Issues of social control
Assess ways in which learning theories and biological psychology
have been used for social control.
(12 marks)
One way of using psychology as a means of social control is in treatment of
drug addiction. Social control is the regulation of behaviour as a method of enforcing
conformity and compliance to establish norms and expectations. For example, in
biological psychology, treatments can be made through use of knowledge and
research about brain chemistry of drug addiction. This can be done by administering
non-recreational drugs which create lower and healthier levels of euphoria so that
the functioning of dopamine receptors in the brain is restored, which helps the
person in decreasing their intake of dopamine-enhancing drugs. Similarly, classical
conditioning in learning theories can be used in aversion therapy to treat drug
addiction. This is where the drug is associated with an unpleasant stimulus such as
nausea which is brought on by nausea-stimulating drugs, hence leading to the
person to stop taking that drug as it may have lost its association with a pleasurable
feeling. This is good as it can be used to help individuals control their addiction
which can have a positive effect on their physical and mental well-being. However,
this might not work with everyone because spontaneous recovery may mean that the
individual may still experience a pleasurable feeling when taking the drug, so they
may not succeed in completely ceasing to stop taking the drug. This suggests that
some individuals may not improve their chances of recovering from addiction due to
an unconscious feeling of wanting to experience pleasure, which means that some
treatments such as aversion therapy and reduced dosage of the drug might not
work.
Another way of using psychology as a means of social control is through
reducing aggression in society. If people were made to comply with social norms
instead of acting violently, then this may help to protect more individuals in society.
For example, social learning theory can be used to encourage people to act calmly
and in a composed manner. This is done by people observing calm role models
carrying out a beneficial activity such as helping in a children’s hospital or
volunteering, so that those people can imitate the role models they’ve observed, thus
contributing more to the maintenance of social order. Similarly, if lower cortisol
levels have been linked to higher aggression, then cortisol levels can be boosted
through medication so as to decrease the occurrence of aggressive behaviour. This
is good as this can be beneficial in society as fewer violent offences are carried out,
which can reduce the number of social disorder offences as there will be fewer
Assess ways in which learning theories and biological psychology
have been used for social control.
(12 marks)
One way of using psychology as a means of social control is in treatment of
drug addiction. Social control is the regulation of behaviour as a method of enforcing
conformity and compliance to establish norms and expectations. For example, in
biological psychology, treatments can be made through use of knowledge and
research about brain chemistry of drug addiction. This can be done by administering
non-recreational drugs which create lower and healthier levels of euphoria so that
the functioning of dopamine receptors in the brain is restored, which helps the
person in decreasing their intake of dopamine-enhancing drugs. Similarly, classical
conditioning in learning theories can be used in aversion therapy to treat drug
addiction. This is where the drug is associated with an unpleasant stimulus such as
nausea which is brought on by nausea-stimulating drugs, hence leading to the
person to stop taking that drug as it may have lost its association with a pleasurable
feeling. This is good as it can be used to help individuals control their addiction
which can have a positive effect on their physical and mental well-being. However,
this might not work with everyone because spontaneous recovery may mean that the
individual may still experience a pleasurable feeling when taking the drug, so they
may not succeed in completely ceasing to stop taking the drug. This suggests that
some individuals may not improve their chances of recovering from addiction due to
an unconscious feeling of wanting to experience pleasure, which means that some
treatments such as aversion therapy and reduced dosage of the drug might not
work.
Another way of using psychology as a means of social control is through
reducing aggression in society. If people were made to comply with social norms
instead of acting violently, then this may help to protect more individuals in society.
For example, social learning theory can be used to encourage people to act calmly
and in a composed manner. This is done by people observing calm role models
carrying out a beneficial activity such as helping in a children’s hospital or
volunteering, so that those people can imitate the role models they’ve observed, thus
contributing more to the maintenance of social order. Similarly, if lower cortisol
levels have been linked to higher aggression, then cortisol levels can be boosted
through medication so as to decrease the occurrence of aggressive behaviour. This
is good as this can be beneficial in society as fewer violent offences are carried out,
which can reduce the number of social disorder offences as there will be fewer
