social psychology unit 1 edexcel

social psychology 

key assumptions

The effect of interaction between individuals - individuals interact with other individuals and the affect one another's behaviour. Agency theory suggests that people are agents for society and behave in such a way as to benefit their society. People help other people, they send signal to there people by the way they look and behave, and they bet certain people and not others. Helping behaviour, body language and obedience are studied within the social approach. The effect of being within groups in society - people live within a culture and society and that their behaviour is affected by their experiences within a society, where they are members of certain groups. For example, a girl or boy will be a daughter or son, a pupil at school, a friend, and a member of a club. Individuals describe themselves in these ways. Social identity theory suggests that by identifying oneself as being a member of a group, a person can become prejudiced against another member of a rival group. The effect of the social situation - it is not just people and groups that affect behaviour, but the social situation itself. For  example, when out for the evening with friends you might worry about expressing a view of religion,in a business meeting in a different country you probably would not comment.

aims and hypotheses

AIMSFor example 'to find out attitudes towards prejudice' or 'to look at why we obey those in authority'. The aim of a study should be summed up in a general statement without detail of what is to be measured or examined in order to find the answers. 

HYPOTHESESA hypothesis is a statement about what is being tested and involves things that are measurable. For example you could ask people about their attitudes towards prejudice (the aim) but you would find out more if you decided what you were looking for in more detail. For example to find out if older people are more prejudiced than younger people.

open and closed ended questions-DESCRIPTION.

closed ended questions are when the response is limited -dichotomies (e.g yes/no answers).   examples include the likert type scale the rating scale and 'identifying characteristics' which all show example of closed ended questions. open ended questions are questions such as 'how do you think others see you?'. open-ended questions allow the respondent to state their attitudes and opinions. Both types of question have strengths and weaknesses so questionnaires usually include both.

strengths and weaknesses of closed ended questions

+All respondents give standard answers (e.g 'yes' 'no' or 'unsure', or a rating out of 5) therefore numbers can be generated (e.g how many say 'yes' or 'no' or a score from adding up the ratings) analysis is straight forward because one set of response can be compared fairly with another set. Percentages and averages can be calculated. +they are the same for all respondents and the set of answers. The question wording can be used to make the sense of the question clear. If the meaning is the same for all respondents then the questionnaire is more reliable. Reliability is when the test is repeated and the same results are found. Questionnaires using closed ended questions are reasonable reliable.

-they force the respondent to choose from a set of answers, when the respondent might not agree with any of the choices. For example, if asked whether someone is being obedient or not, even if there is an unsure category,respondents have to consider obedience and they may not see the situation in that way. If respondents cannot say what they want to say, then the answers are not accurate and are therefore not valid. Validity is when results represent real life and researchers are testing what they think they are testing. Questionnaires using closed-ended questions may not be valid.-A second weakness is that the choice answers could mean different things to different respondents. For example, 'unsure' could mean 'don't know' or 'sometimes yes and sometimes no' but would be scored the same. This would mean that the questionnaire is not producing valid data.

strengths and weaknesses of open ended questions

+one strength of open-ended questions is that the respondents are not forced into specific answers but they can say what they want to say. Questionnaires using open ended questions will obtain more rich in-depth detailed data.+not only are the answers more detailed, but the questions can be interpreted by the respondents. If the questions asks what respondents think about prejudice, the reply can interpret what 'prejudice'  means to them. For example, some might write about the rights of immigrants; others might write about the rights of the indigenous population (those 'naturally' from that country). Questionnaires using open-ended questions are, therefore, more valid because they enable respondents to talk more about what they 'really' think.

-they are difficult to analyse because the answers are likely to be detailed and also different from one another.-A second weakness is that, because the data are qualitative, averages cannot be calculated and data cannot be displayed in tables or graphs.-respondents often fail to complete their answers to open-ended questions, probably because such responses take longer and also because it is more difficult to think of the answer than it is to tick a forced choice set of boxes.

qualitative and quantitative data

qualitative data involve ideas and opinions. People relate a story in answer to a question, such as why they would not obey orders and give electric shocks. open-ended questions produce qualitative data+allow more in-depth analysis because of greater detail.+more valid because respondents can say what they really think.-difficult to analyse because the data can be so different that they are hard to summarise.-there is more detail and depth and it can take longer both for the researcher and participant

quantitative data involve numbers (e.g number of 'yes' 'no' answers) or percentages (e.g percentage of people saying that they would give electric shocks to a stranger if told to)closed ended questions produce quantitative data+data can be summarised in graphs and tables so are easier to analyse and easier to communicate to others.+usually involve good controls such as well-structured questions or clearly specified set of answers so can be replicated and tested for reliability.-have specified responses that are required so tend not to be valid-responses may not be truthful people may respond in a socially desirable way

strengths and weaknesses of questionnaires

+they are often reliable because bias from the researcher can be avoided by having set questions and a set procedure.+if questions and procedure are set so that bias is avoided, data should be valid.

-they could be administered differently by different people, so data may be biased by the situation, which would make them unreliable.-if fixed questions are mainly asked then useful relevant data can be missed, making data not valid. respondents are not free to say what they want to say, even if open questions are chosen.

interviews-types

A structured interview- follows a set format. It is a questionnaire administered by an individual, there might be extra instructions for using the questionnaire, such as where and how to expand on answers.An unstructured interview involves questions that are not in a set format and which allow the interviewer to explore the area with further questions arising from the respondents answers.A semi-structured interview has set questions some of which can be explored further by the interviewer.

evaluation of interviews

+questions can be explained and enlarged upon,so this is a good method when in-depth and detailed data are required.+data tend to be valid because interviewees use their own words and are not as constrained by the questions as they are in a questionnaire.

-the interviewer may influence the data (e.g by tone, dress, gender) which would result in researcher bias.-Analysis may be subjective (e.g generating theres) and the researcher's views may influence the analysis

comparing questionnaires and interviews