Social Flashcards
2 assumptions of the social approach
- behaviour is influenced by culture and society
- behaviour is influenced by the actions and attitudes of those around us
aim of milgram
to investigate whether people will obey an authority figure to extreme lengths and administer lethal electric shocks
sample and sampling of milgram
40 males, 20-50 years, new haven area, collected via volunteer sampling, $4.50 for participation
method of milgram
controlled observation
procedure of milgram
cover story explained, the effects of punishment on learning. participant and confederate drew roles which was rigged, pps = teacher and confed= learner
teacher saw learner be strapped to chair
teacher was given test volt of 45V
teacher could hear not see the learner
L had to learn words in pairs, T would say one word and L would have to give the correct answer if not they would be shocked.
shock generator went from 15-450V with words to describe each shock
teacher was debriefed at the end
what was the response of the learner to certain volts (milgram)
300v = learner pounded on the wall and had no answer
315v = no pounding nor answers
what were the 4 verbal prods used by the experimenter (milgram)
- please continue
- the experiment requires you to continue
3.it is essential that you continue - you have no choice, you must go on
results of milgram
gained through observation, pps showed signs of nervousness and tension
pps trembled and stuttered
14/40 had nervous laughing fits
3/40 had seizures
quantitative results of milgram
30v = 100% of pps obeyed
450v = 65% of pps obeyed
strengths of milgram
+ highly reliable, procedure was standardised, same instructions, same script followed, allows procedure to be repeated for further detail
+useful, gives further detail about how likely we are to follow instructions and to what lengths we would go to, this can be used in prisons and schools
weaknesses of milgram
- ethnocentric, all males from the same area in America, the results may not be generalisable to the rest of the population
- lacks ecological validity, the procedure does not represent real life, the setting also was unfamiliar
aim of Bocchiaro
to investigate whether we are likely to whistle blow on unethical requests and to see if predictions of whistleblowing match actual rates of whistleblowing
method and sample of bocchiaro
controlled observation
VU uni of Amsterdam, 149 pps (96 W, 53M) who were volunteers
138 pps were surveyed
procedure of bocchiaro
setting was the uni lab, greeted my male researcher who was formally dressed with a stern demeanour. researcher gave pps a cover story and told them he wanted to repeat this study. pps were asked to write supporting statements with 2 adjective (exciting, incredible, great and superb) they were left for 7 minutes. after they were fully debriefed
what were the options the pps had during the procedure of bocchiaro
- obey and write the statement
- whistle blow and fill an ethics form
- disobey and write nothing
describe the comparison group in bocchiaro
they were told the whole procedure and asked to fill out the questionnaire with the critical questions
“what would you do”
“what do you think the average student would do”
results of the comparison group of bocchiaro
(what would you do)
3.6% of pps said they would obey
64.5% of pps said they would whistle blow
31.9% of pps said they would disobey
results of the comparison group of bocchiaro
(what would the average student do)
18.8% obey
37.3% whistle blow
43.9% disobey
results of the actual study of bocchairo
76.5% obey
9.4% whistle blow
14.1% disobey
9 were closed WBs
5 were open WBs
conclusions of bocchiaro
people are not likely to whistle blow
people are bad at predicting if people will obey or disobey
people assume they are more likely to WB than the average student
being faithful were more likely to WB
strengths of bocchiaro
+high reliability, standardised procedure, can be repeated again for further results
+useful, results show we are extremely obedient even to unethical requests, measures need to be put in place to tackle unethical requests
weaknesses of bocchiaro
-ethnocentric, WB is more openly frowned upon in the netherlands, making pps less likely to WB and be obedient, cant apply theses results to the wider population
-not representative sample, volunteer sampling, only certain people would volunteer who may be more likely to obey than others who would not volunteer
strengths of the social approach
+useful, used in schools and prisons to allow for understanding of how people will obey authority e.g. milgram
+favours observations, natural behaviour is observed which allows for valid results as pps wont change behaviour due to knowing they are being studied (social desirability) e.g. Bocchiaro
weaknesses of the social approach
-unethical, no informed consent, true purpose needs to be hidden due to observer natural behaviour and avoid demand characteristics e.g. milgram
-reductionist, the approach says our behaviour is purely down to environment and people around us, ignoring biological explanations to behaviour e.g. milgram
what is a bystander
someone who is present at the scene of an incident but not directly involved
what is a bystander effect
a social psychological phenomenon when individuals do not offer any help to a victim, caused by being alone
what is diffusion of responsibility
if more people are present the less likely you are to help
Piliavn - aim
To investigate affecting helping behavior and to improve upon earlier research in a naturalistic setting
4 factors looked at by piliavn
Victim’s responsibility in the situation (drunk/ill)
Race of victim ( black/white)
presence of a model
size of the group
piliavn - sample
4450 passengers between 11am and 3pm
average of 43 people per carriage
8 were in the critical area
45% black 55% white
pps were a captive audience for 7.5 minutes
piliavn - method
field experiment on the trains in new york - pps observation
piliavn - procedure
for each trial a team of 4 students boarded the train using different doors.
