# Social Support

Psychology I · Society and Health · https://tryals.app/learn/psychology-i/social-support

## The Architecture of Support

**Social support** is the comfort and assistance available from your social network. Researchers divide this into three distinct types:

| Support type | Definition | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Emotional** | Empathy, love, and trust | A friend actively listening |
| **Instrumental** | Tangible aid and tasks | Driving to an appointment |
| **Informational** | Advice and guidance | Explaining treatment options |

A crucial distinction exists between your **social network** (the actual set of relationships you maintain) and your **perceived support** (the subjective belief that help is available). Perceived support often matters far more for well-being than objective network size.

## Direct Effects vs. Buffering

Two competing models explain how support protects health:

| Model | Core Claim |
| --- | --- |
| **Direct effects model** | Benefits health regardless of stress level via belonging and positive experiences. |
| **Buffering model** | Cushions impact specifically **under high stress**; matters less when calm. |

Both models operate simultaneously for different aspects of health. Perceived support provides steady direct benefits, while buffering cushions the physiological impact of major stressors.

> **Common pitfall:** Assuming a large network equals strong support. Network size and perceived support are distinct; one trusted relationship outweighs many empty acquaintances.

## Practice questions

7 of this lesson's 12 practice questions, with answers. The full set is in the app.

### 1. Perceived support, believing help would come, often predicts health better than support actually received. Why would the belief outperform the fact?

A. Because people who receive support tend to be sicker to begin with
B. Because it changes how threatening the situation looks at all
C. Because received support is difficult to measure accurately
D. Because perceived support is a proxy for personality rather than for support

**Answer:** B. Because it changes how threatening the situation looks at all

**Why:** Appraisal comes first. Believing you would be helped makes the demand look manageable, which is the buffering model's mechanism, and it works whether or not help is ever called on.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/perceived-support-believing-help-would-come-often-predicts-health

### 2. A study measures social support and health in two groups: people living through severe stress, and people whose lives are currently calm. Support predicts noticeably better health among the stressed, and makes almost no difference among the calm. Which model does this pattern favour, and why?

A. The direct effects model, since support predicted health.
B. Both equally, since each predicts support improves health.
C. The buffering model, whose claim is that support works against stress.
D. Neither: real support would have to help both groups.

**Answer:** C. The buffering model, whose claim is that support works against stress.

**Why:** A buffer is worth exactly what it absorbs, so its value should shrink where there is little impact, and it did. The calm group is what makes this evidence rather than a shrug: direct effects predicted a benefit there too, and its absence is what separates the two models.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/a-study-measures-social-support-and-health-in-two-groups-people

### 3. A person with many acquaintances but no one they truly trust can feel less supported than someone with just one or two close, reliable relationships.

**Answer:** True

**Why:** True. Network size and perceived support are distinct - a few trusted relationships can provide stronger felt support than many shallow ones. This is exactly why perceived support often predicts well-being better than network size.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/a-person-with-many-acquaintances-but-no-one-they-truly-trust-can-feel

### 4. A man recovering from surgery has relatives who do everything for him, cooking, dressing, refusing to let him try. His recovery is **slower** than comparable patients with less help. What does that show about social support?

A. That support only helps under high stress, and recovery is a low-stress period
B. That instrumental support is always less useful than emotional support
C. That the relatives are secretly unwilling, and he detects it
D. That support has to match what the person actually needs

**Answer:** D. That support has to match what the person actually needs

**Why:** More is not the axis, fit is. Help that removes every attempt also removes the evidence that he can manage, and self-efficacy is built from attempts. Over-support is a real clinical phenomenon, which is why rehabilitation deliberately lets patients struggle.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/a-man-recovering-from-surgery-has-relatives-who-do-everything-for

### 5. Sort each claim by the model of social support it expresses.

**Answer:**

- Direct effects model: Support benefits health regardless of the person's stress level, A steady sense of belonging benefits everyone
- Buffering model: Support helps mainly when stress is high, Support cushions the impact of a major stressor

**Why:** Benefiting regardless of stress and providing steady belonging are direct-effects claims; helping mainly under stress and cushioning a stressor's impact are buffering claims. The models differ in WHEN support helps.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/sort-each-claim-by-the-model-of-social-support-it-expresses

### 6. Support can sometimes make an outcome worse, recipients of heavy practical help occasionally recover more slowly. What accounts for that?

A. Because unasked-for help can signal that the person is judged incapable
B. Because practical help prevents the necessary physical activity
C. Because supporters give incorrect advice more often than professionals
D. Because receiving help creates a debt that must be repaid with interest

**Answer:** A. Because unasked-for help can signal that the person is judged incapable

**Why:** Support is interpreted, not merely received. Invisible support, help given without being marked as help, outperforms visible support precisely because it carries no such implication.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/support-can-sometimes-make-an-outcome-worse-recipients-of-heavy

### 7. One friend says *"call me if you need anything."* Another turns up on Tuesday with soup. Research says the first can matter **more** for health. Why?

A. Because the soup arrived unrequested, which undermines autonomy
B. Because received support is impossible to measure reliably, so studies default to perception
C. Because emotional support outranks instrumental support in every measured outcome
D. Because perceived support predicts outcomes better than received

**Answer:** D. Because perceived support predicts outcomes better than received

**Why:** The belief is the buffer. Knowing help exists changes how threatening a stressor looks before it lands, and it protects the many weeks you never call. Received support is measured at the worst moments, which is part of why it looks weaker on paper.

Page: https://tryals.app/practice/psychology-i/social-support/one-friend-says-call-me-if-you-need-anything-another-turns-up-on