Social Flashcards
What is the aim of Milgram?
To see if naive ppt would give a lethal electric shock to a person
What is the Sample of Milgram and how was it gained?
Volunteer sample in newspaper ad of 40 males 18-50 with varying jobs
How were they assigned to their role?
A rigged draw with the confederate
Who became the learner and who became the teacher?
Mr Wallace was the learner and they were the teacher
What real shock was given in this study?
45v
What task did they do in this study?
Word pairs with Mr Wallace
Describe the shock generator
15-450v, goes up in 15v each time until ‘xxx’
What happened if they wanted to stop?
They were given one of the 4 prods
What did the prods say?
Prod 1: Please continue. Prod 2: The experiment requires you to continue. Prod 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue. Prod 4: You have no other choice but to continue
How were the learner, teacher and experimenter arranged?
The learner was behind a wall in another room and the experimenter sat behind the teacher
What are the results of the Milgram study?
100% went to 300v and 65% went to 450V
What was the conclusion of the study?
Authority figures can trigger people to give lethal electric shocks
What were reasons Milgram gave for the obedience in his study?
- The prestigious setting 2. The barrier (wall). 3. The gradual increase in the shocks. 4. The prods. 5. The lab coat showing authority
What are the key points of Milgram’s procedure?
- Volunteer sample of 40 men from ad
-Rigged draw with confederate
-45v real shock
-Shock increased by 15V when answer was wrong
-4 prods if they tried to stop
What is a strength and weakness of Milgram’s generalisablity?
(-) Shared characteristics as they volunteered or Androcentric as 40 males
(+) Variety of jobs and age range
What can you say about the reliablity of Milgram?
(+) Standardised procedure e.g. shock generator and prods
What is a strength and a weakness about Milgram’s validity?
(-) Low mundane realism as artificial task of delivering shocks
(+) Low Demand Characteristics as they were told the study was about learning rather than obedience
What are ethical concerns about Milgram?
-Informed consent & Deception (they didn’t know the real purpose or the confederate was an actor)
-Withdrawal- the prods encouraged them to keep going
-Protection from harm (the stress/pressure of having to give the shocks)
-Debrief (wasn’t instant)
What are the three key concepts of Agency theory?
Autonomous State, Agentic State, Moral strain
How does evolution tie into Agency theory?
We have evolved the different states e.g. agentic state as it helps us survive as a group
What did Milgram suggest about socialisation and obedience?
We are socialised from a young age by parents/society to be obedient to those in authority
Define the Agentic State
You act as an agent of the authority figure, You place the responsibility onto the authority figure
Define the autonomous state
You act according to your own free will, You take responsibility for your own actions
What is moral strain?
The pressure you feel to obey when asked to do something that goes against your conscience as you want to do both.
What relieves moral strain?
Shifting into an autonomous state
What do you call it when moving from the autonomous state to the agentic state?
The agentic shift
How did Milgram’s participants show moral strain?
Nervous laughter, trembling and digging their nails into their skin
How does Milgram’s research support Agency theory?
65% went into the agentic state and shocked the learner when ordered by an authority figure
How does Hofling’s study support/conflict with Agency theory?
Because 21/22 nurses obeyed, showing they were in an agentic state because ordered by an authority figure
How is Impact theory better than Agency theory?
It includes more situational factors which influence obedience like number and immediacy making it less reductionist
How is Agency theory better than Impact theory?
It includes Moral Strain, how the person feels about being obedient but the other doesn’t, this makes it a more complete explanation of obedience
How can Agency theory be said to be useful to the real world?
Explains events like the holocaust/My Lai Massacre- it shows how the agentic state can happen in real life making it a credible explanation and can lead to a reduction in blind obedience through training etc
What other factor could cause obedience that Agency theory doesn’t account for?
It ignores individual factors like Authoritarian Personality and External Locus of control which could make people more obedient
What are the three key concepts of Agency theory?
Autonomous State, Agentic State, Moral strain
What is the collective name for the three factors which influence obedience in impact theory?
Social Forces
What are the three social forces?
Strength Immediacy and Number
What is meant by strength in impact theory?
The more perceived power an authority figure has, the more obedient the target will be.
What is meant by immediacy in impact theory?
The closer the authority figure is, the more obedient the target will be., The more recent the order was given, the more obedient the target will be.
What is meant by number in impact theory?
The more authority figures there are giving orders, the more obedient the target will be.
Define psychosocial law
With each added person the Impact increases (but at a decreasing rate).
What is the divisional effect?
The strength of the authority figure is divided by the amount of targets.
What studies support Impact theory?
