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Degree Level D317 Social Psychology: Personal Lives, Social Worlds

Question: Discuss how social psychological knowledge could be misused with negative consequences for people in society.

Answer: This essay recognises that social psychological knowledge can be misused engendering negative consequences for people. However it also argues that decisions on its use and subsequent consequences are dependent on particular viewpoints and agendas. Evidence showing misuse of social psychological knowledge will be presented relevant to three social domains, personal, interpersonal and group/societal......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Contrast the kinds of evidence produced by different research methods in social psychology. Which do you consider to be the most fruitful in developing our understanding of social behaviour and experience?

Answer: Debates about research methods and what constitutes useful evidence have ebbed and flowed throughout the history of social psychology as a discipline. Epistemological arguments as to what should be studied, and how, serve to define different perspectives with clear and distinct borders. In this essay I will argue that; although there are still clear divisions between particular methodologies and t......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Patriarchal dominance and changing social representations of females in \'She Magazine\'.

Answer: Abstract Social constructionists imply that human rationale is constructed from social representations, involving a complex amalgamation between societal impact and the individual. These social representations are also reconstructed through historical influences that ultimately shape a person\'s social and individual identity. The aim of this project was to examine the changing social represent......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Discuss the different ways in which the psycho-dynamic and social constructionist perspectives see the self as fragmented and distributed.

Answer: An autonomous, bounded and unitary perception of self identity is believed to be essential for \\\'healthy\\\' people, particularly in western societies (Thomas, 1996, p.319). However, the social constructionist perspective argues that the self concept is constructed by an amalgamation of influence\\\'s dependant on social interaction with others and the impact of culture (Kondo, 1990). Thus, the ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: “We have little control over the ways we conduct our relationships.” Discuss in the light of your study of Book 2.

Answer: Forming and maintaining relationships is a basic need for humans. We are predisposed to be social (Wolf 1969, in Dallos, R. 1998), developing relationships to ensure our physical and psychological survival. Miell & Dallos (1998 Miell, D. & Dallos, R. (eds.) 1998) suggest there is evidence showing that not forming relationships can cause pathological mental states. Most people believe that they hav......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Drawing on examples from across Book 2, discuss the different ways in which power operates in relationships.

Answer: This essay will centre upon the operation of power between medical practitioners and patients examined within the television programme ‘TV 1: Looking at what happens in hospital.’ Book 2 considers the operation of power across a spectrum of relationships, which encompass those between men and women, in work, friendships, marriage, and the family. I focus upon a singular relationship type in th......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: A qualitative study, using Kelly’s (1955) repertory grid technique, to explore feelings and behaviours towards relatives.

Answer: This study aims to explore my own personal constructions and perceptions about my relatives using Kelly\'s (1955) repertory grid technique. Data gathered is used to highlight and ladder, using Hinkle’s (1965) technique, my personal constructs of relatives I dislike. The higher ordinate construct revealed via laddering and its implications for my relatives and myself is discussed. I propose that ......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: D317 TMA 01 What aspects of the three accounts of the individuals\' lives presented in Section 1 of Chapter 1, Book 1 would a humanistic and experiential social psychologist choose to focus upon as a basis for social psychological analysis? What arguments would a critical and experimental social psychologist present against this focus? Do you agree with their points of view? 76%

Answer: Social psychology utilises a multiple-perspective approach to explore the self. These different perspectives however often focus on opposing assumptions and methodologies appropriate for investigating the person (Stevens, 1996a, p.27). Nevertheless, each perspective must be acknowledged as a construction that advocates and reinforces the subjectivity of its own position (Stevens, 1996a, p.26). The......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: \'Groups are a potential form of social change and control\'. Discuss the different theories that have been proposed to explain this effect of group interactions, drawing on studies of group processes to illustrate.

Answer: Groups can change and control an individual\'s behaviour, also responsibility is diffused within the group which offers the individual more confidence in tasks (Finlay, 2001, p.15). It is also suggested that groups influence the members more than the members influence them (Watson, 1996, p.243). However, people can become so engrossed in the group ideology that they lose all sense of individuality......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Outline the four domains of analysis found in social psychology. Illustrate these with examples from the course. Should these different modes of explanation for psychological phenomena be treated as complementary, as incommensurable, or through a reductionist strategy?

Answer: Social psychology utilises four domains of analysis. Each of these domains locate the various perspectives found in social psychology, however, some of the perspectives can be located in more than one domain. The societal domain employs sociological emphasis for investigating and trying to understand the person, this is achieved by focusing on wider society or social relations. The societal domain......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

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