QCAA Psychology Social psychology
15 sample questions with marking guides and sample answers · Avg. score: 61.8%
Explain the formation of gender roles from the perspective of social learning theory. Use an example of primary socialisation in your response.
Reveal Answer
Social learning theory focuses on learning by observation. In the case of gender roles, the behaviour of same-gender models is observed and imitated.
For example, primary socialisation takes place when children observe and imitate the behaviours of same-gender parents.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Explains the formation of gender roles through social learning | 1 |
Provides an example of primary socialisation | 1 |
Compare social learning and biology-based theories of gender role formation.
Reveal Answer
Social learning and biology-based theories of gender role formation both propose that gender is expressed in different ways across different life stages.
Social learning theories suggest that gender is formed as a result of external social interactions, whereas biology-based theories focus on internal physiological effects.
Both theories are required for a coherent understanding of the development of gender role formation.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Recognises a similarity between social learning and biology-based theories of gender role formation | 1 |
Recognises a difference between social learning and biology-based theories of gender role formation | 1 |
Recognises the significance of the similarities or differences between social learning and biology-based theories of gender role formation | 1 |
This question refers to the investigation by Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973).
Describe how power operated for each group in the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Being a guard carried social status and power in the prison, as they had a group identity (when wearing a uniform) and, above all, the freedom to exercise an unprecedented degree of control over the lives of the prisoners.
This power was invariably expressed in terms of sanctions for the prisoners.
The prisoners had little power in the experiment and therefore generally responded passively to the demands made by the guards.
The prisoners used various coping strategies to deal with their loss of power, like failing to initiate any action.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Concludes the guards had high power in the experiment | 1 |
Provides an example of how guards used power | 1 |
Concludes the prisoners had low power in the experiment | 1 |
Provides an example of how prisoners adapted to a lack of power | 1 |
Describe the role of identification in group social influence and provide an example of it from the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Identification is the change in people’s attitude and behaviour because they are influenced by someone and relate to the content of their attitude.
In the investigation, the guards demonstrated identification as their behaviours were influenced by the other guards within the group.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Describes identification in group social influence | 1 |
Identifies an example from the experiment | 1 |
Identify another factor that may have influenced the antisocial behaviour of the participants and provide an example from the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Diffusion of responsibility can be seen in the investigation when a few of the guards were passive and rarely instigated any coercive control over the prisoners, but never spoke up about the behaviour of the more aggressive guards.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies another factor that may have influenced the antisocial behaviour of the participants in the experiment | 1 |
Provides an example of that factor from the experiment | 1 |
Guards in the Stanford prison experiment (Haney, Banks and Zimbardo 1973) changed their attitudes and behaviours to align more closely with their perception of a typical prison guard. As a group, the guards had the ability to influence the behaviour of prisoners.
In social psychology, these are examples of
roles and power.
internalisation and prejudice.
compliance and socialisation.
obedience and discrimination.
Reveal Answer
roles and power.
The guards adopted the social role of a prison guard, conforming to societal expectations of that position. Their ability to control and influence the prisoners demonstrates the concept of power within that social hierarchy.
internalisation and prejudice.
While internalization of beliefs occurred, the prompt specifically describes acting out a position (role) and exercising influence (power), rather than focusing on prejudice or pre-judgment.
compliance and socialisation.
Compliance involves responding to a direct request, whereas the guards were enacting a broad social role. Socialisation explains how they learned the norms, but the immediate phenomenon described is the execution of the role and power dynamics.
obedience and discrimination.
Obedience refers to following direct orders from an authority figure, whereas the guards largely improvised based on their role. While discrimination occurred, the prompt focuses on the capacity to influence behavior, which defines power.
Diiz has moved to a new town and is trying to find groups to belong to. He feels he is reasonably environmental and has found an arm of Greenpeace in town. This is the first time Diiz has joined an environmental group. He volunteers to organise regular sea clean ups, and notices he gets angrier at the level of pollution than he did before, yelling at an old man who did not take his picnic rubbish off the beach. Diiz notices the different ways he conforms within the group and how he tends to obey the president of the group.
Using your understanding of social psychology and the influence of groups on behaviour, explain how joining the Greenpeace group impacts Diiz’s behaviour.
In your answer you must:
-
define ‘group’
-
explain group polarisation and how Diiz joining Greenpeace would have influenced him
-
outline the two different ways Diiz may be influenced by conformity, describing one key study of conformity (identify theorist, outline method and results)
-
explain why Diiz obeys the president by defining obedience and describe one key study of obedience (identify theorist, outline method and results)
-
communicate psychological understandings clearly with correct use of psychological language.
Reveal Answer
A group is two or more people who interact for more than a short amount of time.
Group polarisation is the strengthening of an existing attitude when a person joins a group of like-minded people. Diiz was already reasonably environmental, but after joining Greenpeace his pro-environmental attitude became stronger, so he became more upset about pollution and yelled at the old man.
