Download Generic mark scheme comments for social control

Generic mark scheme comments for social control
Q:
Assess both practical and ethical implications of the social control exerted by
those who provide treatment/therapy
MS:
Therapists will interpret symptoms/behaviour according to their own beliefs
which may not be helpful to the client
By imposing their views on a client’s problems they may be ignoring issues which
are serious for that client
E.g. a Freudian may interpret depression as caused by relationships with parents
and ignore other threats to the client’s well being possibly leading to a risk of
suicide going undetected (2 marks)
Clinicians often prescribe psychoactive drugs to treat a disorder without fully
explaining or considering the negative side effects for the client
Drugs often mask symptoms rather than tackling causes so are used to control
patients as it is viewed as easier
Clients may stop taking a drug once they start feeling better, as this returns
control to themselves, with disastrous consequences
Often clients are offered drug treatment as a first resort and not offered less
controlling therapies unless drugs fail to work
Many therapists tell the client what is wrong with them and why rather than
inviting the client to understand their condition, meaning there is no attempt to
develop insight
However therapists may argue that those suffering from mental disorders are not
usually in a state where insight can be achieved so imposing an explanation is
kinder
Forcing a client to undergo a treatment/therapy through threatening sectioning is
unethical but may often be genuinely in the best interests of the client
Q:
(Nursing home scenario- 18 marker)Describe strategies based on psychological
theory that the staff might consider using to gain control over the residents’
behaviour, and assess both the practical and ethical implications of such strategies.
MS: token economy programme could be implemented so that residents who were
more co-operative got more privileges and/or treats
For example it may be that those who are not awkward get taken out on an
extra day trip
They may try and reward co-operative behaviour and ignore awkward behaviour
as it may be the attention that the residents crave
The nurses could try and increase the motivation of the residents to be
cooperative by offering incentives as external motivators or thanking the
residents when they are cooperative so improving intrinsic motivation
If the staff used punishment strategies they may be inclined to remove e.g. the
opportunity to have a choice of activities to act as a disincentive
Anger management techniques such as modelling behaviour on ‘good’ residents
may be tried
Staff could talk to the awkward residents, try to identify what makes them
uncooperative and work with them to bring this dissatisfaction under control
using anger management techniques
Sedative drugs may be prescribed to make the individuals more compliant with
the staff
ECT may be considered as a means of enforcing compliance
Evaluation (given the suggestions described these points can either support a
social control model or argue for the right of individuals to remain individuals)It is
likely that candidates will address both practical and ethical issues.
Token economies can be very practical as the staff would need very little training
to be able implement it successfully
Token economies are generally quite straightforward to implement and oversee
so results may be quite rapid
However it may be seen as wrong to discriminate against a group of residents in
terms of privileges merely because they wish to disagree about things
Identifying the reasons for refusing to cooperate could be a better strategy as
then any programme of action can be more closely targeted/can remedy the
problems and not the behaviour
Ignoring disruptive behaviour if it distresses the other residents may not be a
practical proposition even though it may be best from the point of view of
changing behaviour
If the awkward residents feel they have justifiable reasons for their behaviour,
techniques to manage their behaviour are likely to be fruitless anyway
Furthermore if the residents perceive themselves as having justifiable reasons
then it is unethical to ignore these views as residents do not give up their rights
when entering a nursing home
Sedating residents merely to make them compliant breaks many ethical
guidelines/it merely masks the problem rather than solving it
Drugs used in this way are merely a chemical cosh with no attempt to
understand the issues
ECT used in these circumstances could be seen as a punishment and as such is
unethical
There is also no evidence that it will improve behaviour in fact it might lead to
brain damage
Treatments that humiliate residents are seen as unacceptable by most of society
as they infringe human rights
Rather than trying to change the independent behaviour of the residents the staff
should utilise this by asking them for their suggestions on improving the home,
this uses the principles of superordinate goals (Sherif)
Q:
Describe two different ways in which psychological knowledge could be used to
exert social control over others. In your description include how these ways may be
used to control people‟s behaviour in real life.