Milgram V7 (immediacy), Milgram V10 & V13 (Strength) , Milgram & Bickman (number)
How does Milgram’s variation 7 support SIT?
Less people obeyed when the instructions were given over the phone. Showing immediacy is a credible factor to explain obedience.
How does Milgram’s variation 10 support SIT?
Less people obeyed when the location of the experiment was less prestigious. Showing Strength is a credible factor to explain obedience.
How does Milgram’s variation 13 support SIT
Less people obeyed the man as he was dressed in ordinary clothes. Showing Strength is a credible factor to explain obedience.
Why is Impact theory a better explanation of obedience than Agency theory?
Impact has more factors to influence obedience than Agency theory does meaning it is a more complete explanation of obedience
Which of these is a correct weakness of Impact theory?
It doesn’t include personality factors which might influence obedience like authoritarian personality or locus of control. This means it isn’t a complete explanation of obedience because it doesn’t include individual differences
Why is the ‘formula’ for impact theory an issue?
It is reductionist AND determinist because it says that obedience behaviour can be explained by a formula which is simplistic and ignores choice
How is Agency theory better than Impact theory?
It includes Moral Strain, how the person feels about being obedient but the other doesn’t, this makes it a more complete explanation of obedience
What real world event can Impact theory explain?
The holocaust- it shows how the Strength, Immediacy and Number could be influential and can happen in real life making it a credible explanation
What other factor about a person could influence obedience which impact theory doesn’t account for?
Personality e.g. Authoritarian personality and Locus of control can make you more obedient, which Impact theory doesn’t account for
Where did Variation 10 take place?
A run down office in Bridgeport
What was the aim of Variation 13 (ordinary man)?
To investigate whether an ordinarily dressed man giving instructions would be obeyed
What were the results of Variation 7 (telephone instructions)?
22.5% obeyed
Who was running the variation 10 study?
A private company ‘friends of Bridgeport’
What percentage of participants obeyed in Variation 13 (ordinary man)?
20%
What percentage of participants obeyed in Variation 10 (rundown office)?
48%
What was the conclusion of Variation 7 (telephone instructions)?
Proximity to the authority figure affects obedience
What sampling technique was used in Variation 10 (rundown office)?
Volunteer - participants were recruited by mailshot through the post
True or false: Participants lied to the authority figure in variation 7 (telephone instructions)
True - participants continued to give low level shocks but told the researcher they were giving high level shocks
What was the office like in Variation 10 (rundown office)?
Sparsely furnished, in a commercial building
What is the purpose of the phone in variation 7
The experimenter used it for instructions and to prod the teacher
Which variation had 20 ppts unlike the other 2?
Variation 13
Which variation had 3 people at the rigged draw? (Teacher, learner and experimenter assistant)
Variation 13
What happened to the experimenter in variation 13?
He got a call and left the room
Who decided to give shocks to the learner in variation 13?
The ordinary main/aide to the experimenter
In variation 13 after the participant refused to go on what happened?
The ‘assistant’ (who was a confederate playing an ‘ordinary man assigned’ to being an assistant) started to give them
In variation 13 after the participant stopped giving the shocks how many tried to restrain the assistant from delivering them?
5
What is the aims of Cohrs?
To look for correlations between RWA, SDO, OCEAN and prejudice. To see how peer and self-report scores match about prejudice
The sample in study 1 is
193 Germans via opportunity sampling
The sample in study 2 is
424 German’s via opportunity sample
What personality variables were measured?
RWA, SDO and Big 5 factors (agreeableness, openness etc)
Who did they measure prejudice towards?
Prejudice for homosexuality, those with a disability and foreigners
What method was used to gather data?
Self-reports/questionnaires
What did they find about self vs peer reports
They were simiilar on most traits
What two traits did peer and self reports vary in during study 1
Agreeableness and RWA
How did study 2 differ to study 1
It used twins and peers, questions were changed to 5 point scales and some refined e.g. ‘turks’ rather than foreigners
What was the correlation with Agreeableness and SDO/Prejudice?
A negative correlation
What was the correlation with RWA and prejudice?
A positive correlation
What was the correlation with SDO and prejudice?
A positive correlation
What is the correlation between Conscientiousness and SDO/RWA?
A positive correlation
What was the correlation betweem Openness and prejudice?
A negative correlation
What is good about the personality questionnaires being standardised?
It means the study results about the questionnaire is more generalisable
Why is this a good sample?
Relatively large sample (193 and 424)
Why is this questionnaire study ethical?
There was confidentiality of answers on the questionnaire
What is a problem with closed questions?
People are unable to expand and explain themselves
What is a problem with the correlational nature of this research?
You don’t get cause and effect between the personality variables and prejudice