Social Psychology Flashcards
Milgram, Bocchiaro, Piliavin, Levine
What is the definition of the Social Area in Psychology?
The social area assumes that behaviour is determined by the situation and the real, imagined or implied presence of others. Our relationships with others influence our behaviour and thought processes.
What is self-perception?
Behaviour is influenced by our beliefs about how others perceive us.
What is social perception?
To explain the cause of behaviour as either having an individual or situational explanation
What is social interaction?
The context a behaviour occurs in.
What is social influence?
The impact a person can have on another.
What are some of the strengths in the social area?
Experimental realism, ecological validity and the research having practical applications making it useful.
What are some of the weaknesses of the social area?
Reductionist approach to explaining behaviour, deterministic approach, experimental approach can create demand characteristics and raises ethical issues.
What event occurred for Milgram to study obedience?
The Holocaust and trials of the Nazis.
What was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To investigate the process of obedience; to demonstrate the power of an legitimate authority figure, even when a command requires destructive behaviour.
What research design did Milgram use?
Controlled observation in a laboratory setting (not an experiment) using self report.
What university did Milgram’s study take place in?
University of Yale
What sampling method did Milgram use?
Self-selected sample, sourced through a mailshot and advert in local newspaper.
How many participants were used in Milgram’s study?
40 participants picked from 500 applicants.
What was the age range of Milgram’s sample?
20-50 years old.
What is a positive of Milgram’s sample?
All the participants came from a wide range of occupational and educational backgrounds, so able to generalise to target population.
What is a negative of Milgram’s sample?
No gender diversity.
Ethnocentric, America has an individualist culture.
How much were Milgram’s participants paid?
$4.00, plus $0.50 for car fare.
What materials were used In Milgram’s study?
A shock generator with 30 switches, ranging from 15V to 450V, in increments of 15V.
How many participants would go all the way to 450V according to 14 psychology students Milgram asked?
3% of 100 participants.
How many participants went to 300V in Milgram’s study?
100% or 40 participants.
How many participants went to 450V (were fully obedient), in Milgram’s study?
65% or 26 participants.
What qualitative findings were there in Milgram’s study?
Many participants showed nervousness and a large number showed extreme tension.
How many participants had “full-blown, uncontrollable seizures” in Milgram’s study?
3 participants.
What ethical issues were there in Milgram’s study?
Deception, participants thought the shocks were real.
Psychological harm.
Right to withdraw, participants were paid.
Where does Milgram fall on the nature/nurture debate?
Nurture, manipulation of the environment.
Where does Milgram fall on the situational/dispositional debate?
Situational, prestigious University and an authority figure.
Where does Milgram fall on the free will/determinism debate?
Determinism, environmentally determined.
Is Milgram’s study scientific?
Is scientific, lab setting, high control of extraneous variables and has a high reliability/ repeatability.
Is Milgram’s study useful?
Is useful, changed understanding of obedience and helped changes in authority structure.
What type of data did Milgram collect?
Quantitative and qualitative data.
What were participants told was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To see how punishment affected learning.
What is a whistle-blower?
A person who reports wrongdoings to a higher authority.
What were Bocchiaro’s predications for his study?
People will be more obedient than Milgram as they will not be physically hurting someone.
People are less likely to whistle-blow than obey.
People overestimate tendency to whistle-blow/ disobey.
Personality characteristics have no effect.
What was the aim of Bocchiaro’s study?
To investigate how people deal with an unethical and unjust request.
What research design did Bocchiaro use?
Controlled observation, in a laboratory setting.
What university did Bocchiaro’s study take place in?
VU University of Amsterdam.
What sampling method did Bocchiaro use?
Self-selected sample, sourced from a poster in the University cafeteria.
How many participants did Bocchiaro use?
149 undergraduate students, 96 women and 53 men.
How many participants were used in Bocchiaro’s pilot test?
92 students.
How many participants were in Bocchiaro’s ‘comparison’ group?
138 students.
How much were Bocchiaro’s participants paid?
€7 or a course credit.
What is a positive of Bocchiaro’s sample?
No gender bias.
What was the mean age of Bocchiaro’s sample?
20.8 years.
What is a negative of Bocchiaro’s sample?
All young adults, a unique characteristic as students have fewer responsibilities than adults.
Students are more proactive in protesting.
What materials were used in Bocchiaro’s study?
An ethics committee form.
Two personality tests: HEXACO-PI-R and Decomposed Measures Game test.
What percentage of participants would obey according to the ‘comparison’ students?
