Real World Psychology Model Answers
TikTok Trend and Peer Pressure
A popular TikTok challenge encourages teens to perform risky stunts in public. Many students, including those who usually follow rules, participate.
Apply explanations for conformity to explain why even rule-following students may take part in the TikTok challenge.
Model Answer
Students may be experiencing normative social influence, where the desire to fit in and be liked by peers leads them to conform to the group norm. The presence of a large online audience can amplify this, especially if those participating are perceived as popular or influential. Additionally, identification may play a role, where students adopt behaviours of individuals they look up to on social media. Even those who normally follow rules may comply due to fear of social rejection.
Snapchat and Forgetting Homework
Jenna has been revising using flashcards, but when asked to recall the information a few days later, she can’t remember much. Her teacher thinks she might have been distracted by constant Snapchat notifications.
Apply one explanation for forgetting to explain Jenna’s memory failure.
Model Answer
Jenna’s difficulty remembering could be due to retroactive interference. New information from social media may be interfering with her previously stored flashcard content. Alternatively, retrieval failure due to absence of contextual cues might explain her forgetting if her study environment differs from the test setting.
Refusing a Teacher's Instructions
A Year 13 student refuses to complete an assignment and tells the teacher that they don’t believe they have any authority over them since they’re almost an adult.
Apply the agentic state and legitimacy of authority to explain the student's refusal to obey.
Model Answer
The student may not perceive the teacher as a legitimate authority figure, especially if they view themselves as an adult capable of independent decision-making. According to Milgram’s theory, obedience depends on the perceived legitimacy of authority. Additionally, the student may be in an autonomous state rather than an agentic state, meaning they feel personally responsible for their actions and do not transfer responsibility to the teacher.
Instagram and Body Image
Jared has been spending hours scrolling through fitness influencers on Instagram and has started feeling worthless and withdrawn. He’s also lost interest in hobbies he used to enjoy.
Apply Beck’s negative triad to explain Jared’s symptoms of depression.
Model Answer
Beck’s negative triad can explain Jared’s depression through negative views of the self, world, and future. He may see himself as not good enough (self), believe the world values only appearance (world), and feel things will never improve (future). Social comparison on Instagram reinforces these maladaptive thought patterns, contributing to his withdrawal and low mood.
CCTV Footage and Eyewitness Testimony
After witnessing a robbery, two students give different accounts of the event. Later, they are shown CCTV footage that contradicts both statements. One student insists their version is correct despite the video evidence.
Apply factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony to explain the conflicting accounts.
Model Answer
The students’ differing accounts could be due to post-event discussion, which can alter memory through misleading information from others. The insistence on being correct may also stem from the misinformation effect, where inaccurate memories feel more real than actual evidence. Anxiety and stress during the robbery may have also impaired their ability to encode accurate information.
University Roommate Conflict
Two flatmates at university clash over routines and shared responsibilities. One begins avoiding all shared spaces and eventually moves out.
Apply definitions of abnormality to explain how one flatmate’s behaviour might be seen as abnormal.
Model Answer
The behaviour could be defined as abnormal under ‘failure to function adequately’ if the student is unable to cope with daily life such as social interaction or living arrangements. It might also be seen as ‘deviation from ideal mental health’ if they lack the ability to cope with stress or maintain positive relationships. However, moving out might be a rational choice, highlighting limitations of these definitions.
CCTV and Shoplifting
A supermarket employee is caught shoplifting on CCTV. When interviewed, she claims not to remember the event and is shocked when shown the footage.
Apply retrieval failure theory to explain why the employee might not remember the event.
Model Answer
Retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may explain her memory loss. If the emotional state or physical environment at the time of encoding was very different from when questioned, she may be unable to access the memory. This highlights the importance of internal and external retrieval cues in memory recall.
Rishi’s Political Protest
Rishi refuses to follow school uniform rules as a form of protest against government immigration policy. He tries to persuade others to join him.
Apply the concept of minority influence to explain how Rishi might bring about social change.
Model Answer
Rishi is acting as a consistent and committed minority, which may increase his influence over time. By demonstrating personal sacrifice and dedication, he could draw attention to the issue, creating a snowball effect. If his protest causes deeper processing in others, wider social change may occur, reflecting Moscovici’s theory of minority influence.
Teenage Girl Avoids Dogs
Leila was bitten by a dog at age 5 and now avoids any situation where she might encounter one. She experiences panic if she hears barking nearby.
Apply the behavioural explanation of phobias to explain Leila’s fear of dogs.
Model Answer
According to the two-process model, Leila's fear of dogs developed through classical conditioning when the dog bite was paired with pain and fear. This association was reinforced through operant conditioning, as avoiding dogs reduces her anxiety (negative reinforcement), maintaining the phobia.