Diiz may be influenced by informational social influence and normative social influence. Informational social influence occurs when a person conforms because they are in a new or uncertain situation and believe others know the correct behaviour. This applies because Greenpeace is the first environmental group Diiz has joined. Normative social influence occurs when a person conforms to be accepted by the group. This applies because Diiz may copy the group’s attitudes and behaviour so he is liked and accepted.
A key study of conformity was by Asch. Participants completed a simple line judgement task in a room with confederates, who deliberately gave wrong answers. Asch found that participants often conformed to the confederates’ wrong answer, and only 25% did not conform at any point.
Obedience is changing behaviour in response to the instruction or request of an authority figure. Diiz obeys the president because he sees the president as an authority figure in the Greenpeace group and feels he should follow instructions.
A key study of obedience was by Milgram. The participant was the teacher and a confederate was the learner in another room. The participant had to ask questions and give shocks for wrong answers, increasing the shock each time when instructed by the experimenter. Milgram found that only 5 out of 40 participants stopped when the learner went silent, so most continued to obey even though they believed they were hurting someone.
Definition of Group
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
States that a group is two or more people | 1 |
States that they interact for more than a short amount of time | 1 |
Group Polarisation
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Explains group polarisation as the strengthening of opinion | 1 |
Explains group polarisation occurs when in a group of like-minded people | 1 |
Explains that while Diiz was reasonably environmental before, his opinions were strengthened when around the people at Greenpeace | 1 |
Explains that this changed his attitude and now he becomes more upset about rubbish on the beach (e.g., yelling at old man) | 1 |
Conformity
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Outlines that at first, he conformed as he was in a group of new people he didn't know and in a strange situation | 1 |
Identifies this as informational social influence | 1 |
Outlines that after this, he conformed to group pressure in order to be accepted | 1 |
Identifies this as normative social influence | 1 |
Describes Asch's study | 1 |
States it involved a simple line judgement task | 1 |
States participants were in a room of confederates and asked which line matched the reference line | 1 |
States the results found that people conformed to the confederates' answer even when it was wrong | 1 |
States only 25% of people did not conform at any point | 1 |
Obedience
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Defines obedience as when we change behaviour at instruction | 1 |
Defines obedience as at the request of an authority figure | 1 |
Explains that Diiz views the president as an authority figure | 1 |
Explains that Diiz feels he needs to follow his instructions or risk a consequence | 1 |
Describes Milgram's study | 1 |
States the participant was given the role of teacher with a confederate as learner | 1 |
States they were put into separate rooms and told to ask the learner questions and shock them when they answered incorrectly | 1 |
States each time they answered incorrectly they were instructed to increase the shock | 1 |
States the results that only 5/40 (12.5%/very few) participants stopped when the learner went silent | 1 |
States all other participants continued to obey even believing they were hurting someone else | 1 |
Communication
Marking Bands| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Candidate writes coherent and logically ordered paragraphs. Appropriate psychological terminology used consistently, extensively, and correctly. Punctuation and grammar do not impede meaning. (Does not need essay style broad introduction or conclusion for full marks.) | 4 |
Candidate writes coherent and logically ordered paragraphs. Uses a range of psychological terminology that is mostly correct. There may be some errors in punctuation/grammar evident but these do not impede meaning. | 3 |
Candidate uses paragraphs. Uses simple psychological terminology. May have some errors in punctuation/grammar evident but these do not impede meaning. | 2 |
Candidate uses some psychological terminology correctly and may have limited correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. | 1 |
No response or does not meet the criteria for 1 mark. | 0 |
One ethical objection to Milgram's (1963) study is that the participants
caused distress to one another.
were harmed to enhance learning.
experienced distress in the role of 'teacher'.
were pressured to express views against their own beliefs.
Reveal Answer
caused distress to one another.
The 'learner' was a confederate (actor) who did not actually receive shocks, so participants did not cause actual distress to another person; the ethical concern focuses on the distress of the participant.
were harmed to enhance learning.
The participants acted as 'teachers' and were not the ones subjected to the learning protocol; the cover story claimed the learner was being punished to enhance learning, not the participant.
experienced distress in the role of 'teacher'.
A major ethical criticism of the study was the extreme psychological stress, anxiety, and potential lasting harm inflicted on participants who believed they were seriously injuring another human being.
were pressured to express views against their own beliefs.
This description aligns more closely with conformity studies (like Asch's) where social pressure influences opinions; Milgram's study focused on obedience to authority regarding actions, not the expression of views.
Secondary socialisation
involves a permanent change in beliefs and attitudes.
is essential for early physical and mental development.
conflicts with the norms learnt during primary socialisation.
does not require in-person interaction with the socialising agent.
