National Year 11 Psychology
Chapters: 4
1. 3.2.1 Social influence
3.2.1 Conformity · 3.2.1 Obedience · 3.2.1 Prosocial behaviour · 3.2.1 Crowd and collective behaviour
- Conformity: Why We Go Along with the Group – Conformity means changing what we say, do or believe so that we match a group. Solomon Asch showed in the 1950s that many people will give an answer they can see is wrong when everyone else gives it. People conform to be liked and fit in (normative influence) or because they think the group knows better (informational influence). How much someone conforms depends on situational factors, such as group size, whether anyone else disagrees, anonymity and task difficulty, and dispositional factors, such as personality (locus of control, confidence) and expertise.
- Obedience: Why People Follow Orders – Obedience means doing what a person with authority tells you to do. In Milgram's study, 65% of ordinary people gave what they thought were 450-volt shocks because an experimenter told them to. Agency theory says that under orders we move from the autonomous state (my choice, my blame) to the agentic state (I am their agent, the blame is theirs). Situational factors such as location, uniform and closeness to the victim change obedience. Dispositional factors matter too: Adorno's authoritarian personality obeys strong leaders more.
- Prosocial Behaviour – Prosocial behaviour is any action that helps another person, like sharing, comforting or helping a stranger. People help less when many others are watching (the bystander effect), because responsibility feels shared and everyone waits for someone else. How serious the situation looks, the cost of helping, how similar the victim is to us and our own skills also change whether we help. Piliavin's 1969 subway study showed people helped a man who seemed ill far more than one who seemed drunk.
- Social Influence: Crowds, Saying No and Changing Minds – Social influence is how other people change what we think and do. In groups, two crowd effects appear: social loafing (each person tries less when effort is hidden) and deindividuation (feeling anonymous in a crowd lowers self-control). Personality and morals change how much a crowd affects someone. People resist pressure better with social support (one ally) and an internal locus of control. A small minority can change the majority if it is consistent, committed and flexible; this leads to social change through the snowball effect.
2. 3.2.2 Language, thought and communication
3.2.2 Language and thought · 3.2.2 Human vs animal communication · 3.2.2 Non-verbal communication
- Creative Thinking, Thought and Language – Creative thinking produces ideas that are new and useful. It passes through preparation, incubation, illumination and verification, and mixes divergent (many ideas) with convergent (one best answer) thinking. Thought and language are closely linked (Whorf, Piaget, Vygotsky). Children develop language in fixed stages, helped by learning and by an inborn readiness.
- Non-Verbal Communication: Talking Without Words – Non-verbal communication is sending messages without words: through facial expressions, eye contact, posture, gestures, touch, distance and tone of voice. Eye contact shows interest and controls turn-taking. Body language includes open and closed posture, postural echo and touch. Personal space is the bubble around us, with intimate, personal, social and public zones that change with culture, status and gender. Darwin argued that expressions evolved because they helped survival. Evidence shows some signals are innate (babies born blind smile) and some are learned (gestures and space differ across cultures).
3. 3.2.3 Brain and neuropsychology
3.2.3 Nervous system · 3.2.3 Neurons · 3.2.3 Structure and function of the brain · 3.2.3 Cognitive neuroscience
- Nervous System, Reflex Action and the Human Brain – Nerve cells (neurons) carry messages as electric impulses and pass them to the next cell with chemicals across a gap called a synapse. Quick safety responses (reflexes) are handled by the spinal cord; thinking and control come from the brain, which is guarded by the skull and a fluid cushion.
- Structure and Function of the Brain – The brain has three main parts: the large cerebrum (left and right hemispheres covered by the cortex), the cerebellum at the back, and the brain stem. The cortex has four lobes: frontal (planning, movement, speech), parietal (touch), temporal (hearing, language, memory) and occipital (vision). The cerebellum keeps balance and smooth movement. Localisation of function means particular jobs happen in particular areas; Penfield showed this by stimulating the cortex of awake patients. CT shows structure; PET and fMRI show activity. Tulving's PET study found episodic memories used the front of the brain and semantic memories the back.
4. 3.2.4 Psychological problems
3.2.4 Mental health · 3.2.4 Clinical depression · 3.2.4 Addiction
- Mental Health: Feelings, Stress and Support – Mental health is how we think, feel, cope and get along with others. Like physical health, everyone has it and it moves up and down. Emotions are useful signals. Stress adds up like water in a bucket; healthy coping (sleep, movement, talking, calm breathing, planning) lets it drain. Self-esteem and good relationships protect us. If feelings stay very heavy for two weeks or more, or stop daily life, talk to a trusted adult or a professional — asking for help is a sign of strength.
- Clinical Depression: Signs, Causes and Treatment – A psychological disorder is a pattern of thoughts, feelings or behaviour that is strong, lasting, distressing and gets in the way of daily life. Clinical (unipolar) depression is diagnosed by a trained professional using a manual such as ICD-11 or DSM-5: low mood or loss of interest plus other symptoms, most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. Biological explanations point to low serotonin at synapses and to genes. Psychological explanations point to negative thinking, such as Beck's negative triad. Treatments include antidepressant drugs (SSRIs) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT); many people recover.
- Addiction: Why It Starts and How People Recover – Addiction is when a person cannot stop a habit (a drug, nicotine, alcohol, gambling, gaming) even though it harms them. Key signs are craving, loss of control and continuing despite harm. Tolerance means more is needed for the same effect; withdrawal means feeling ill when stopping; dependence is needing the habit to feel normal. Genes can raise risk, learning (rewards) keeps it going, and stress, peers, age, family and personality are risk factors. It can be reduced with aversion therapy, self-management, CBT, medicines and support, and change models such as the theory of planned behaviour explain how people decide to quit.