Application Flashcards
How can psychological knowledge be used within society? (3 points)
Psychological knowledge produces scientifically valid and credible conclusions - can be applied to society to improve the quality of life for individuals
Without the practical application of psychological knowledge, society remains unchanged, and the research is rendered ineffective
Political and economic impacts:
An estimated £15 million spent by the UK Government on national mental health campaigns like ‘Every Mind Matters’ (UK Gov 2019)
What is the essay plan for your application essay? (3 points)
Greatest application: Social
RCT reducing football hooliganism
Supported by: Sherif et al
Mid-level: LT
SLT explaining AN
Supported by: Becker et al
Lowest: Biological
MPA as a treatment for criminals
Supported by: Wille & Beier (1989) and Maletzky
How does social psychology have the greatest application to real life? (3 points)
Theories have helped to inform real-life practices like controlling crowd behaviour
RCT states that inter-group hostility occurs where there is competition for limited resources
This can explain the prejudice and discrimination during football
games as two opposing teams compete for the limited resource of a trophy
How can RCT be applied to real life? (3 points)
Superordinate goals can be introduced to help reduce hostility between the in and out groups e.g. a charity football match between English and Russian fans during the World Cup
This is supported by Sheriff’s Robber’s Cave study - ‘sneaks and stinkers’ to ‘brave’
Could help rival football teams to work toward a mutual goal AND reduce crowd behaviour - costs London £3 billion in 2019 (UK Gov)
How is RCT limited in its application to real life? (4 points)
It does not consider all the factors which lead to the development of prejudice
Cohrs et al:
+ Found that those with the authoritarian personality type are more likely to be prejudiced and display out-group hostility
+ They identify more with in-groups
Most football hooligans are men - suggests an important role of gender which has not been accounted for
This shows that the successful application of CT is limited by dispositional factors
How does SLT have a mid-level application to real life? (3 points)
Learned behaviours in society can impact the onset of clinical disorders like Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
Social Learning Theory suggests that young impressionable teens observe and imitate the disordered eating habits and exercise routines of same-sex celebrity role models
This has led to over 1.25 million people
living with eating disorders in the UK (Beat.org 2020)
How does Becker et al support SLT explaining AN applying to real life? (4 points)
Inntroduced Western TV including role models to media-naive Fijian adolescent girls over 3
years
Findings showed that the prevalence of eating disorders increased from 12.7% in 1995 to 29.2% in 1998 when using EAT-26 scores to indicate disordered eating habits
Such findings have been applied directly to legislation regulating the portrayal of body image on TV
Brands like Louis Vuitton have banned size 0 models, and social media companies are placed under pressure by governments to filter inappropriate content produced by celebrities like
fad diets
What are the limitations of SLT explaining AN applying to real life? (2 points)
Could be argued that filtering and censoring social media is a form of social control - removes the free will and autonomy from teenagers to engage in behaviours they choose
However, the benefits to society of reducing the prevalence of
slim, underweight celebrities outweigh the cost to a few individuals who may feel that their decision to choose is being violated
How does biological psychology have the lowest application to real life? (5 points)
Testosterone is a male androgen hormone - produced x20 more in men than women
Associated with higher levels of aggression impacting the prefrontal cortex which controls decision-making and impulsive behaviour
Wille & Beier (1989)
+ Examined data on castrated sex offenders in Germany
+ After their release from prison, 3% of castrated offenders re-offended compared to 46% of non-castrated sex re-offenders
Application of this biological knowledge to society has seen the introduction of the anti-androgen drug MPA as an effective therapy for sex offenders
Maletzsky et al:
0% of sexual offenders re-offended with MPA treatment whereas 59% re-offended without it
How is MPA limited in its application to real life? (4 points)
They have severe side effects that lead to patients to stop taking them - limited practical application
Impedes the free and autonomy of individuals as it is used to control people against their will - not too dissimilar to barbaric practices like lobotomy
Reductionist - they don’t consider alternative explanations of aggression
E.g. SLT:
+ A person on MPA can be exposed to aggressive role models and be vicariously reinforced for their actions
+ The treatment is unlikely to be as effective
What is the conclusion of your application essay? (3 points)
Research leading to theories and subsequent applications is usually reductionist - applications fail to address all causes of the target behaviour of change
A cost-benefit analysis is considered due to the issue of social control
Society can determine what has more significance:
Benefit: applying psychological knowledge to help reduce violence, crime and eating disorders
Cost: Loss of free will (cost).
