Exam-style question
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Which approach would avoid a generic answer on Social influence? (4).
- A.Use precise psychological terminology and connect each point to conformity, because unsupported opinion would not meet the objective.
- B.List several topic words but do not explain what the evidence shows or why the judgement follows.
- C.Only memorise the title Social influence without using evidence, AO terminology or evaluation.
- D.Treat correlation, experiment, explanation and treatment as identical forms of psychological reasoning.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- Answer A37XN for Explain Conformity Using: For the command word in this question, the answer is The correct answer is Use precise psychological terminology and connect each point to conformity, because unsupported opinion would not meet the objective..
- It must be linked to Explain, conformity, informational, social, influence, normative, social, influence rather than presented as a generic Psychology statement.
Explanation
Why this works
Answer this by linking the specification term to evidence and then to an evaluative judgement. The answer is correct because it uses psychological explanation supported by evidence and evaluation and keeps the focus on Explain conformity using informational social influence, normative social influence and variables investigated by Asch..
Psychological reasoning: the response should name the mechanism or method, show how it operates, and use terms such as Explain, conformity, informational, social, influence, normative, social, influence, variables, investigated, Asch, Which. Evidence link: Asch's conformity research can be used to support the point, but the answer should explain what the evidence demonstrates rather than simply naming it.
Evaluation: add a judgement about methodological control, ecological validity, population validity, ethics, determinism, reductionism, cultural bias or real-world application when that is relevant to the question. Exam relevance: the final sentence should make the answer explicit, so the examiner can see why the chosen point addresses the command word and not just the general topic.
Common mistake: avoid generic phrases such as "this is important"; explain the causal process, evidence quality or limitation in precise Psychology language.
Common mistake
No common mistake is linked to this question yet.