Social Area Flashcards
What does the social area focus on?
- The environment and how specific social cues and people within the environment can influence a person’s behaviour
What are the principles of the social area?
- How social context impacts how people behave
- Human behaviour us influenced by the situation as well as individual characteristics
Strengths of the social area:
- Real life relevance- useful, practical applications in a range of settings
- Brings psychology to a wider audience
- Ecologically valid, reliable, standardised
- Improves understanding of human behaviour
Weaknesses of the social area:
- Research can be socially sensitive
- Deterministic
- Society is always changing, results may not be valid over time
- Cultures differ in different places, results might not apply to everywhere
- Areas can be hard to distinguish
What is conformity?
Yielding to group pressure
What is obedience?
Complying with demands of an authority figure
What is the background of Milgram’s study?
- Jewish
- 25 years after the end of WW2
Who were the 3 people involved in Milgram’s study?
- The experimenter
- The learner
- The teacher
Who was the experimenter in Milgram’s study?
- 31 year old biology teacher
- Played legitimate authority figure
- Emotionless
- Stern
- Wore a lab coat
Who was the learner in Milgram’s experiment?
- Stooge (aware of study, was acting)
- 47 year old accountant
- Mr Wallace
- Irish-American
- Mild mannered and likeable
How were participants gathered in Milgram’s study?
- Volunteer sample
- Newspaper advert
- $4.50 paid
What did Milgram tell participants the study was about?
Memory and learning, end the effects of punishment on learning
What was the sample used in Milgram’s study?
- 40 males
- 20-50 years old
- Variety of jobs
- All from New Haven
- Volunteers
TRUE OR FALSE:
The participant had an equal chance of being the teacher or the learner in Milgram’s study.
FALSE
Participants drew paper from a hat, both papers said teacher, then Mr Wallace pretended his said learner so participant would always be teacher
What voltage was the sample shock given to the teacher in Milgram’s experiment?
45v
TRUE OR FALSE:
Mr Wallace said he was worried how the shocks would affect him as he had previously been struck by lightening in Milgram’s study.
FALSE:
Mr Wallace claimed to have a heart condition, and asked if this would be affected by the shocks
What did the experimenter tell participants of Milgram’s study if they asked about the shocks?
“Although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage”
How many volts did each shock in Milgram’s study increase by?
15v
Which prods did the experimenter in Milgram’s study use if the teacher hesitated?
- “Please continue
- “You have no other choice, you must go on”
- “Whether the learner likes it or not, you must go on until he has learned all the word pairs correctly”
TRUE OR FALSE:
100% of participants went up to 300v in Milgram’s experiment.
TRUE
What percentage of participants in Milgram’s study went up to the full 450v?
65% (26 participants)
How did participants of Milgram’s study react?
- 14 nervous laughter
- 3 seizures
- Sighs of relief, mopping brow etc.
What factors in Milgram’s study may have had an impact on obedience?
- Yale university is prestigious
- Volunteers
- Obligation
- Payment
- Gradual commitment
What is a whistle blower?
Someone who exposes a person or organisation engaging in unlawful or immoral activity
What is social power?
The influence an individual has to change someone else’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviours
What was the background of Bocchiaro’s study?
Expanding of previous research such as that of Milgram, wanted to understand who disobeys and whistleblows and why
What was the aim of Bocchiaro’s study?
To see how many people will comply with an unethical request and how many will whistle blow to a higher authority
Who made up the experimental group in Bocchiaro’s study?
- Volunteers
- 149 undergraduate students
- 96 women and 53 men
- Paid either 7 euros or course credit
- 11 were removed for suspicion
Who made up the comparison group in Bocchiaro’s study?
- 138 students surveyed at VU university about how they would react
How many pilot studies did Bocchiaro’s carry out?
8 pilot studies, involving 92 students to make sure the procedure would work
What was the cover story used in Bocchiaro’s study?
- Said they wanted to recreate a study on sensory deprivation
- Said that the study before had disastrous effects
- 6 participants in Rome, spent time completely isolated, no hearing or sight
- All panicked, hallucinated, cognitive abilities impaired
How was the experimenter in Bocchiaro’s study described?
Male, Dutch experimenter, formally dressed, stern demeanour
TRUE OR FALSE:
Students were asked to name other students before the experiment began
TRUE:
The students named were who the participants were told to convince to take part in the study
What specific adjectives were the participants told to use in Bocchiaro’s study?
Incredible, great, and superb
How long were Bocchiaro’s participants given to reflect on their decision?
3 minutes
How long were Bocchiaro’s participants given to either obey, disobey, or whistleblow?
7 minutes
Approximately how long did Bocchiaro’s study last?
40 minutes
TRUE OR FALSE:
Participants in Bocchiaro’s study were asked to fill out 2 personality tests.
TRUE:
Participants completed the Dutch version of the hEXACO-PI-R and the Decomposed Games measure
How many participants obeyed in Bocchiaro’s study?
76.5% (114 participants)
How many participants disobeyed in Bocchiaro’s study?
14.1% (21 participants)
How many participants in Bocchiaro’s study whistleblew?
9.4% (14 participants)
6% anonymously (9 participants)
3.4% openly (5 participants)
Did Bocchiaro find any significant difference within the scores of the personality test, or through which religious group a person belonged to?
No, but he did find a significant different within having belief in a higher being in general
How many participants in Bocchiaro’s comparison group said they or other students would obey?
3.6% said they’d obey, 18.8% said others would obey
How many participants in Bocchiaro’s comparison group said they or others would disobey?
