to what extent social and cognitive psychology show nurture (12) essay
11 views 0 purchase
Course
Unit 9 - Psychological skills
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
essay on assessing to what extent social and cognitive psychology consider human behaviour to be determined by nurture (8 marks), including 3 PEEL paragraphs and a balanced conclusion discussing both sides of the debate for top band marks.
this is for exam preparation and provides a structure to p...
To what extent do social psychology and cognitive psychology
consider human behaviour to be determined by nurture? (12)
Social and cognitive psychology may consider human behaviour to be
largely determined by nurture. This refers to the external influences within
one’s own environment that are beyond the individual’s control. They include
upbringing, social pressure and education. Social impact theory explains how
people are passive receivers of others’ behaviour towards themselves and do
whatever social pressure makes them do. Milgram’s variation #17 showed
that participants were less obedient when other 2 rebel peer confederates
rebelled against the experimenter, thus demonstrating that the participants
behave according to what they experience in their environment. Similarly,
reconstructive memory proposes that retrieval of stored memories is an active
process of reconstruction based on one’s cultural expectations and previous
experiences. Bartlett’s serial reproduction of the war of the ghosts conveyed
that participants recalled some details of the story differently due to their
previous expectations. For example, they recalled fishing in the story instead
of hunting seals, thus showing that modern cultural norms which are present
in the environment, had an effect on their memory. This means that both
cognitive and social psychology may explain behaviour in terms of nurture.
On the other hand, the working memory model which proposes that short
term memory is subdivided into 4 components, demonstrates that everyone
has these components of short term memory. For example, case studies
about patients with brain damage show that different areas of the brain are
affected based on different types of information that the patients were able
to recall. This suggests that most people have these STM elements because
they are implied to be located in different brain areas which are shared by all
humans. This provides evidence for the role of nature in memory.
Social and cognitive psychology may not consider behaviour to be
completely determined by nurture as there is also some effect from nature.
Nature refers to biological factors which are internal to each individual that
may drive certain behaviour. For example, replications of Milgram’s (1963)
experiment across countries conveys that obedience levels across cultures
are similar, suggesting that obedience may be an innate part of human
behaviour as it has not been shown to be affected by culture or gender
which are environmental factors. Similarly, the multi store model which
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller erikakumar. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.12. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