Reveal Answer
involves a permanent change in beliefs and attitudes.
Secondary socialisation involves learning specific roles and norms for different contexts (like school or work), which are generally less deeply ingrained and more adaptable than the core values acquired during primary socialisation.
is essential for early physical and mental development.
This describes primary socialisation, which occurs in early childhood and is critical for initial physical, emotional, and cognitive development.
conflicts with the norms learnt during primary socialisation.
While secondary socialisation introduces new norms, it does not inherently conflict with primary socialisation; it often builds upon earlier learning or applies to specific institutional settings.
does not require in-person interaction with the socialising agent.
Secondary socialisation agents include mass media, the internet, and literature, allowing norms and values to be transmitted through impersonal means without the need for face-to-face interaction.
Consider two theories.
Theory 1 proposes that children act as mere observers in an environment and, as a result, their role in their own gender development is passive.
Theory 2 proposes that children form mental categories for gender and then acquire gender-related knowledge around these categories.
Based on this information, which type of gender role formation theory do these theories represent?
Theory 1: Cognitive developmental, Theory 2: Biology-based
Theory 1: Biology-based, Theory 2: Gender schema-based
Theory 1: Gender schema-based, Theory 2: Social learning
Theory 1: Social learning, Theory 2: Cognitive developmental
Reveal Answer
Theory 1: Cognitive developmental, Theory 2: Biology-based
This is incorrect because cognitive developmental theory views children as active participants who construct their own understanding, not as passive observers. Additionally, Theory 2 describes cognitive categorization rather than biological determinants like genetics or hormones.
Theory 1: Biology-based, Theory 2: Gender schema-based
Theory 1 describes learning through environmental observation, which is characteristic of social learning, not biological theories. While Theory 2's description of mental categories fits gender schema theory, the identification of Theory 1 makes this option incorrect.
Theory 1: Gender schema-based, Theory 2: Social learning
This reverses the concepts or misidentifies them. Gender schema theory is a cognitive approach involving active processing, not passive observation. Conversely, Theory 2 describes the formation of internal categories, which is a cognitive process rather than the external modeling focus of social learning theory.
Theory 1: Social learning, Theory 2: Cognitive developmental
Social learning theory posits that children learn gender roles through observation, imitation, and reinforcement, often characterizing the child as a more passive recipient of environmental influence. Cognitive developmental theory argues that children actively form mental categories (schemas) for gender and organize information around them.
The type of social influence in which a person acts in the same way as the group, although they may not agree with everything the majority does, is known as
obedience.
compliance.
identification.
internalisation.
Reveal Answer
obedience.
Obedience refers to following direct orders or instructions from an authority figure, rather than conforming to the behavior of a peer group.
compliance.
Compliance is a superficial type of conformity where an individual publicly goes along with the majority view to gain approval or avoid disapproval, while privately maintaining their own opposing views.
identification.
Identification occurs when an individual conforms to the expectations of a social role or group they value; this usually involves some level of private acceptance while associated with the group, unlike the clear lack of private agreement described here.
internalisation.
Internalisation is the deepest form of conformity where an individual accepts the group norms both publicly and privately, meaning they would agree with the majority.
This question refers to the investigation by Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973).
Infer the variable affecting the behaviour of each group, providing one example of an affected behaviour for each group.
Reveal Answer
The Stanford prison experiment concluded that roles or status affected the behaviours of the guards and prisoners. The guards took on stereotypical behaviours of prison guards, even if these were different to their normal behaviours, for example applying harsh discipline to prisoners. Likewise, the prisoners took on submissive behaviours consistent with their lower status in the study, for example complying with unreasonable demands made by the guards.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Infers a suitable variable affecting the behaviour of guards | 1 |
Provides an example of guard behaviour | 1 |
Infers a suitable variable affecting the behaviour of prisoners | 1 |
Provides an example of prisoner behaviour | 1 |
Both conformity and obedience are psychological processes that influence group behaviour.
Asch's studies of conformity examined several different factors that influence conformity.
For each of the following, identify and explain the impact the factor has on conformity.
Name a theorist who studied obedience.
Reveal Answer
Milgram or Zimbardo
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
1 mark for either Milgram or Zimbardo | 1 |
State the main difference between these two processes.
Reveal Answer
Obedience refers to authority while conformity refers to social pressures.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Obedience refers to authority | 1 |
Conformity refers to social pressures/group | 1 |
Would you be more likely to obey a teacher in a school or a supermarket?
Circle the setting in which you would be more likely to obey the teacher and justify your choice.
- School
- Supermarket
Justification: ...
Reveal Answer
Setting: The school
Justification: A teacher holds authority in a school but not in a supermarket
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Setting: The school | 1 |
Justification: A teacher holds authority in a school but not in a supermarket | 1 |
Group unanimity
Reveal Answer
You are less likely to conform if there is a lack of unanimity or an ally present.