31.9% said they would disobey, 43.9% said others would disobey
How many participants in Bocchiaro’s study said they or others would whistleblower?
64.5% would whistle blow, 37.3% said others would whistleblow
What conclusions did Bocchiaro come to after conducting his study?
- People are very obedient and whistleblowing is uncommon
- People overestimate the likelihood of whistleblowing
- We see ourselves as ‘special’ and less likely to follow desructive orders than others
- Inaccuracy of estimates of behaviour is useful
What year did Pilliavin’s study take place?
1969
What year did Bocchiaro’s study take place?
2012
What year did Milgram’s study take place?
1963
What is the background of Pilliavin’s study?
- Based on the murder of Kitty Genovese
- She was stabbed to death witnessed by 38 people who did nothing
- Killer attacked her 3 times
What is a bystander?
Anyone present at the time of an incident but not directly involved
What is the bystander effect?
The behaviour of bystanders who don’t assist those who need help in an emergency
What is the diffusion of responsibility?
People do not bare the full burden of responsibility if they know others are present
What was the aim of Pilliavin’s study?
- Wanted to build on early studies of bystander behaviour
- Study bystander behaviour in a realistic setting
- See if bystander behaviour was impacted by victim responsibility, race, modelling behaviour, and group size
What experimental method did Pilliavin use?
Field experiment
Describe the sample used in Pilliavin’s study:
- Estimated 4550 passengers
- Regarded as unsolicited participants
- Average of 43 participants per carriage, with 8 in the critical area
- Estimated racial mix was 45:55 black to white passengers
How long was the train journey that Pilliavin staged the emergency on?
7.5 minutes, no stops
How far into the train journey did Pilliavin’s victim collapse?
70 seconds
What hours did Pilliavin’s study take place between?
11am-3pm
How many trials did Pilliavin run per day?
6-8 trials
How many separate teams of researchers did Pilliavin use?
4 separate teams
Who made up Pilliavin’s researcher teams?
- 2 female observers outside critical area to record results
- 1 male model in critical or adjacent area
- 1 male victim
How is the victim in Pilliavin’s study described?
- Male
- 26-35 years
- 3 white, 1 black
- All dressed identically in informal clothes
How many trials in total did Pilliavin’s team carry out?
103
What 2 conditions did Pillaivin’s victim carry out?
Sick with a cane, or drunk
How often was Pilliavin’s cane victim help without intervention?
95% of the time, 62/65 trials
How often was Pilliavin’s drunk victim helped without intervention?
50% of the time, 19/38 trials
How often did it take over 70 seconds for people to help Pilliavin’s drunk victim?
83% of drunk trials took over 70 seconds
How often did it take over 70 seconds for people to help Pilliavin’s cane victim?
17% of trials took over 70 seconds
TRUE OR FALSE:
In the cane condition, black victims were more likely to be helped than white victims
FALSE:
In the cane condition, both groups were equally likely to be helped
TRUE OR FALSE:
In the drunk condition, people were more likely to help a victim that was the same race as them.
TRUE
In how many trials did people move out of the critical area?
In 21/103 trials, a total of 34 people moved away
How many of Pilliavin’s total victims received help with no intervention?
79%
What conclusions did Pilliavin reach?
- An ill person is more likely to be helped than a drunk person
- Men are more likely to help men than women
- People are more likely to help someone of the same race as them
- Group size has no impact on likelihood of helping
What is the arousal/cost reward model?
- Arousal- emotional response as a result of distress of others, help to stop themselves feeling emotional
- Cost-reward- Bystanders weigh up costs and rewards of helping
When did Levine’s study take place?
2001
What is the background of Levine’s study?
Wanted to build on previous research which was limited by unrepresentative studies due to being too small or limited to the USA
What was the aim of Levine’s study?
To examine the tendency of people in the largest city of 23 countries to help a stranger in a non emergency situation
How many participants did Levine use?
- 1198 participants
- Chosen for being the second to cross a line on the pavement (opportunity sample)
- Children, elderly, and disabled were excluded
What 3 conditions did Levine have in the study?
- Dropped pen
- Hurt leg
- Helping a blind person cross the road
Levine’s dropped pen measure:
- Experimenters walked towards participant at 15 paces every 10 seconds
- Dropped a pen when 10-15 feet from participant
- 214 men and 210 women were approached
Levine’s hurt leg measure:
- Walking with heaving limp, wearing leg brace
- Experimenter dropped and struggle to pick up a pile of magazines when 20 feet from pedestrian
- 253 men and 240 women approached
Levine’s blind person measure:
- Experimenter wore dark glasses and held white cane
- Stepped up to crossing and held out cane
- Canes and training provided by Fresno Friendship training centre for the blind
- 281 trials conducted
What community values did Levine study?
- Population size- from United Nations Demographic Yearbook
- Economic prosperity- from Purchasing Power Parity stats from World Bank
- Cultural Values- 6 cross culture psychologist rates each country form collectivist to individualistic
- Pace of life- measured by average walking speed, time taken to walk 60ft
Which city did Levine find was the most helpful
- Rio De Janerio
- 94% helping rate
Which city did Levine find was the least helpful?
- Kuala Lumpur
- 40% helping rate
What conclusions did Levine come to about helping in none emergency situations?
- Helping in non emergency situations is universal but varies between cities
- Large cross cultural variations in helping rates
- Collectivism vs individualism is unrelated
- Helping seems linked to economic productivity
TRUE OR FALSE:
Levine found richer countries more likely to display helping behaviour.
FALSE:
Levine found poorer countries tend to have higher rates of helping
