the social area

Question 1

according to the assumptions of the social area, what is behaviour due to?

Answer 1

the social environment and roles we have in different situations

Question 2

how did Allport (1985) define social psychology?

Answer 2

‘an attempt to understand an explain how the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others’

Question 3

what are behaviours of interest to social psychologists?

Answer 3

obedience, conformity, social influence, prejudice and discrimination

Question 4

what is research in this area often triggered by?

Answer 4

real world events, eg the case of Kitty Genovese led to research by Piliavin

Question 5

what is the methodology of the social area?

Answer 5

• most research involves observation as the area is interested in how situation and interaction with others affect behaviour
• observations have limitations as a research method so they are often done as part of an experiment

Question 6

define obedience

Answer 6

the compliance to an order issued by an authority figure

Question 7

what does obedience involve?

Answer 7

• being ordered/instructed to do something
• being influenced by an authority figure
• the maintenance of social power and status of the authority

Question 8

why is obedience important?

Answer 8

• it is fundamental to the structure of society
• we cannot function as a society without the majority of people following rules and laws
• however, obedience is not always a positive

Question 9

how were the holocaust and obedience linked?

Answer 9

• during WW2, the Nazi government aimed to exterminate ‘worthless’ groups
• many people reported their colleagues and neighbours to the authorities. Men were drafted in to run concentration camps
• the obedience of people in society at the time led to 11 million deaths

Question 10

define defiance

Answer 10

the rejection of the influence of authority figures and behaving in accordance with one’s own internal morals and beliefs. Defiance can be difficult as most people feel they should obey authority

Question 11

who was adolf eichmann?

Answer 11

• in august 1944, EIchmann reported to Himmler that his unit had overseen the deaths of approximately 4 million people
• when he was captured and put on trial in 1961, his defence was that he was just ‘following orders’

Question 12

what was Adorno’s theory?

Answer 12

Authoritarian Personalities:

• he suggested that Germans are more likely to have a type of personality called the Authoritarian Personality. Described them as more likely to become prejudiced as a result of harsh upbringing

Question 13

what was the Agentic Theory?

Answer 13

• suggests that when we act as the agent of someone in authority, we find it easy to deny personal responsibility for our actions
• this diminished responsibility makes it easier to carry out morally objectionable behaviour
• both this and the Authoritarian Personality theory are dispositional

Question 14

aim of milgram?

Answer 14

to investigate how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person

Question 15

design of milgram?

Answer 15

• milgram claimed it was a lab experiment, due to the fact that the study took place in highly controlled conditions

-… however, there is no IV in this study so it is a controlled observations

Question 16

how was data collected in milgram?

Answer 16

• most sessions were videoed and some photos were taken through one-way mirrors
• notes were taken on unusual behaviours
• pts were also interviewed after the study to collect additional data

Question 17

what were the predictions of milgram’s results?

Answer 17

• before the study began, Milgram asked 40 psychologists to predict how many pts would administer the 450 volt shock. They predicted that only 0.001% of pts would administer the 450 volt shock

Question 18

describe Milgram’s sample

Answer 18

• volunteer sampling method
• 40 pts
• 20 - 50 yrs old
• range of backgrounds, with some not finishing high school and another had a doctorate. Jobs included postmen, teachers, salesmen and firefighters

Question 19

who were the confederates in Milgram’s study?

Answer 19

• THE EXPERIMENTER: a 31 year old man wearing a lab coat who introduced himself as ‘the Experimenter’. He was the authority figure in the study
• THE VICTIM/LEARNER: a 47 year old man who introduced himself as an accountant and mentioned he had a heart condition

Question 20

what was the shock generator like in Milgram’s study?

Answer 20

• constructed to look authentic
• it had 30 switches ranging from 15 volts to 450 volts, increasing in 15 volt increments.
• the switches had labels below them with the lowest being ‘Slight Shock’ and the highest being ‘XXX’

Question 21

procedure of Milgram?

Answer 21

• took place in a lab at Yale University
• pts paid $4.50 on arrival
• they were taken into a room where the learner and the experimenter were also present
• pts told by the experimenter that the purpose of experiment was to and out the effect of punishment on learning
• participant and victim drew slips of paper to decide on their roles. it was rigged so that the participant always had the Teacher and the confederate was always the learner
• experimenter then took T and L to adjacent room, where L sat in front of shock generator and an electrode was strapped to his wrist
• T given a 45 volt sample shock
• L asked a question about shocks, E responded ‘Although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no permanent tissue dmg’.

