Social Psychology #3

Question 1

Milgram (1963) Study of OBEDIENCE

Answer 1

40 employed males between 25-50 YO
Paid $4.50 for participating

Procedure:
Were told that they must ask the student questions, if they get it wrong, they get shocked. The more they get wrong, the higher the shock. Experimenter was present, and if the subject refused, the experimenter would encourage and say “you need to complete the experiment”.
Experimenters wanted to see how obedience to authority and personal conscience worked with the subjects

Predicted outcome:

• Psychology majors said the Max. shock intensity would only be used by 1.2% of subjects
• Psychiatrists said that it would be used by 0.1% of participants

Obedience may have been b/c:

• The uni setting, worthiness of the study and authority of the experimenter
• Feeling of commitment and obligation to the study
• Subject’s inability to check the ambiguity of the situation with others
• Ingrained habit of obedience

65% (two-thirds) of participants (i.e. teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volts. All the participants continued to 300 volts.

Variations:

• If a subject only had to enable another person to administer the shock (i.e. was an intermediary bystander) –> 37/40 (93%)
• If a subject had to put the learner’s hand directly on the shock, obedience dropped to 30%
• If the teacher was supported by a disobedient peer, obedience dropped to 10%

Question 2

Replications of Milgram Study

Answer 2

• Similar rats of obedience in Europe, Jordan, South Africa and Australia
• Similar rates between men, women and children

Burger (2008) - 70% of volunteers willing to give shocks greater than 150 Volts

Question 3

Prosocial Behaviour

Answer 3

Acting to benefit others.

Question 4

Altruism

Answer 4

Is an alternative term for such behaviours (to benefit others), and sometimes used only to refer to behaviours that carry a cost to the individual

Question 5

Why has altruism evolved?

Kin Selection Hypothesis

Answer 5

Altruistic behaviour evolved because it promoted the survival of our kin

Question 6

Reciprocal altruism

Answer 6

People perform altruistic behaviour because they expect the favour to be returned. Thus, creates social obligations and bonds

Question 7

Indirect Reciprocity

Answer 7

People who act according to the reciprocity principle gain a good reputation and become more accepted in the social network, and have more of a chance of successfully rearing offspring

Question 8

Emotions and Altruism:

Answer 8

Evolved characteristics are often maintained by an emotional component: in the case of altruism we “feel” like putting ourselves out for others

• Sympathy
• Trust
• Gratitude
• Shame and Guilt
• Fairness
• Indignation

Question 9

Bystander intervention

Answer 9

Primarily studied in context in which people help (or don’t help) a stranger
March 1964 Kitty Genovese - Raped and attacked, she screamed and nobody helped her, but 30 people heard her scream, she was killed
NZ Case - Kylie Jones, 23 YO Aucklander was raped and murdered, many heard her over their TV sets, but nobody went to aid her

Question 10

Bystander intervention

Latane and Darely

Answer 10

Proposed situational model: that helping occurs or doesn’t occur primarily because of the characteristics of the situation, not the personal characteristics of the individuals involved

Question 11

Diffusion of Responsibility

Answer 11

The core of the bystander effect - The more people present, the less likely it is an individual will help. People knew others are witnessing event (mindset that: why should i do anything? - someone else will)

e.g. Amato Study 1983 - 55 Australian cities found that helping was inversely relation to population size

Question 12

Opposite to ‘Diffusion of Responsibility’

Answer 12

Helps to make people feel personally responsible
CASE: Moriarty (1975)
A cafe or beach, someone came along and stole a handbag/radio.
Experimenter set up two different scenarios
1. Women whose suitcase/radio was about to be stolen asked the person next to them to keep an eye on her possession while they went to the bathroom
2. Women went to someone across from her and asked what the time was, then left her suitcase/radio

First Scenario - Everyone of the people she asked to look after her suitcase/radio intervened and stopped the thief
Second scenario - not many people responded because they didn’t feel personally responsible

Question 13

Personal responsibility

Answer 13

Leads to helping because it breaks the diffusion of responsibility effect
Helping is consistent with the person’s social role
e.g. medically trained people, leaders

Question 14

Factors that affect the Bystander effect

Informational Social Influence:

Answer 14

Others lack of concern provides model for own behaviour

Question 15

Factors that affect the Bystander effect

Normative Social Influence:

Answer 15

Fear of making a social blunder by ‘overreacting’

Question 16

Physical Danger

Answer 16

Fear of getting hurt may inhibit helping. e.g. mentioned by bystanders of Kitty Genovese case

Question 17

Ambiguity

Answer 17

In many situations, the information is ambiguous.

e. g. Shotland and Shaw (1976)
- Staged fights at uni campus > Man and women fighting
- Scenario where they were obviously married and were strangers
- People were more likely to intervene in a fight between camels and female strangers than a married couple
- Women in stranger situation perceived to want help more
- If relationship between two unknown, assumed to be intimately involved

Question 18

Darley and Baston (1973) Study -

TIME

Answer 18

Study of seminary students who were about to give a talk on the Good Samaritan – the only factor that influenced whether they helped or not was whether or not they were in a hurry