Social Approach Flashcards
Obedience
To carry out a direct order from an individual higher up in the hierarchy
Moral strain
Carrying out an order even though you know it is wrong
Social categorisation
Seeing oneself as part of a group
Social identification
Process of moving from seeing oneself as part of the ‘in’ group to identifying with the group more overtly. The individual is more likely to take on the norms and attitudes of the group members
Social comparison
The individual sees themself as part of the ‘in’ group so compare themselves with the ‘out’ group (performing negative bias) which boosts their self esteem
Conformity
The convergence of an individuals thoughts, feeling and behaviour towards the social norm
What year did Milgram’s study take place
1963
The aim of Milgram
To see whether an incident like the Holocaust could happen again
What is social approach
About aspects of human behaviour that involve the individuals relationship to others persons, groups and society, including cultural influences on behaviour
More info on questionnaires
More straightforward questions usually come first, followed by more indepth questions.
Questions gathering personal data best placed at end so they don’t take up the time of the respondent who might get bored quickly.
For ethical and practical reasons, questionnaires should not be very long, as you don’t want the respondent to give up half way through.
A pilot survey is carried out. This tests questions for clarity and allows the person conducting the survey to make sure that the required info will be gathered
What is a response set/ response bias
The tendency to stick to one response throughout and the way questions are asked can lead to a response bias. Questions should be put in an order to obtain a range of responses
What are closed ended questions
They are questions in which the response choices are limited, for example dichotomies (eg. yes/no answers). Likert scale, rating scale and identifying characteristics are also examples
Strengths of closed ended questions
Generate standard replies that can be easily compared to others and analysed
Easy and quick for respondents to answer
Disadvantages of closed ended questions
they can suggest ideas that the respondent may not otherwise have
misinterpretation of a question can go unnoticed, which would cause a bias result and mean it couldn’t be compared
What are open ended questions
Questions that allow the respondent to state their attitudes and opinions
Advantages of open ended questions
Respondent can answer as they wish, so gives more in depth detailed rich qualitative data
Allows respondent to interpret the question as they wish, produces more valid ‘real’ data.
Weaknesses of open ended questions
Difficult to analyse as respondents interpret the questions in different ways. Means data isn’t comparable.
Often not answered fully as they take more time and it’s more difficult to think of the answer than ticking a forced choice box
Evaluation of questionnaires
ADVANTAGES
Reliable as bias from the researcher can be avoided by having set questions and a set procedure
If questions and procedure are set so that bias is avoided, data should be valid
WEAKNESSES
Could be administered differently by different people, so data may be biased by the situation = unreliable
If fixed questions mainly asked then useful relevant data can be missed, making data not valid
For what reasons would an interview be chosen instead of a questionnaire
If some questions are to be explored in more depth
When the respondent may need reassurance
When access is difficult
What are the three types of interviews
Structured - follows a set format. It’s a questionnaire administered by an individual. Gathers quantitative data. RELIABLE
Semi-structured - has set questions, some of which can be explored further by the interviewer. So gathers both quan and Qual data. BOTH RELAIBLE AND VALID
Unstructured - involves questions that are not in a set format and which allow the interviewer to explore the area with further questions arising from the respondents answers. VALID
Interviews gather mainly what type of data
Qual
Issues to consider when conducting interviews
During an interview, notes can be taken or the interview can be recorded. Whichever format, all notes must be transcribed (copied out) in full after the interview. This is time consuming but necessary so that all data are available for analysis. In order to carry out these steps the ps must be involved at each stage… Must see schedule before interview, must agree to chosen format for recording the interview, must see full transcript of the interview afterwards and agree that it is what was said or occurred
Explain objectivity when interviewing
Researchers must not be affected by whether or not they like, or agree with the interviewee. Ways of remaining objective include….producing a complete transcript of the interview. This makes sure that researchers cannot select what they include
Ensuring that the interviewee sees the results and agrees that they are accurately recorded
Having another researcher analyse the results
Evaluate interviews
ADVANTAGES
questions can be explained and enlarged upon, so good method when in depth detailed data is required
Data tend to be valid as interviewees use their own words and aren’t constrained by questions as they are in a questionnaire
DISADVANTAGES
interviewer may influence the data (eg tone, gender) which would result in researcher bias
Analysis may be subjective and researchers view may influence the analysis
Other Ethical guidelines to consider when using human participants
Ps shouldn’t be harmed or distressed by study
Children and other vulnerable groups should be treated with particular care to make sure everything is understood and permission is given
Confidentiality should be maintained throughout with on names being used, data shouldn’t be shared with anyone not connected with the study
What is compliance
Means going along with what someone says, while not necessarily agreeing with it
What is internalising
Obeying with agreement
Ethical problems for the ps in Milgrams studies
Ps showed distress, signs of nervousness eg sweating, shaking. 3 has seizures, one of which was so convulsive that the experiment had to be stopped.
Ps were given right to withdraw but not reminded of this. Verbal prods were used to encourage them to continue.
Was no informed consent, they gave consent by volunteering but they didn’t know what it would entail.
Ps were deceived. Milgram let them think that…. the victim was receiving real shocks, the experiment was about memory and learning rather than obedience
Ethical issues for ps that Milgram did address
He debriefed all ps, let them meet the victim to see that no harm had been done. Made sure the ps left in reasonable frame of mind.
Gave them right to withdraw
He observed the ps through a mirror, if the ps become very distressed as one did, the study was terminated
He thought beforehand that obedience levels were not likely to be high enough to cause the ps distress. He asked colleagues who agreed. By asking colleagues, Milgram was checking his own competence
Ethical issues for ps in other studies of obedience
Meeus and Raaijmakers
Did not give the right to withdraw until the ps had registered their verbal prompts, which were designed to make the ps continue. Did not remind the ps that they had the right to withdraw
Deceived into thinking that the applicant was really applying for the job, when actually he was an actor
Ethical issues regarding obedience studies and society
Claimed that Milgram argued that its important to carry out such studies even though they involved deception. Useful to consider whether certain societies have different obedience issues from others, so when Dutch study concluded that people in the Netherlands in 1980’s were as obedient as people in 1960’s in USA (and possibly Germany in 1930’s) then this is useful info.
What is social identity
Comes from how people see themselves in relation to membership of their social groups. Belonging to a group creates ‘in group’ self-categorisation, which leads to in-group favouritism and hostility towards the ‘out group’. To enhance self esteem, people perceive their ‘in groups’ as better
