bocchiaro

Question 1

aims

Answer 1

• to investigate how people deal with an unethical and unjust request
• pps have the option of obeying, disobeying or blowing the whistle
• aimed to investigate the difference between how people think they will behave and how they actually behave
• finally to see if people who disobey/blow the whistle show different personality

Question 2

method

Answer 2

• controlled lab observation
• high levels of control over extraneous variables
• same as Milgram

Question 3

sampling method

Answer 3

• placed posters around the cafeteria of the uni in Amsterdam to recruit a self-selected sample
• 149 undergraduate students took part (96 women and 53 men)
• they were paid £7
• originally 160 were recruited but 11 were removed because they were suspicious of the study

Question 4

experimental design

Answer 4

• like Milgram - no manipulation of the IV but pps are tested once
• not experiment - demand characteristics

Question 5

sample

Answer 5

• 149 as the experimental sample
• a further 92 university students took part in Pilot studies
• 138 comparison students were asked to predict the behaviour of others

Question 6

deception

Answer 6

• ‘real’ pps were told they were needed to help recruit pps for a study on sensory deprivation
• meaning they needed to write to their friends to convince them to take part
• also told they were needed to help organise ethical approval

Question 7

materials

Answer 7

• computer to write a letter to friends encouraging the to participate
• an ethics committee form
• two personality tests - Hexaco - and the decomposed measures game

Question 8

procedure (1)

Answer 8

1. 8 pilot tests conducted with one group of pps to check that the procedure was believable and morally acceptable - this was then used to gain ethical approval
2. a second comparison group of pps were asked to predict how they would behave if they were a pp and how they think others will behave
3. study took place at the lab at the Uni of Amsterdam, an experimenter discussed a future research project with each pp
4. confederate experimenter gave each pp the following instructions:
   the experimenter was seeking the names of a few fellow students for a study on sensory deprivation. pps were requested to write a statement encouraging their nominated fellow students to participate , they were told to be enthusiastic and not mention negative effects. willingness to write the letter measured their level of obedience

Question 9

procedure (2)

Answer 9

5. the confederate experimenter gave the following instructions, instruction 2:
   - the experimenter was also seeking ethical approval for the study from the Uni research committee. pps were asked if they would fill in the research committee form - this measured whistle-blowing (if filled in = blew the whistle). pps were then left alone for 3 minutes to reflect.
6. pps were taken to a second room to write their statement and fill in the ethics form. pps could anonymously post the ethics form through the mailbox provided. the experimenter then left them alone for 7 mins to fill of the letter and form
7. lastly pps filled in two personality tests ; HEXACO - PI - R and decomposed measures game

Question 10

predicted results

Answer 10

• 3.6% predicted they would obey and predicted 18.8% of other people would obey
• 31.9% predicted they would disobey and 43.9% of other people would disobey
• 64.5% predicted they would blow the whistle and 37.3% of other people would blow the whistle

Question 11

real results

Answer 11

• 76.5% obeyed
• 14.1% disobeyed
• 9.4% blow the whistle

Question 12

key findings

Answer 12

• as with Milgram, people tend to obey authority, even if the request is unethical
• disobeying and blowing the whistle of demanding acts for individuals to conduct
• people can claim what they or others will do in a situation, but are often wrong, people act far differently than they claim
• behaving in a moral way is difficult for individuals

Question 13

milgram and bocchiaro - research method

Answer 13

• both used the same research method
• controlled observation in a lab
• allowed for standardised procedures an control over distractions what might have made people more willing to obey
• can test obedience in an ethical way
• due to artificial setting, higher risk of demand characteristics

Question 14

milgram and bocchiaro - sample

Answer 14

• self selected
• both use adverts and all students from university
• mixed genders (improvement on milgrams) consider gender differences
• unique characteristics of sample, young adults with fewer responsibilities than adults
• students more proactive in protesting about unfair practices than the target population