-T taken to another room, told to read out a series of word pairs and read out the first word followed by 4 options. L had to choose response by pressing a switch, lighting a panel in T’s room

• T administered shock when L wrong, shock increased by 15 volts for each successive mistake
• L told to give approx 3 wrong answers for every correct one
• L made no comments until 300V, when they banged on wall and stopped responding. Banged again at 315 volts then made no noise at all
• T told that no response meant a wrong answer = shock
• if T hesitated or asked E for advice, E could respond w standardised prods

Question 22

what were the prods in Milgram’s study?

Answer 22

prod 1 = please continue

prod 2 = the experiment requires that you continue

prod 3 = it is absolutely essential that you continue

prod 4 = you have no other choice, you must go on

Special prod = ‘although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent damage, so please go on’

Question 23

how were the pts in Milgram labelled

Answer 23

pts who stopped before 450 volts were labelled defiant

pts who administered full 450 volts labelled obedient

Question 24

what happened after the pts stopped shocking/reached the max voltage?

Answer 24

• the experiment ended
• pts debriefed and reunited with learner. Pts then interviewed using open questions and given psychological test

Question 25

findings of Milgram?

Answer 25

• 65% pts administered the 450 volt shock
• all pts obeyed up to 300 volts, after which 5 refused to continue
• pts also showed signs of stress such as nervous laughter, biting their lips and stuttering.
• 3 pts had uncontrollable seizures, and 1 had a seizure so violent that the study had to be stopped

Question 26

what were the results of Milgram’s questionnaire after the study?

Answer 26

• 84% were glad/very glad to have taken part
• 2% were sorry/very sorry to have taken part
• 80% said more experiments like this should be carried out
• 74% said they felt they had learnt something of personal importance

Question 27

what were some of Milgram’s 13 possible explanations for the high levels of obedience shown by pts?

Answer 27

• the prestigious location of the study (Yale University)
• they trusted the experimenter
• they felt obliged to take part as they were paid
• assumed the pain was minimal and the study was more important
• new situation not in their schemas so they were not sure how to behave

Question 28

conclusions of milgram?

Answer 28

• it is the situation in which participants found themselves that led to a situation where participants struggled to disobey
• people will obey others who they consider authority figures, even if they are asked to go against their own beliefs

Question 29

strengths of milgram?

Answer 29

• controlled observation. easy to replicate to test for reliability
• quantitative data = easy to analyse
• qualitative data used too = gives depth and detail (p’s reaction to instruction)
• ethics = debrief

Question 30

weaknesses of milgram?

Answer 30

• ethics, did not protect against psychological harm, 3 pts had seizures
• sample androcentric as they were all men, can’t generalise to women
• lacks ecological validity as electrocuting people is a novel (new) task. Obedience could be different to a real world instruction from authority

Question 31

what is social influence?

Answer 31

refers to the influence an individual has to change the thoughts, feelings or behaviours of another

Question 32

define disobedience

Answer 32

the rejection of the influence of authority figures and behaving in accordance one’s own internal morals and beliefs

Question 33

define whistleblowing

Answer 33

involves informing on a person or organisation who are engaging in unlawful or immoral activity

Question 34

what questions did Milgram’s study leave?

Answer 34

• who are the people who disobey or whistleblow
• why do whistleblowers choose the challenging moral path?
• do whistleblowers have characteristics which differentiate them from those who obey

Question 35

aims of Bocchiaro?

Answer 35

• to investigate rates of obedience and whistleblowing in a situation that does not involve physical harm but is ethically wrong
• to investigate the accuracy of estimates of obedience, disobedience and whistleblowing in this situation
• to investigate the role of dispositional factors in obedience and whistleblowing

Question 36

what was Bocchiaro’s pilot study?

Answer 36

• bocchiaro ran 8 pilot studies with a sample of 92 undergraduate students from VU University, Amsterdam.
• They were conducted to ensure the procedure was credible and morally acceptable.
• the pilot studies also allowed for standardisation of the experimenter-authority behaviour for the main study

Question 37

sample for Bocchiaro’s main study?

Answer 37

• recruited through flyers in the university cafe
• 149 undergrad students from VU University, Amsterdam
• 96 males and 53 females, average age of 20.8
• p’s given 7 euros or course credit for taking part

Question 38

procedure of bocchiaro’s main study?

