All subjects · Psychology · WPS04 Clinical Psychology and Psychological Skills

Issues and debates: social control and psychology in society

Edexcel IAL Psychology · WPS04 Clinical Psychology and Psychological Skills

Spec 9.3.9 (the use of psychology in social control) and 9.3.10 (the use of psychological knowledge in society). The component guide gives historical treatment of mental health patients as an example of social control, and crowd control and age ratings as more positive uses.

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Social control

Social control means using psychological knowledge to change or manage people's behaviour, often to fit society's norms.

Diagnosis and labelling: defining behaviour as abnormal gives authorities power; Rosenhan (1973) showed labels stick; homosexuality was a diagnosis until 1973.
Drug therapy: antipsychotics can manage behaviour, raising concerns about medicalisation and compulsory treatment.
Conditioning: token economies and behaviour modification in institutions.
Obedience and conformity research (Milgram, Asch) shows how authority and groups control behaviour, and could be used to manipulate people.

Positive uses of psychological knowledge (9.3.10)

Treatments: CBT, family therapy, systematic desensitisation (Capafons et al., 1998 for fear of flying) and drugs relieve suffering.
Crowd management and safety messaging.
Age restrictions on violent games and films, based on SLT and aggression research.
Eyewitness and memory research (reconstructive memory) informing police interviews.
Health monitoring: Suzuki et al. (2014) recommended monitoring inpatients' nutrition.
Key questions (9.2) are applications of psychology to society.

The debate

Benefits: reduces harm, helps individuals function, protects others.
Costs: may remove freedom and choice, reflect the values of those in power, and target minorities.
Safeguards: HCPC standards, patient-centred care, informed consent, independent review.
Judgement: the same knowledge can liberate or control; ethics and accountability decide which.

Worked example

Evaluate the use of drug therapy for schizophrenia as a form of social control.

Antipsychotics can reduce frightening symptoms and allow people to live independently: a benefit to the individual.
But they can also be used to manage behaviour that others find disruptive, sometimes without full consent: social control.
Side effects and medicalisation raise ethical concerns; HCPC standards and NICE guidance stress patient choice.
Judgement: it is control when imposed for others' convenience, but treatment when chosen to relieve suffering.

Answer: Weigh benefit to the patient against control by others.

Key idea: Social control: using psychology to manage behaviour (labelling, drugs, conditioning, obedience research). Positive uses: therapies, crowd safety, age ratings, eyewitness procedures, health monitoring. Judge the balance of benefit, freedom and accountability.

Check yourself

Which is the clearest example of psychology used for social control?
- A person choosing CBT for depression
- Publishing a memory study
- Using medication to manage the behaviour of patients who did not consent
- Running a thematic analysis
Show answer
Using medication to manage the behaviour of patients who did not consent. Control imposed on people.
Which is a positive application of psychology in society?
- Systematic desensitisation for fear of flying
- Labelling homosexuality as a disorder
- Deceiving hospital staff
- Removing the right to withdraw
Show answer
Systematic desensitisation for fear of flying. Capafons et al. (1998) showed SD helped fearful flyers.
Which psychological theory most supports age restrictions on violent video games?
- The monoamine hypothesis
- The multi-store model
- Social learning theory
- Statistical infrequency
Show answer
Social learning theory. Imitating rewarded models.
In Capafons et al. (1998), 20 fearful flyers had SD and 21 were controls. How many fearful flyers were there in total?
Show answer
41 participants. 20 + 21 = 41.
Explain how diagnosis can be a form of social control.
Show answer
Labelling someone as mentally ill gives professionals power to treat or detain them, and labels can be used to control people whose behaviour breaks social norms, as when homosexuality was classed as a disorder.. Labels confer power over people who break norms.

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Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.