Bocchiaro (2012) Flashcards
Background of the study
-Milgrams study has given us some knowledge on obedience
-Little research into disobedience to unjust authority and reporting wrongdoing to higher authorities
Define whistleblowing
A whistleblower is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organisation that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent
Aims
-Aimed to plug gaps in prior research. Researches wanted to create a situation that gave them the options of obeying, disobeying or whistleblowing.
-They had to follow ethical guidelines, but wanted to create an engaging and ecologically valid situation
Sample
-Self-selecting
-149 undergraduate students from VU University in Amsterdam
-96f, 53m, mean age of 20.8
-Recruited by flyers in campus cafeteria offering either €7 or course credit
Procedure
What are the three things participants could have done?
-Obey and write the statement
-Disobey and refuse to write the statement
-Whistle-blow by ticking the ethics committee form and posting it
Findings/conclusions
-76.5% obeyed
-14.1% disobeyed
-9.4% were whistle-blowers
What two personality inventories did Bocchiaro have participants complete?
-HEXACO
-Social Value Orientation (SVO)
HEXACO
-Measures the six major dimensions of personality
- Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to experience
Social Value Orientation (SVO)
-Measures preferences for patterns of outcome for oneself/others
-Prosocial orientation, Individualistic orientation, or Competitive orientation
Why did he have participants complete these personality inventories?
Too see if any specific traits linked to whistleblowing
Define open whistleblower
-Refuses to write the statement encouraging people to participate in the study and reports the study
-Open about their disapproval
Define closed whistleblower
-Reports the study but still writes the statement
-Secretive about their disapproval
How was sampling bias an issue for the study?
-Only done on students so limited age/occupation
-Ethnocentric as only done in Amsterdam, NE
-Self-selecting so participants may already be more likely to obey
-However good gender split
Comment on the construct validity of the study
-People may not have actually opposed the sensory deprivation study, which is why they didn’t report it
-May have wanted it to be conducted/suggested names of people they didn’t like to take part
Comment on the ecological validity of the study
-Bocchiaro said the situation students were put in was realistic
-Suggesting other pupils for another study
Comment on the population validity of the study
-Both male and female students used
-But on average they were quite young
Comment on the internal reliability of the study
-Standardised procedure so study can be easily replicated
-Time given to write the statement, cover story
Comment on the external reliability of the study
There were 149 students, which is enough to establish a consistent effect
Link the study to the individual-situational explanations debate
-Situational
-The presence of a perceived legitimate authority figure led them to obey
-Suggested that if they comply they may earn more money in the future
Give two similarities between the studies by Milgram and Bocchiaro
-Participants were paid to take part
-Both studies took place in university settings
Explain the similarity ‘participants were paid to take part’
-Milgram-participants were paid $4.50
-Bocchiaro-participants were paid €7
Explain the similarity ‘both studies took place in university settings’
-Milgram-the study took place at Yale University, New Haven
-Bocchiaro-the study took place at VU University Amsterdam
Give two differences between the studies by Milgram and Bocchiaro
-Studies were conducted in different places
-The gender mix of participants
Explain the difference ‘studies were conducted in different places’
-Milgram-took place in New Haven, USA (connecticut)
-Bocchiaro-took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Explain the difference ‘the gender mix of participants’
-Milgram-all 40 participants were male
-Bocchiaro-96 female participants, 53 male participants
How has Bocchiaros study changed our understanding of the key theme ‘responses to people in authority’
Tells us that people are just as obedient in the Netherlands as they are in the USA
How hasn’t Bocchiaros study changed our understanding of the key theme ‘responses to people in authority’
Hasn’t told us anything new as results are similar and show most people are obedient
How has the study changed our understanding of individual diversity?
Investigated the role of personality characteristics (eg faith) on obedience and whistleblowing
How hasn’t the study changed our understanding of individual diversity?
There weren’t any significant findings other than faith
How has the study changed our understanding of social diversity?
It investigated both males and females
How hasn’t the study changed our understanding of social diversity?
The study found very similar results across males and females
How has the study changed our understanding of cultural diversity?
It was carried out in the netherlands rather than the USA
How hasn’t the study changed our understanding of cultural diversity?
Both studies produced very similar results
