7 sample essays on 7 extended response questionnaires worth 8 marks each, on key studies, key question, theories in social psychology.
for each question: 2 PEEL paragraphs and 1 balanced conclusion
EVALUATE SOCIAL IMPACT THEORY (8)
One strength of social impact theory is that it has supporting evidence. Bibb
Latane’ (1981) proposed social impact theory, which looks at how people are influenced
by the actions of others and how this affects the way they think and behave. He
proposed that the real, imagined or implied presence of others impacts our behaviour.
For example, the first psychosocial law states that the first source (influencer) has the
most dramatic impact, but the following sources generate less social force. This is
called the divisional effect, where social force or pressure spreads out between all the
people or targets it is directed at. Milgram’s variation number 7 consisted of 2 rebel
peer confederates who refused to administer electric shocks to the learner who was a
confederate, after giving a wrong answer. This led to obedience of the teacher who was
in charge of administering electric shocks to the learner if their answer given was wrong
in the memory test, dropping to 10%. This means that the presence of others impact
behaviour as opposed to when alone. This supports the divisional effect as social
pressure to obey the orders of the experiment to administer electric schocks was split
up among the teacher and the peer confederates, which led to less obedience displayed
overall. This is a strength as it provides evidence for the divisional effect. On the other
hand, this theory is limited to 1 type of social interaction where the number of sources
and targets is uneven. It cannot be used to predict what will happen if 2 groups with
equal number of sources and targets impact on one another because here the target
and source interaction cannot be explained since the principles of this theory may not
apply in these cases.
, 2
One weakness of social impact theory is that it is oversimplistic of human
behaviour and interaction. The multiplicative effect consists of strength of the authority
figure, determined by their status and age, by the immediacy of the order given such as
the proximity to the source, and finally by the number of targets and sources or the
presence of buffers that act as barriers to distance between source and target. Latane’
developed a mathematical formula based on these components to predict whether laws
will be followed by knowing the number of people, the immediacy of the order and the
strength of the authority figure. This implies that only 3 factors determine whether or
not a person will obey someone, however this may not be the case. This is because the
theory ignores individual differences by viewing people as passive receivers of others’
behaviour towards themselves. But people may be more complex than that, given that
some are more resistant to social impact than others. This means that the principles of
this theory such as strength of the authority figure, the immediacy of the order and the
number of targets and sources may not make a difference for people who have a
rebellious personality and are resistant to authority. This is a weakness as it suggests
social impact theory may be an overly simplistic model of human obedience. On the
other hand, social impact theory may be more developed than agency theory in certain
aspects. For example, it considers situational factors besides the authority of the
person, such as the immediacy of the order and the number of targets and sources.
This means that social impact theory may be a more thorough proposal of when people
are more likely to obey authority figures, such as when they are in small groups and are
given orders from the authority figure face to face.
In conclusion, social impact theory predicts that people are more likely to obey
authority figures who are perceived to have a higher status and deliver orders in a close
proximity to only one target. This may not necessarily mean that everyone will obey
orders since some may be more resistant to authority, however it still can be used to
increase obedience in real life. For example, it suggests that the government should
direct social force to follow the law at small groups of people and stop them from being
together in large groups so that the social pressure doesn’t spread out between more
targets. In fact, repressive governments stop people using social media and repeat
often orders by putting in TV adverts and delivering regular announcements to ensure
people will comply with the laws imposed by the government.
EVALUATE AGENCY THEORY (8)
One strength of agency theory is that it has supporting evidence. Milgram
proposed agency theory as an evolutionary explanation of obedience. Obedience was a
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