Answer 38

• before the study began, ps signed consent forms, were told they could withdraw without penalty, and were guaranteed confidentiality
• ps entered the first room and were greeted by a male Dutch experimenter who was formally dressed and had a stern manner. He asked the participants to write down the name of some fellow students but did not explain why these were needed
• the experimenter then told ps a cover story about replicating a study into sensory deprivation, which was unethical as it had caused harm to previous participants. The experimenter asked participants to write a statement to convince students they had named to take part in the study. The experimenter then left the room for 3 minutes to allow the ps to think about what they had been asked to do
• the experimenter returned to the room and then took the participant to a second room where they could type their statements. they were encouraged to include words such as ‘great’ ‘incredible’ and ‘superb’ whilst avoiding to say anything negative. There was also a mailbox in the room and a stack of research committee forms. If ps felt the study violated ethical guidelines then they could report it to the ethics community by ticking a box on the form and putting it in the mailbox
• the experimenter left the p in the room for 7 minutes to type their statements, they then took the p back to the first room to complete some personality tests
• ps debriefed, told true aim of study and were asked not to tell friends or colleagues about the study. they also signed a second consent form and were given researchers email

Question 39

what were the personality tests used by Bocchiaro?

Answer 39

• the HEXACO-PI-R:
  (honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience)
• The Social Value Orientation Test:
  (comprised of 9 dilemmas which created conflict between self interest and collective interest. answers were classified as Prosocial, Individual and Competitive)

Question 40

describe bocchiaro’s prediction task

Answer 40

• 138 ps separate to the main study were told the experimental scenario and asked ‘What would you do?’ and ‘what would the average student in your university do?’

the results:

you = 3.6% obedient, 31.9% disobedient, 64.5% whistleblower

uni student = 18.8% obey, 43.9% disobey, 37.3% whistleblower

Question 41

results of bocchiaro?

Answer 41

• 114 obeyed, 21 disobeyed, 9 anonymous whistleblowers (completed statement and ethics form), 5 open whistleblowers (didn’t write statement, wrote the ethics form)
• 76.5% obedient, 14.1% disobedient, 9.4% whistleblower
• results of HEXACO-PI-R and SVO found not to be significant
• no significant difference found in relation to gender, religious affiliation or religious involvement
• ps who reported having faith (defined as ‘a confident belief in a transcendent reality) were more likely to be whistleblowers

Question 42

conclusions of bocchiaro?

Answer 42

• what ppl think they will do vs what they actually do often differs. this difference is more likely when the circumstances are unfamiliar or extreme
• ppl generally are obedient and whistleblowing is uncommon
• whistleblowers have more faith than individuals who are obedient or defiant

Question 43

strengths of bocchiaro?

Answer 43

• quantitative data easy to analyse
• ethics, consent given twice
• ethics, confidentiality promised

Question 44

weaknesses of bocchiaro?

Answer 44

• sample all from VU University is ethnocentric, not generalisable to people from other areas
• self report for personality test, response and social desirability bias
• volunteer sampling can lead to bias as types of people are more likely to respond to fliers

Question 45

similarities between milgram and bocchiaro?

Answer 45

• both used volunteer sampling
• both got given a debrief
• high control
• samples both ethnocentric
• both used qual. + quant. data

Question 46

differences between milgram and bocchiaro?

Answer 46

• milgram had no protection, bocchiaro study called ‘morally acceptable’ in pilot study
• milgram had lower ecological validity as electrocuting someone is a novel experience, bocchairo used a real world task
• sample: milgram men, bocchiaro men and women

Question 47

strengths of the social area?

Answer 47

• this approach explains the extent to which our behaviour is affected by our environment and the relationships we have with other people eg authority figures
• has useful applications in real world situations
• tends to have increased ecological validity as it seeks to explain behaviours in the real world

Question 48

weaknesses of the social area?

Answer 48

• ethnocentrism, as research is often only conducted in limited areas
• as social norms and values change over time, behaviour will also change
• research in the social area is often sensitive, it can often be difficult to stay within ethical guidelines when researching this area

Question 49

how does bocchiaro change understanding of individual diversity?

Answer 49

explains obedience

milgram = situational explanation, bocchiaro = dispositional

Question 50

how does bocchiaro change understanding of social diversity?

Answer 50

milgram men, bocchiaro men AND women

milgram - range of jobs, bocchiaro - students

Question 51

how does bocchiaro change our understanding of cultural diversity

Answer 51

milgram is done in america, bocchiaro is in netherlands