is heritable. Third,
some characteristics give the
animal that possesses them an
advantage over others in the
‘survive and reproduce’ stakes.
Heritable diff erences in memory
will therefore evolve only if these
diff erences lead to survival and
reproductive success for those
animals that possess them.
A breakdown of
the specification
for the chapter
contents.
A topic of interest
related to the
chapter.
A starter activity
to help you
prepare for
what is to come.
The content of each chapter consists of around ten double-page spreads. All the
features included in the book are highlighted on the two sample spreads on the right.
The main text and all the other features together will help turn your psychological
knowledge into effective exam performance. Each of the spreads is intended to be
equivalent to around one double lesson, although you may find that you want to
spend more time on some spreads.
Each chapter ends with some more useful features – an end-of-chapter review
consisting of:
The main text for the spread is in
the middle of the page. We have
provided more detail than you would
require for an exam question on the
topic. However, the questions on
the page (Can you …?) aim to help
you select appropriate material to
prepare for exam questions, and the
diagrammatic summaries at the end
of each chapter précis this down to
the bare bones of each topic.
We invented a fictional family – the
Jackmans – to help us pose some
‘psychology in action’ questions.
These are a common feature of your
exam – where you are asked to use
your knowledge of psychology to
explain or provide advice on an
everyday kind of behaviour.
Sometimes we’ve added
a comment to enhance
understanding.
Internet research is a very
occasional feature – when we could
squeeze it in – but you can always
do research on any area of the
specification to update yourself
or widen your horizons.
On each spread is an introduction
to the topic, at the top left. This
explains what the topic is about and
what some of its main issues are.
Validity or Reliability or Ethics.
These boxes cover issues related
to research methods. They are
important evaluative matters that
enhance or detract from the value
of a particular piece of research.
Suggested answers for questions throughout the book and to the crosswords can
be found on our website: www.oxfordschoolblogs.co.uk/psychcompanion/blog/.
This book is called The Complete Companion because we wrote a book which we
hoped would be like having a friendly examiner and teacher by your side, providing
you with everything you need to do well at AQA A AS Psychology.
7574
End-of-chapter review C H A P T E R S U M M A R Y
We have identifi ed here the key points of the topics on the AQA (A) AS specifi cation, i.e. the bare minimum that you need to know. You may want to fi ll in further details to elaborate and personalise this material.
• Attachment is adaptive and innate,
related to imprinting (for survival).
• Sensitive period for development
of attachment, as with all biological
systems.
• Caregiving is also innate and adaptive,
aided by social releasers.
• Secure base provided for exploration.
• Primary attachment most important
(monotropy) but secondary
attachments also important.
• Internal working model develops based
on primary attachment relationship.
• Continuity hypothesis – link between
early attachment and later social/
emotional development.
E X P L A N A T I O N S O F A T T A C H M E N T
STRENGTHS
• Imprinting in
animals, e.g. Lorenz.
• Sensitive period, e.g.
Hodges and Tizard.
• Universality of
attachment, e.g.
Tronick et al.
• Monotropy (primary
attachments), e.g.
Shaff er and Emerson.
• Caregiver sensitivity,
e.g. Harlow.
• Continuity
hypothesis, e.g.
Sroufe et al.
LIMITATIONS
• Other attachments
important, e.g.
fathers and
siblings, but still
may be primary
and secondary
attachments.
• Temperament
hypothesis off ers
an alternative
explanation,
supported by Belsky
and Rovine.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
• Diff erent types of attachment
– secure and insecure.
CULTURAL VARIATIONS
• Attachment may lead to
dependence rather than
independence in some cultures.
APPLIC ATIONS
• Parenting programmes,
dealing with separation and
day care.
• All behaviour is learned.
• Classical conditioning – food produces
pleasure. ‘Feeder’ (mother) associated with
food so also produces pleasure.
• Operant conditioning – food is a primary
reinforcer, ‘feeder’ becomes secondary
reinforcer.
• Both reduce discomfort and are rewarding.
