Psychology Topic Test #1

Question 1

define agency theory

Answer 1

people are agents of society and behave in such a way to benefit others

Question 2

define agentic state

Answer 2

being the agent of another individual and therefore obeying their orders

Question 3

define autonomy

Answer 3

being under one’s own control and having the power to make one’s own decision

Question 4

define social impact theory

Answer 4

idea that the strength of the impact of something on someone, the number of forces involved and whether the impact is near (immediate) or further away all affect how people behave.

Question 5

Argument 1 on Milgram’s breach of informed consent

Answer 5

ppts given false aims as they thought experiment was about memory and learning - unaware of true nature of study so couldn’t fully give informed consent.

Milgram should have followed so ppts knew what they were consenting to.

necessary for results to be valid, as reduced chances of demand characteristics, so study could test genuine obedience levels.

Question 6

% ppts who administered full 450V shock

Answer 6

65%

Question 7

milgram’s study for generalisation (4)

Answer 7

40 ppts (small sample) were all male - overall not representative of general population

ppts all from New Haven - one geographical location

ppts recruited by advert resulting in volunteer sample - may have been more motivated to take part and comply

can be generalised as ages ranged 20-50 and ppts occupations varied

Question 8

% ppts administered 300V shock

Answer 8

100%

Question 9

Milgram’s study for reliability (2)

Answer 9

carried out well-controlled procedure - set of prompts in a set order; prepared victims responses carefully; made effort to make every experience the same to avoid bias (study overall replicable and eligible for testing for reliability

objective qualitative and
quantitative observations were made - highly credible research in terms of being scientific

Question 10

Milgram’s study for applications (1)

Answer 10

results can be applied to real- life situations of obedience to authority (Holocaust) - (Abu Ghraib) - leaders gave orders to harm others — help us understand blind obedience, so we can train people to report misconduct

Question 11

Milgram’s study for validity (2)

Answer 11

basic study and task lacked validity - not true representation of real obedience, lacked mundane realism (we wouldn’t normally encounter this situation)

Lacks ecological validity - laboratory is different to real-life situations of obedience (usually more subtle instructions rather than electric shocks) — unable to generalise these findings to real-life situations of obedience; can’t conclude people would obey less severe instructions in same way (artificial setting of Yale heightens chances for demand characteristics)

Question 12

what are the 4 BPS principles

Answer 12

respect
competence
responsibility
integrity

Question 13

What should you consider in the principle of respect

Answer 13

privacy and confidentiality
communities and shared values within them
impacts on broader environment
issues of power
consent
self-determination
importance of compassion

Question 14

what should you consider in the principle of competence

Answer 14

possession of appropraite skills needed to serve others
limits of their competence and potential need to refer someone else
advances in the evidence base
matters of professional ethics and decision-making
the need to maintain techical and practical skills
caution in making knowledge claims
any limitations to their competence taking mitigating actions as necessary

Question 15

what should you consider in the principle of responsibility

Answer 15

professional accountability
responsible use of knowledge and skills
respect for welfare of humans, non-humans and living world
potentially competing duties

Question 16

what should you consider in the principle of integrity

Answer 16

honesty, openness and candour
accurate unbiased representation
fairness
avoidance of exploitation and conflicts of interest (including self-interest)
maintaining personal and professional boundaries
addressing misconduct

Question 17

what is debriefing?

Answer 17

takes place after the experiment - short interview between researchers and participants immediatey following their experience

it is fundamental a debrief takes place following a psychological study (which involves deception)

essential ppts informed fully of true nature of experiment and that they weren’t harmed in any way (physically or psychologicallly)

Question 18

why is debriefing important

Answer 18

good measure of evaluating the study as ppts can be asked how well the deception was & exp can ask if they knew they were being deceived —- if so, their knowledge would have compromised the data and so would need to be removed from analysis

Question 19

Describe risk management

Answer 19

ASSESSMENT - identify any physical or psychological harm before the experiment

MANAGEMENT - weigh up long-term gains vs short -term gains ( was study useful to society compared to short-term risks, such as stress)

** hard to identify all risks at start of study — should be a strategy to manage these risks if arises during the study**

Ethics committee (BPS) decides whether risks are justified

Question 20

Milgram’s study on right to withdraw

Answer 20

the experimienter made it very hard for ppts to withdraw, always urging them to continue with the shocks with the use of the 4 prompts — subjected to intense pressure

Question 21

Milgram’s study on informed consent

Answer 21

ppts consented to experiment without knowing the main objective was to test their obedience, or that the electric shocks were fake

Question 22

Milgram’s study on protection of participants from psychological harm

Answer 22

ppts exposed to extremely stressful situations that had potential to cause psychological harm, many visually distressed and showing signs of tension (trembling, sweating, stuttering, laughing nervously, lip-biting)

HOWEVER after debrief, ppts showed much relief to know they hadn’t harmed the student — M argued the prior effects were short-term

Question 23

Milgram’s study on deception

Answer 23

ppts deceived by M not telling them the true nature of the experiment and what was going on
they consented to a study on learning and punishment

Question 24

Milgram’s study on debrief

Answer 24

M did this fully afterwards, as well as a follow up after a period of time to ensure they came to no harm

ppts assured their behaviour was common; followed the sampe up a year later, finding no long-term signs of psychological harm

Question 25

statistics of experiemnt 7 variation

Answer 25

450V shock fell from 65% to 22.5%

Question 26

Resultant behaviour in ppts in experiment 7 variation

Answer 26

ppts continued to give lower shocks rather than increase V, whilst lying to exp about it

ppts initial disobedience soon changed to obedience on exp’s return to the laboratory once he exhausted his authority (slight experiment modification)

Question 28

strength of experiment 7 variation

Answer 28

supporting studies demonstrating high external validity
Sedikides & Jackson (1990) — when authority wasn’t present in a more naturalistic setting of a zoo, obedience levels dropped, suppers idea that distance between ppts and eco means obedience levels drop

Question 29

weakness of experiment 7 variation

Answer 29

M places ppts in artificial lab setting to answer telephone — not eceoligicalky valid for measuring obedience

Question 30

experiment 10 variation results

Answer 30

reduction in obedience slightly of 48%

ppts questioned credential of the company

Question 31

strengths in experiment 10 variation

Answer 31

more realistic setting of an office block in bridgeport — increases ecological validity of research for completing an obedience task

Question 32

weakness of experiment 10 variation

Answer 32

ppts we’re told the study was being carried out by research associates of bridgeport — deceived as it was actually being carried out by Yale University

Question 33

results of experiment 13 variation

Answer 33

80% broke off before the maximum time

only 20% administered full 450V

learner (confederate) went to considerable lengths to persuade teacher to administer shocks (strained)

Question 34

strengths of experiment 13 variation

Answer 34

procedures kept the same except for one variation independent variable — comparisons can be made

Question 35

weaknesses of experiment 13 variation

Answer 35

ppts deceived so study has questionable ethics

exp and ordinary man accomplices of study which pots weren’t made aware of so was lied to