addictive - social: peer influences

Question 1

reductionist

Answer 1

P: A weakness of the peer influences explanation is its reductionist nature, as it tends to oversimplify the complexities of human behaviour by focusing primarily on social factors while neglecting other important psychological influences and personal circumstances.
E: Research has shown that adolescents with parents who engage in substance use are more likely to develop similar habits, suggesting that familial influences can be just as pivotal as peer dynamics (Kandel, 1985).
T: This suggests that a reductionist approach may lead to an incomplete understanding of the factors contributing to behaviours, as it overlooks how an individual’s biology or cultural background may interact with peer influences. Therefore This reductionist perspective may lead to incomplete or misleading conclusions, lowering the overall validity
C: However, the reductionist nature does serve a purpose in allowing psychologists to isolate components (such as peer influences) and develop targeted treatments. Such as social norms marketing which aims to target perceived social norms

Question 2

useful application

Answer 2

P: One strength of the peer influence explanation is its useful application in developing interventions like ‘social norms marketing,’ which aims to counteract social norms by providing realistic statistics - effectively reshaping individual’s perceptions and behaviours surrounding addiction.
E: Moore et al (2013) trialed social norms marketing in Welsh universities using: beer mats, leaflets and posters that displayed ‘those around you are drinking less than you think; students overestimate what others drink by 44%’. Surveys of students after the campaign found that those who recalled the materials reported lower perceived norms.
T: The strength of this is that if we can create targeted strategies that not only inform but also empower individuals to make healthier choices, it adds credibility and reliability to the explanation
C: However, this may not be enough to treat an individual’s addiction because it makes no effort to look at the individual’s personal circumstances or biology. This oversimplified treatment may therefore lead to ineffective assistance and funding would be better put to use for other treatments.

Question 3

unscientific

Answer 3

P: a weakness of the peer influences explanation is its reliance on predominantly non-scientific research methods, which raises concerns about the validity and reliability of the findings. As researchers cannot ethically and practically assign individuals to particular peer groups or friendships, much of the evidence comes from self-reports which are prone to social desirability bias.
E: Supporting research such as Moore et al (2013) utilised self-reports in order to survey students to gain insight into how effective social norms marketing was. The issue is that if students lied in order to give more socially desirable answers (such as reporting that their minds had been changed about drinking), it means that any conclusions are invalid and unreliable
T: Therefore, this dependency on non-scientific methodology renders the explanation as having lower credibility and any success seen in practical application, therefore unreliable and invalid.
C: However, self-reports are still valuable as a methodology as they can provide an in-depth insight into behaviours and their reasonings, that other scientific methods wouldn’t be able to produce.