A2 Core studies

Question 1

What are the two aims of Piliavin’s research?

Answer 1

• To study bystander behaviour outside of a lab setting

- To see if helping behaviours affected by 4 variables and to see if diffusion of responsibility occurred

Question 2

What are the four variables Piliavin tested to see if helping behaviours were affected?

Answer 2

• The victims responsibility for being in a situation where they needed help
• The race of the victim
• The effect of modelling helping behaviour
• The size of the group

Question 3

Describe the Sample of participants used in Piliavins study?

Answer 3

• An estimated 4,500 passengers travelling on the targeted trains
• Regarded as ‘solicited participants’
• An average 43 participants per carriage
• An average of 8 participants were in the critical area
• The racial mix of participants was estimated as 45% black and 55% white

Question 4

What is the design of Piliavins study?

Answer 4

A field experiment that took place on the New York subway

Question 5

What were the four independent variables of Piliavins study?

Answer 5

1 - Victims responsibility (ill - low responsibility)(Drunk - High responsibility)
2 - Victims race (Black or white)
3 - Presence of a model (if help was received after 70 or 150 seconds)
4 - Number of bystanders (amount of people present)

Question 6

What was the aim of Kohlburg’s Study?

Answer 6

To investigate development in moral reasoning throughout adolescents and early adulthood and to assess the extent to which these changes hold true in a range of cultural contexts

Question 7

Describe the sample of participants used in Kohlberg’s study?

Answer 7

75 American boys
At the start they were aged between 10 and 16 years
At the end they were aged between 22 and 28 years

Question 8

How often were participants interviewed?

Answer 8

Every 3 years

Question 9

What is stage 1 of the pre conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 9

Orientation towards punishment and defence to power-
- Good and bad are defined purely in terms of consequences such as punishment. Those in power can punish therefore they can define what is morally right.

Question 10

What is stage 2 of the pre-conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 10

Orientation towards self interest - Right it whatever suits ones own needs. Sharing and reciprocal helping take place but on a ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours’ basis.

Question 11

What is stage 3 of the Conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 11

Good Boy Good Girl orientation - Good behaviour is what pleases others and gains approval. This means there is considerable conformity

Question 12

What is stage 4 of the Conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 12

Orientation Towards Authority - Rules and social order are paramount, so right consists of doing duty and showing respect for authority

Question 13

What is stage 6 of the Post-conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 13

Orientation towards conscience and ethical principles - There are general ethical principles such as justice and equality, however, they are not concrete rules and decisions are taken based on circumstances of a case.

Question 14

What is stage 5 of the Post-conventional level of Kohlburg’s stages of Moral Development?

Answer 14

Social Contract orientation - Right is what has been agreed upon by a whole society, although there is room for personal opinion and value. Law is important but laws can be changed

Question 15

What is the aim of Lee et al’s study?

Answer 15

The aim was to investigate cross cultural differences in children’s understanding and moral valuations of lying. The study aimed to compare the responses of Chinese and Canadian participants to stories that involved lying and the truth telling, prosocial, and antisocial situations

Question 16

What were the conclusions of Lee at al’s Study?

Answer 16

• Moral reasoning can be influenced by our culture and the society in which we live
• The influence of socio-cultural factors becomes stronger as we age
• Some aspects of moral reasoning, such judging antisocial lying as bad, may be universal

Question 17

What is the aim of Morays study?

Answer 17

To test Cherry’s dichotic listening findings in relation to firstly, the amount of information recognised in the rejected message, secondly, the effect of hearing ones own name in the unattended message, and thirdly the effect of instructions to identify a specific target in the rejected message

Question 18

Describe the sample of participants used in Morays Study

Answer 18

• Study 2 - 12 participants
• Study 3 - two groups of 14 participants
  All included females and males

Question 19

What were the conclusions found in morays study?

Answer 19

1) When the participant directs attention to the message in one ear, rejecting the message in the other ear, almost all of the verbal content of the rejected message is blocked
2) This rejection Is apparent even when the message is repeated many times. There Is no trace of a short list of simple words presented many times being remembered
3) Subjectively important messages, such as ones own name, can penetrate the block: so we may hear instructions containing our own name even in the rejected message
4) It is very difficult (though perhaps not impossible) To make neutral material important enough to penetrate the block

Question 20

Describe the aim of Simons and Chabris’s Study?

Answer 20

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of several factors on inattentional blindness. One of these was looking at the effect of superimposition compared to live events within the video recording, another was measuring the impact of task difficulty, and a third considered whether the unusualness of the unexpected event had in impact on detection rates