Bocchiaro
18.8%
What percentage of participants would disobey according to the ‘comparison’ students?
Bocchiaro
43.9%
What percentage of participants would blow the whistle according to the ‘comparison’ students?
Bocchiaro
37.3%
What percentage of ‘comparison’ students said they would obey?
Bocchiaro
3.6%
What percentage of ‘comparison’ students said they would disobey?
Bocchiaro
31.9%
What percentage of ‘comparison’ students said they would blow the whistle?
Bocchiaro
64.5%
How many of the ‘real’ participants obeyed?
Bocchiaro
76.5%
How many of the ‘real’ participants disobeyed?
Bocchiaro
14.1%
How many of the ‘real’ participants blew the whistle?
Bocchiaro
9.4%
What results did Bocchiaro find that linked to personality?
There was no significant differences between the personality tests, although participants with more faith tended to be whistle blowers.
What ethical issues did Bocchiaro run into?
Deception
Where does Bocchiaro fall on the situational/individual debate?
Situational, authority figure and no evidence of personality differences.
Where does Bocchiaro fall on the nature/nurture debate?
Nurture, social context and social influence.
Is Bocchiaro’s study useful?
Is useful, changed our knowledge of how, when and why people can’t blow the whistle.
Is Bocchiaro’s study scientific?
Is scientific, done in a laboratory setting, high levels of control and high reliability/ repeatability.
What type of data did Bocchiaro collect?
Quantitative data
What is bystander behaviour?
What people do when watching an emergency situation.
What is diffusion of responsibility?
Where in a large group of people, individuals feel less responsible.
What was the aim of Piliavin’s study?
To investigate the effect of certain variables on individuals’ speed and willingness to help.
What research design did Piliavin use?
Field experiment with independent measures design and observational techniques.
What were the independent variables in Piliavin’s study?
Drunk or cane
Race
Presence of model
Group size
What sampling method did Piliavin use?
Opportunity sample
Where did Piliavin’s study take place?
New York Subway.
What gender were the models in Piliavin’s study?
Male
What were the mean number of people in the carriage in Piliavin’s study?
43
Which condition got helped the most (drunk or cane)?
Piliavin
Cane at 95% compared to drunk 50%
What percentage of first helpers were male?
Piliavin
90%
Which victim recieved more help, the white or black victim?
Piliavin
White, but a ‘same-race effect’ was observed in the drunk condition.
What ethical issues did Piliavin run into?
No informed consent given.
Risk of psychological harm, distressing situation.
No right to withdraw
Where does Piliavin fall on the nature/nurture debate?
Nurture, situational factors influenced participants
Where does Piliavin fall on the situational/individual debate?
Situational, arousal for cost-reward model is influenced by the situation.
Where does Piliavin’s study fall on the free will/determinism debate?
Both, can choose whether to help or not but the situation has a strong influence
Is Piliavin’s study scientific?
Is scientific, many controls utilised but field setting means less control over extraneous variables
Is Piliavin’s study useful?
Yes, helped formulate the cost-reward model in emergency situations. However was only carried out in one city making it ethnocentric.
What was the aim of Levine’s study?
To investigate how the ‘personality’ of a city might be related to helping behaviour in non-emergency situations.
What sample method did Levine use?
Opportunity sample
What research design did Levine use?
Quasi-experiment with independent measure design. Also, an example of cross-cultural research
How many countries did Levine use in his study?
23 countries with roughly 50 participants in each country.
Is Levine’s study a correlational study?
Yes, uses co-variables
Name the four co-variables in Levine’s study.
Population size
Economic indicator
Cultural values
Pace of life
What country was the most helpful?
Levine
Brazil (z-score of 1.66)
What country was the least helpful?
Levine
Malaysia (z-score of -2.04)
What is the z-score?
Levine
A standardised helping score give to each country.
What correlation was found between economic productivity and overall helping?
Levine
Negative correlation
What correlation was found between walking speed and overall helping?
Levine
Small positive correlation
Where does Levine’s study fall on the nature/nurture debate?
Nurture, impacted by the country participants grew up in.
Where does Levine’s study fall on the free will/determinism debate?
Both, can choose to help or not but its also determined by the country participants grew up in
Where does Levine’s study fall on the situational/individual debate?
Situational, the countries participants grew up in impacted their probability to help
What ethical issues did Levine run into?
No informed consent given and small possibility of psychological harm.
Is Levine’s study scientific?
Is scientific
Is Levine’s study useful?
Is useful, shows how altruism changes across countries and cultures
