Core studies - Bocchiaro - Paper 2

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

Investigate people who whistleblow and disobey
To investigate the factors involved in whistleblowing and disobedience
To build on Milgram’s research by including option to whistleblow as well as disobey

Question 2

Research method

Answer 2

Controlled observation - no IV
Referred to as “scenario study”

Question 3

Sample

Answer 3

149 VU University of Amsterdam undergrads
96 women 53 men
Recruited from flyers in the cafeteria
Given either 7 euros or course credit
138 other students asked what they would do in that scenario, and what the average student would do

Question 4

Procedure

Answer 4

8 pilot tests beforehand to finalise procedure
Ppts told about confidentiality and given right to withdraw with no penalty
Ppts met researcher - stern, seemed official
Told they were helping with a study into sensory deprivation - described very negatively
Asked to write a statement asking students to volunteer
Researcher then left room for 3 mins so ppts could think about their decision
Ppts moved to 2nd room and told to include 2 words from “superb”,”great”, “incredible” and “exciting” in their statement and told not to mention any negative effects
Ppts given chance to whistleblow anonymously with an ethics complaint form
Researcher left the room for 7 minutes
Ppt then taken to 1st room to complete 2 personality inventories and debrief
Used Dutch version of HEXACO-PI-R (personality) and Decomposed Games measure to assess social value orientation (SVO)

Question 5

Comparison Findings

Answer 5

only 3.6% said they’d obey
31.9% said they’d disobey and 64.5% said they’d whistleblow
Only 18.8% thought average student would obey
43.9% believed that students would disobey
37.7 % believed students would whistleblow

Question 6

Findings

Answer 6

76.5% obeyed
14.1% disobeyed
9.4% blew the whistle
6% blew the whistle anonymously
3.4% blew the whistle and disobeyed
No significant differences in gender, religion, religious involvement (ie church attendance) or any personality factors
Significant difference in regard to faith and whistleblowing
Pro-social and individualistic people even divided between groups

Question 7

Conclusions

Answer 7

People tend to obey authority figures even when given unethical orders
What people say/think they will do in a given situation differs from what they will actually do
People behave unexpectedly when confronted with unfamiliar and extreme scenarios
Acts of disobedience/whistleblowing are mentally, socially and economically demanding
Whistleblowers have more faith than either obedient or disobedient people

Question 8

Strengths

Answer 8

Highly controlled and standardised
Personality inventories are reliable and replicable

Question 9

Weaknesses

Answer 9

Ethics - potential distress caused
Questionnaires for personality are very subjective - may lower internal validity