BOCCHIARO Flashcards
What is the aim of bocchiaros study ?
To investigate if disobedient participants & whistle blowers have different personality characteristics to those who obey.
What is the research method of bocchiaro ?
Laboratory experiment
Took place in University in Amsterdam, so conditions could be controlled and procedure was standardised
What was the sample used in bocchiaros study ?
149 undergraduate students, 96 female 53 male with a mean age of 20.8 years .
Took part in exchange for €7 or course credit
What was the procedure of bocchiaro?
8 pilot tests conducted to ensure the procedure was credible and morally acceptable. Comparison group was provided with description of experimental setting& asked “what would u do?”
Ps informed on the task & on potential risks and benefits.
What happened in room 1 of bocchiaro
Researcher greets participants in lab of uni.
Participants asked to provide names of a few fellow students and then they are presented the cover story.
What happened in room2 of bocchiaro?
P’s sat in front of a computer& asked to write the statements with a few conditions. In this room was a mailbox & committee form.researcher leaves room for 7 minutes & p’s are left to either write the statement or not(obedient or not) or report research to the research committee or not (whistleblow or not)
What happened in the follow up in room 1 in bocchiaro ?
Participants were asked to complete 2 personality inventories
HEXACO-PI-R
social value orientation
P’s then probed for suspiciousness about nature of study
After this they were given debrief& asked not to discuss study with anyone.
What were the results of bocchiaros study?
- 5% were obedient
- 1% disobedient
- 4% whistle blowers
Conclusions of bocchiaros study ?
People tend to obey authority figures even if authority is unjust
Individuals behave in different ways than expected when they find themselves in certain circumstances that are unfamiliar and extreme.
Which ethical guidelines did bocchiaro break?
Deception - p’s were deceived of the true intentions of the study
Potential emotional harm - p’s could be left feeling embarrassed about how they behaved.
Which ethical guidelines did bocchiaro uphold?
Confidentiality
Withdrawal
Debriefed at the end of the experiment
What is the validity of bocchiaros study?
Internal- although asked not to talk about it, some may have told friends about the study
External- sample was only students who may be more likely to whistle blow as they are more confident.
What is the reliability of bocchiaro ?
All participants received the same cover story , suggesting a highly standardised procedure
Fairly large sample of 149 participants meaning results can show a consistent trend.
How does bocchiaro link to individual/situational debate ?
Situation can effect someone’s behaviour and make them more obedient, shown by 76.5% that were obedient. however there are individual factors that enable some people to resist the power of the situation, the other 23.5%
How does bocchiaro link to the social area ?
It is confirming the influence that other people can have on our behaviour leading people to be much more obedient than they would predict themselves to be