there were 4 different teams who collected data for 103 trials.
female confederates sat outside the critical area and recorded data.
the male model was stood in the model of the carriage
after 70 seconds the victim staggered forward and collapsed, remaining motionless.
the 4 victims were males, 3 white and 1 black.
on 38 trials they smelt of alcohol
on 65 trials they were sober and carried a cane
if a model intervened they would help the victim to a sitting position and stay with him
what are the 4 model conditions of piliavn
- critical / early - model stands in the critical area but wait until the 4th station to help - 70 seconds after collapse
- critical/late - model stands in the critical area but wait until the 6th station to help - 150 seconds after collapse
3.adjacent/ early - model stands in the adjacent area but wait until the 4th station to help - 70 seconds after collapse - adjacent/ late - model stands in the adjacent area but wait until the 6th station to help - 150 seconds after collapse
what are the observations made by the females - piliavn
number of passengers who went to help + their race, sex and location.
race, sex and location of all passengers in the critical and adjacent areas.
time for help to arrive.
comments made by near by passengers.
what are the independent and dependent variables of piliavn
IV:
drunk/ill
black/white
modelled help (adjacent/critical + early/late)
number of bystanders
DV:
time taken for a passenger to help
total number of people who helped
overall results of piliavn
a higher number of people helped than in previous experiments
79% spontaneous help
60% victim helped by more than 1 person
most helpers were male
specific findings of piliavn
ill/drunk - cane condition had 95% help, drunk had 50%
black/white - in the cane condition both were helped, in the drunk condition the white model were helped more than the black model
modelling - little data showed early modelling inspires others more than late modelling
number of bystanders - no effect of diffusion of responsibility, the more passengers, the more help.
other observations - 21/103, 34 people left the critical area, especially when victim was drunk. more comments when victim was drunk.
comments from women - ‘its for men to help him’
what is the aim of levine
to look at helping behaviour in a wide range of cultures, in large cities around the world in relations to 4 specific community variables
what is the method of levine
cross cultural quasi experiment with independent measures
what are the 3 helping conditions of levine
- if the victim dropped a pen
- if the victim had a hurt or injured leg
- if the victim was blind and trying to cross the road
what are the 4 community variables of levine
population size - official statistic of the 23 countries
economic wellbeing - cities PPP (purchasing power purity) a measure of wealth
cultural values (individualism/collectivism/simpatia) - rating the 23 countries on a one point scale
walking speed (speed of life) - walking speed across 60ft, during business hours on a sunny day
what was the sample of leviene
overall 230,000 participants from 23 countries around the world e.g. Brazil, India, Spain and China
individuals walking alone were the ones that were selected.
children, 17 and under, were not included
participants were selected by approaching the second potential person who crossed a predetermined line
outline the procedure of leviene
data was collected by students. all experimenters were men.
to ensure standardisation:
all experimenters received detailed instructions and on site training.
the experimenters practised together.
no verbal communication of the experimenter was needed.
results of simpatia in leviene
all countries which had this variable were in the top 1/2 of the table. there was a mean rate of helping of 82.87% compared to 66% in non-simpatia countries
other results of levine
population size, PPP, pace of life and individualism/collectivism had no significant correlations.
ppp had a negative correlation, so richer countries would help less
conclusions of leviene
helping behaviour is not universal.
no relationship between individualism/collectivism and helping behaviours.
helping in simpathia countries is more common
the only characteristic of cities that correlated with helping was PPP.