Joe’s Revision Plan
Joe’s psychology teacher gives him a 12-week revision plan that mixes new and old content. At first, he struggles but later says he remembers more in the final test.
Apply one theory of memory to explain why Joe’s test performance improved.
Model Answer
Joe’s improved performance may be due to retrieval practice strengthening memory traces. Spaced repetition increases consolidation, making long-term retrieval easier. This supports the idea that information is better retained when reviewed over time rather than crammed in one go.
Group Chat Gossip
A Year 12 student, Amira, reads a rumour about a classmate in a group chat. She initially doubts it, but after several others say it's true, she starts to believe and spread it too.
Apply informational social influence to explain why Amira changed her opinion.
Model Answer
Amira’s change in belief is best explained by informational social influence. Because the rumour was discussed repeatedly in a group chat, she likely assumed others had more accurate information. Her uncertainty made her look to the group for guidance, leading to internalisation of their views. This was especially likely if she perceived the others as credible or well-informed, increasing her susceptibility to conform.
Missing Childhood Memories
During a family dinner, Michael's parents talk about a holiday when he was six, but he has no recollection of it. He says he remembers the photos, but not the events themselves.
Apply the multi-store model of memory to explain why Michael might not recall the holiday.
Model Answer
According to the multi-store model, for a memory to enter long-term storage it must pass through sensory and short-term memory. Michael may not have paid much attention to the holiday events at age six, meaning they weren’t encoded into long-term memory. His claim that he remembers the photos suggests that the visual stimuli were rehearsed more recently and thus entered LTM, whereas the actual holiday experiences may have decayed.
Baby Bonding Apps
A parenting app encourages new fathers to sing to their babies and mirror their facial expressions. It claims these behaviours promote secure attachment.
Apply research on caregiver-infant interactions to explain the advice given by the app.
Model Answer
The app’s advice is supported by research into reciprocity and interactional synchrony. By encouraging fathers to mirror facial expressions, the app promotes synchrony, where parent and infant respond to each other in a rhythm. Singing and expressive interaction fosters reciprocity—mutual responsiveness that contributes to secure attachment. This aligns with Meltzoff and Moore’s findings that such early interactions are crucial for social development.
Yasmin’s Cultural Shock
Yasmin moves from the UK to Japan and feels surprised at how few babies seem to cry when separated from their mothers. She wonders if Japanese children are more securely attached.
Apply knowledge of cultural variations in attachment to explain Yasmin’s observation.
Model Answer
Yasmin’s observation reflects the findings of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg, who found that attachment types vary across cultures. Japanese infants often display higher rates of insecure-resistant attachment due to child-rearing practices involving close proximity and minimal separation. This may lead to less distress during brief separations in familiar contexts. Yasmin may be interpreting calmness as secure attachment, but cultural norms influence how attachment is expressed, not necessarily its security.
Gaming Addiction or Just Passion?
Jacob plays online games for hours daily. His parents worry he’s addicted. He says he just enjoys it and still gets good grades.
Apply one definition of abnormality to assess whether Jacob’s behaviour might be considered abnormal.
Model Answer
Using ‘statistical infrequency’, Jacob’s gaming might be seen as abnormal if his behaviour significantly deviates from average gaming time among peers. However, by ‘failure to function adequately’, he may not be considered abnormal since he maintains academic performance and social responsibilities. This highlights how the same behaviour may or may not be labelled abnormal depending on the definition used.
Influencer Therapy Hype
A mental health influencer promotes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to their large following, claiming it helped them ‘cure’ their depression without medication.
Apply the cognitive approach to explain how CBT might have helped the influencer overcome depression.
Model Answer
CBT targets the negative automatic thoughts that contribute to depression. The influencer may have used cognitive restructuring to challenge irrational beliefs about themselves or the world, such as 'I am worthless' or 'nothing will ever improve'. By replacing these with more balanced thoughts through therapist-guided or self-directed work, their symptoms reduced. This aligns with Ellis’s ABC model and Beck’s negative triad, which focus on altering the cognitive distortions at the root of depression.
Uniform Rebellion
During a school inspection, most students follow uniform rules, but a small group deliberately wear banned trainers. They become more defiant as more students join in.
Apply variables affecting conformity to explain the increase in rebellious behaviour.
Model Answer
Asch’s research highlights how unanimity and group size influence conformity. Initially, few rebels may feel pressure to conform to majority rules. But as group size increases and the rebels become more visible, normative social influence shifts. The perception of growing support emboldens others, reducing perceived risk and increasing confidence in non-conformity.
Struggling with Names
At a new job, Isaac struggles to remember names of colleagues he just met. However, he can recall random childhood facts and memories from years ago with ease.
Apply the working Multi-Store Model to explain why Isaac remembers older memories but struggles with new names.
Model Answer