MS:
DRUG THERAPY
Psychoactive drugs are given to treat mental disorders such as depression/;
The idea is to enable the individual to function more effectively in society and
lead a normal life/;
The drugs are obtained on prescription from a doctor/psychiatrist who will
monitor the patient to see how they progress
This means the patient has to comply with what the clinician wants, such as
additional therapy, in order to keep the drug supply
TOKEN ECONOMY
Staff in prisons may impose a TEP to improve the behaviour of the prisoners
during social sessions
They would give tokens for desirable behaviour, in their view, such as being
polite to each other
The prisoners will exchange the tokens for desired items such as phone calls or
cigarettes
This means the staff can manipulate the behaviour to suit the regime they wish
to create
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
By associating a behaviour with a particular situation an individual’s behaviour is
influenced, even if they do not wish it to be linked
Someone wishing to cure a fear of flying may pay to be classically conditioned to
overcome their fear
Practitioners will conduct an intensive course that lasts at most a few days and
will train the individual to feel relaxed when in an aircraft
No follow up to check on the long term effects of the treatment/;
ROLE OF THE PRACTITIONER
During a talking therapy the practitioner will determine the style and content of
the therapy sessions
Clients will, depending on the therapy be told what underpins their thoughts or
what their thoughts mean
Their assumptions about themselves will be challenged and they will be expected
to change their thinking in a way determined by the practitioner
Q: Using one of the ways of exerting social control, assess the practical implications
of this type of social control
MS: DRUG THERAPY
Although drug therapy may be effective in controlling a mental disorder it can
often produce unpleasant side effects that the patient may not want to
experience
However often it is the only practical way for those with more serious disorders
to function out of an institution
This may mean that drug treatment is also more affordable for a society
If a patient does not take their medication while pretending they are doing they
could endanger themselves or others because there is an assumption they are
safe to leave unsupervised
Drug treatments are often referred to as chemical coshes, this is because they
can produce sufficiently strong side effects that the recipient is unable to function
normally
Compared to the financial costs of alternative strategies drug treatments are
often very cost effective as a means of dealing with mental disorders
TOKEN ECONOMY
The use of a token economy in a prison may have the advantage of making the
prison run more smoothly as the prisoners are happy to comply with staff wishes
in return for rewards
TEPs can be operated with a minimum of training for the staff so that
administration can be rolled out in an institution fairly easily
TEPs tend only to work well within institutions as it is necessary to be able to
observe and respond to all examples of the desired behaviour in the individuals
otherwise it will not work
There is no guarantee that behaviour learned in an institution with a TEP will
generalise to the outside world where there is no TEP in operation so any long
term benefits may be forfeit
If reinforcement is erratic/inconsistent it may reduce its effectiveness as a means
of control
TEPs can be effective at controlling an individual‟s behaviour provided the
rewards on offer are ones the individual desires
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Systematic desensitisation can be considered a very positive method of helping
people overcome an irrational fear
By allowing people to control the speed of their progression through the therapy
the therapist‟s level of control is minimised and that of the client increased
making clients feel better about their therapy
Systematic desensitisation has been shown to be effective in terms of cost and
time with courses to cure a fear of flying run by airline companies costing less
than £200, lasting one day and with a money back guarantee(2 marks)
As the therapy can use in vitro methods it is not essential to always have the
phobic object around, making it easier to undertake
Although classical conditioning techniques such as SD are useful in treating
phobias they are of very limited value for other disorders so if a therapist
attempted to treat a patient with anorexia it would not be effective/eq;
GENERIC POINTS
Social control infringes the right of people to self determination so infringes
national/international law
Even if asked to enter an agreement to undergo treatment/therapy that involves
social control a person may not understand the implications of what they are
agreeing to before it is too late
If someone has committed an offence or is seriously ill, either physically or
mentally it may be argued by some people that they forgo the right to opt out of
a treatment that involves social control