VALIDIT Y
• Largely animal studies.
STRENGTHS
• We do learn
through
conditioning,
although food not
the only factor
(attention and
responsiveness
also important).
LIMITATIONS
• Harlow showed
that food is less
important than
contact comfort.
• Supported by
Schaff er and
Emerson (1964)
who found infants
not necessarily
attached to adult
who fed them.
D I F F E R E N C E S I N A T T A C H M E N T
The Strange Situation
• Strange Situation – assessed
response to mild stress, separation
and stranger anxiety.
• Procedure consists of eight
episodes, each designed to
highlight a certain behaviour.
Findings
• From Van Ijzendoorn et al.’s meta-
analysis (1999):
– Secure attachment (62%).
– Insecure-avoidant (15%).
– Insecure-resistant (9%).
• Disorganised (15%) (Main and
Solomon).
• Also ‘disinhibited’ as a type.
T YPES OF ATTACHMENT
VALIDIT Y
• Measures a particular relationship
not an individual – e.g. Main and
Weston evidence with fathers.
• But primary attachment creates
attachment type – Bowlby.
• Construct validity demonstrated
by research support for 4 types.
• Predictive validity demonstrated,
e.g. Hazan and Shaver (‘love
quiz’).
RELIABILIT Y
• High inter-rater reliability (.94) in
the Strange Situation.
• Similarities – Ainsworth (Uganda), Tronick et al.
(The Efe), Fox (Israeli kibbutzim).
• Diff erences – insecure attachments, Grossmann and
Grossmann (German interpersonal distance).
• On balance, research supports monotropy, although
distinct cultural diff erences.
• Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg – meta-analysis,
global patterns of attachment similar suggesting
attachment is innate, biological process.
CULTURAL VARIATION
EFFEC TS
• Longitudinal studies show
continuities, e.g. secure
attachment positive
outcomes.
• Love quiz (Hazan and Shaver)
looked at adult romantic styles.
FAC TORS INFLUENCING
AT TACHMENT T YPE
• Sensitivity.
• Maternal refl ective functioning.
• Temperament.
APPLIC ATIONS
• ‘Circle of Security’, increases
maternal sensitivity.
CULTURE BIAS
• Attachment theory
rooted in US culture:
sensitivity hypothesis,
continuity hypothesis
and secure base are
all related to Western
ideals.
INDIGENOUS THEORIES
• Should create
explanations rooted in
individual cultures.
• However, core
attachment concepts
may be universal, e.g.
evidence from other
countries (Posada and
Jacobs).
OTHER CRITICISMS
• Nation versus culture
– large variations
within countries, e.g.
Van Ijzendoorn and
Kroonenberg.
• Subcultural diff erences
within countries, e.g.
rural vs urban.
• Cultural similarities
due to global culture
rather than biology.
• Cross-cultural research
fl awed because of, e.g.
research bias and use
of imposed etics (the
Strange Situation has
a diff erent meaning in
diff erent cultures).
A T T A C H M E N T D I F F I C U L T I E S
Research studies
• Spitz and Wolf – depression in infants after being placed in an institution.
• Robertson and Robertson – Laura and John suff ered when they
experienced physical disruption with no emotional care; Jane, Thomas,
Lucy and Kate coped well when given substitute emotional care.
Therefore:
– Early emotional disruption can harm early social/emotional development.
– But substitute emotional care can compensate.
– But individual may be vulnerable to emotional disorders.
DISRUPTION OF
ATTACHMENT
Institutional care
• Hodges and Tizard – all ex-institutional children
had diffi culties coping with peers, despite good
substitute care in some cases.
• Rutter et al. – Romanian orphans adopted early
showed normal emotional development; those
adopted after six months showed disinhibited
attachment and had peer diffi culties.
• Attachment disorder – now recognised on DSM;
reactive (inhibited) or disinhibited.
Case studies of isolated children
• Genie and Czech twins.
FAILURE TO FORM ATTACHMENT
(privation)
EVALUATION
• Poor parenting – Quinton et al. …
