Edexcel Psychology for A Level Year 2: Student Book

Issues of social control Uses of social control Psychological understanding should help people, for example to avoid or overcome difficulties. This is usually positive and open, even though an individual may be unaware that they are being controlled. In other words, on balance it is a good thing. Obedience When an authority figure, such as someone in uniform, gives an order it is a means of changing behaviour. If we understand why the order is given, following it is not troublesome. This may apply even if we don’t like the order, for example PE students being sent on a cold cross-country run. Milgram (Y1 page 28) felt that being able to enter the agentic state was essential to maintain a stable society. Prejudice Prejudiced behaviour may not be a deliberate attempt to control others but attempts to reduce prejudice involve intentional social control. The purpose is to impose the beliefs and behaviours of one group (non-prejudiced people) on others. This is achieved using strategies such as boosting self-esteem in prejudiced people (e.g. Fein and Spencer 1997, Y1 page 41) or arranging for ingroup and outgroup members to work cooperatively to achieve a goal, as suggested by realistic conflict theory and demonstrated in the Robbers Cave study (Sherif et al . 1954/1961, Y1 page 48). In both cases, the reduction in prejudice is the product of social control. Improving mental health Treatments such as systematic desensitisation and flooding illustrate social control because the therapist controls the behaviour (or thoughts) of the client. In systematic desensitisation, the anxiety hierarchy is discussed with the therapist (e.g. Capafóns et al . 1998, Y1 page 154) and the client is aware of the association being built up between the induced calm state and the stimuli so the client agrees to the process and sees it as positive. Mental health policies advocate using drugs to control the symptoms of people with mental illnesses. Only qualified clinicians can administer drugs for mental disorders and almost always do so with the person’s consent. However, the client may nevertheless feel that their behaviour is being controlled, in part, by someone else – their doctor. Misuses of social control In some uses of social control the individual is unaware that control is being exercised or is unable to avoid it. This may make it a less acceptable or even an abusive application of psychological techniques. In other words, possibly a bad thing. Obedience The same principles that help to maintain a stable society (e.g. teachers give orders to children) can also distort society. Simply by wearing a uniform, an individual may be able to induce obedience in others, i.e. to socially control them. In situations such as Milgram’s obedience studies (Y1 pages 32 and 34), procedures are described which enable one individual (the authority figure) to control the behaviour of another individual (the participant ‘teacher’) based on the situation. The social control is so powerful that even when the recipient of the order does not want to follow it and recognises that it is destructive, they may still obey. In the military today, strategies are designed by psychologists to maintain obedience so soldiers will follow orders even when this involves harm. Military training and operation put Milgram’s ideas about binding factors into action in order to reduce moral strain. One way this is done is to reduce perceived human suffering (civilian or otherwise) by using neutral or dehumanising language such as ‘neutralising collateral damage’ or calling the enemy ‘insects’. This enables soldiers to commit terrible acts, including torture (Gibson and Haritos-Fatouros 1986, Y1 page 29) when ordered to. Whether this is a use or a misuse of social control depends on your personal opinion of combat. Treating mental illness Psychological research has shown that in mental health or prison settings positive reinforcement and shaping can help rehabilitation by rewarding desirable behaviour. This is called behaviour modification (Y1 page 136) and may be seen as unethical when the choice of ‘desirable’ lies with staff managing the system. They may reward only cooperative behaviour to make their life easy rather than ones to help patients or inmates make progress. Drugs can also be misused as a means of social control. The pseudopatients in David Rosenhan’s (1973, Y2 page 50) study were wrongly diagnosed and given drugs, an example of how patients in mental hospitals may be unnecessarily socially controlled, as this was at least the case for the pseudopatients who were sane. Operant conditioning Rewards and punishments are used in society to regulate behaviour, such as ‘merit marks’ at school or fines for disobeying the law. These are simple examples of behavioural control. B. F. Skinner (1948) went further than this in his book Walden Two . He described his ideal fictional world in which behaviour was tightly controlled by reinforcement. However, the level of social control imposed by such a system would infringe personal freedoms, so would be unacceptable for those who value individual liberty. Nevertheless this brave new world may be happening around us. For example, store cards today reinforce our ‘shopping behaviour’ at a particular store with points, leading us to return there more often. People may find it unsettling that their behaviour is being controlled by methods based on psychological advice. Applying your knowledge An example of a synoptic exam question linked to social control: To what extent is the use of psychological knowledge for social control good for society and the individual? (20) The paragraphs below illustrate how you might answer this: Social control is determined by a view of what constitutes ‘appropriate behaviours’. For people with phobias, their own and their therapist’s view of ‘appropriate’ will govern their therapy, imposing social controls on their behaviour to make it ‘normal’. In systematic desensitisation, the goals may be agreed between the client and therapist but the manipulation of behaviour is very much in the hands of the therapist. Therefore, the technique helps to improve the client’s quality of life and ability to cope which is a good use of social control. (88 words) Social control of patients by staff in mental institutions is appropriate when it is in the patients’ interest to keep them calm or to assist rehabilitation. This is not, however, always the case. Rosenhan’s pseudopatients were given drugs they did not need. This shows how mentally ill patients can be controlled when it offers them no advantage, but potentially benefits ward staff. (62 words) Are your shopping habits being socially controlled? 25