The pressure to conform drops, there is less need for social approval.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
You are less likely to conform if there is a lack of unanimity or an ally present | 1 |
The pressure to conform drops | 1 |
There is less need for social approval/normative conformity | 1 |
The difficulty of the task
Reveal Answer
The more difficult the task, the more likely you are to conform.
When we are not confident, we are more likely to look to others for guidance/informational conformity
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
The more difficult the task, the more likely you are to conform; OR The less difficult the task, the less likely you are to conform | 1 |
When we are uncertain/not confident | 1 |
We are more likely to look to others for guidance/informational conformity | 1 |
In the experiment by Haney, Banks and Zimbardo (1973), the guards had greater power than the prisoners.
The difference in power was because of the
authority of the experimenter.
personalities of the participants.
social roles of the participants and the social environment of the prison.
ability of the prisoners to withdraw from the experiment at their leisure.
Reveal Answer
authority of the experimenter.
While the experimenter established the setup, the specific power dynamic between the two groups was driven by the structure of the situation and roles, rather than direct, continuous authority exercised by the experimenter.
personalities of the participants.
Participants were screened to be psychologically healthy and were randomly assigned to groups; the study specifically aimed to demonstrate that situational factors override individual personality traits.
social roles of the participants and the social environment of the prison.
The Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrated that the power imbalance and resulting behaviors were caused by the situational pressures of the prison environment and the internalized social roles assigned to the participants.
ability of the prisoners to withdraw from the experiment at their leisure.
Prisoners did not feel free to withdraw at their leisure; in fact, the belief that they could not leave (reinforced by the "parole board" procedure) contributed to their sense of powerlessness.
Primary socialisation occurs
mainly outside the home environment.
mainly during adolescence and into adulthood.
when a child learns appropriate attitudes, values and actions from family members.
when a child learns appropriate behaviours as a member of a small group within a larger society.
Reveal Answer
mainly outside the home environment.
Primary socialisation takes place mainly within the home environment; socialisation that occurs outside the home (like at school) is called secondary socialisation.
mainly during adolescence and into adulthood.
Primary socialisation occurs during infancy and early childhood, not adolescence or adulthood, which are stages associated with secondary socialisation.
when a child learns appropriate attitudes, values and actions from family members.
Primary socialisation is the foundational process occurring in early childhood where individuals learn basic norms, values, and behaviors primarily from their immediate family.
when a child learns appropriate behaviours as a member of a small group within a larger society.
This describes secondary socialisation, where individuals learn how to behave in specific social groups or institutions outside the immediate family unit.
Social learning theories of gender development assume that
cognitive processes play a key role in the development of gender identity and gender roles.
gender roles are attained through the observation of same-sex models, direct tuition and modelling.
gender schemas develop through role identity and children’s ability to label themselves as boys or girls.
humans are born with innate predispositions to act and feel feminine or masculine due to the presence or absence of prenatal androgens.
Reveal Answer
cognitive processes play a key role in the development of gender identity and gender roles.
This statement aligns more closely with Cognitive Developmental Theory, which emphasizes the child's active cognitive construction of gender, rather than the external modeling and reinforcement focus of Social Learning Theory.
gender roles are attained through the observation of same-sex models, direct tuition and modelling.
Social Learning Theory posits that gender development occurs primarily through environmental influences, specifically by observing and imitating models (modeling) and receiving rewards or punishments (direct tuition).
gender schemas develop through role identity and children’s ability to label themselves as boys or girls.
This describes Gender Schema Theory, which suggests that children develop cognitive frameworks (schemas) to organize gender-related information once they are able to label their own gender.
humans are born with innate predispositions to act and feel feminine or masculine due to the presence or absence of prenatal androgens.
This option describes a biological or evolutionary perspective, attributing gender differences to physiological factors like prenatal hormones rather than social learning processes.
An implication of the social psychological research conducted by Milgram (1963) is that
social pressure can increase obedience.
obedience increases if a command has authority.
obedience decreases if commands are given in quick succession.
the proximity of an authority figure does not influence obedience.
Reveal Answer
social pressure can increase obedience.
This concept is more closely associated with Asch's conformity experiments; Milgram's 1963 study focused specifically on obedience to a direct authority figure rather than general social or peer pressure.
obedience increases if a command has authority.
Milgram's research demonstrated that individuals are highly likely to obey instructions, even those involving harming others, when the commands are issued by a perceived legitimate authority figure.
obedience decreases if commands are given in quick succession.
The speed or succession of commands was not a primary variable or finding regarding the factors that influence obedience in Milgram's research.
the proximity of an authority figure does not influence obedience.
Milgram's variations showed that proximity is a significant factor; obedience levels decreased when the authority figure was not physically present in the room (e.g., giving orders by telephone).