Bickman (key study) (social Influence) (experiment 1)

Question 1

What was the background?

Answer 1

Bickman thought that a person’s clothing often highlights them as someone in a position of authority, making people more obedient to them.

Question 2

What was the aim?

Answer 2

To investigate the degree of social power the uniform has over other people

Question 3

What was the hypothesis?

Answer 3

A uniformed guard has more ability to influence individuals than the same person in a low- authority uniform (milkman) or normal clothes

Question 4

What was the method?

Answer 4

Field experiment

Question 5

What was the design?

Answer 5

Independent measures design

Question 6

What were the materials?

Answer 6

3 uniforms

Question 7

What was the sample?

Answer 7

• 153 adult pedestrians
• Aged between 18-61
• Happened to be on the street
• Age was estimated by experimenters

Question 8

What was the type of sampling?

Answer 8

Opportunity sampling

Question 9

Where did the study take place?

Answer 9

A street in Brooklyn, New York

Question 10

What did the experimenters look like?

Answer 10

• 4 males
• white
• all similar build
• fitted into the same size suit

Question 11

What was the procedure?

Answer 11

• The experimenters were told to all act the same way, despite changing uniforms
• They asked people to:
  -Pick up a bag (if the participant didn’t comply they would say it’s because they had a bad back).
  -Give a confederate a dime to pay a parking meter (if the participant didn’t comply they would say they didn’t have any change either).
  -Stand on the other side of a pole at a bus stop as a sign said ‘no standing’ (if the participant didn’t comply they would say that the bus wouldn’t stop there as it was a new law).

Question 12

What were the 3 uniforms?

Answer 12

• Civilian
• Milkman
• Guard

Question 13

When was the experiment conducted?

Answer 13

• On weekdays
• Mostly in the afternoons

Question 14

What were the results?

Answer 14

• There was no significant difference in obedience between the civilian and the milkman uniforms across all 3 scenarios.
• The guard was obeyed significantly more than the civilian.

Question 15

What were the conclusions?

Answer 15

• Wearing uniform gives people more power and influence over those not in uniform
• Situational factors (type of uniform) have an influence on obedience in a real life setting
• The higher status the uniform is perceived to have, the more power it provides

Question 16

What were the criticisms?

Answer 16

• The participants were selected by opportunity sampling so unknown factors (like them being in a hurry) could have influenced their behaviour.
• The research is culturally biased as the research was only conducted on a single Street in New York City, USA.
• The study was unethical as participants didn’t know they were being studied.
• There was a gender bias as all the confederates were male.
• There was little control over extraneous variables, such as weather, which could’ve affected participants’ behaviour.