Social Psychology in Sec A

Question 1

What is the assumption, focus, the theme and the studies of social psychology?

Answer 1

Assumption: behaviour occurs in a social context, so studies how others and social situations influence our behaviour

Focus: social norms, imitation of behavior, group pressure

Theme: responses to people in authority

• classic study: Milgram 1963
• contemporary: Bocchiaro et al 2012

Question 2

Describe the aim in Milgrams study.

Answer 2

• to investigate what level of obedience pp’s show when told by authorities figure to give shocks to another person.

Question 3

Describe the sample in Milgrams Study.

Answer 3

• 40 males (20-50yrs) all from new haven, Connecticut, USA
• recruited through newspaper adverts + direct mail (so volunteer / self selected sampling)
• were paid $4.50 just for turning up

Question 4

Describe the method and design of Milgrams study.

Answer 4

• carried out in a lab using observation to collect data
• no IV, so classed as a controlled observation
• obedience measures in terms of voltage administered by pp
• pp reactions measured by observation and interview post study
• sessions filmed and photos taken
• DV was obedience, measured quantitatively
• pp’s only classed as obedient of went all the way to 450V on shock generator

Question 5

Describe the apparatus and setting in Milgrams study.

Answer 5

• tape recording of responses was used and played according to which switch was pressed
• all pp’s had same responses in order from the ‘learner’
• two males also took part: ‘experimenter’ (30yr old stern biology teacher wearing grey lab coat), ‘learner’ (47yr old accountant who was acting and appeared mild mannered and like able)
• used two rooms at Yale Uni, one contained fake electric shock machine, other had chair with retaining strains where learner would ‘receive’ shocks

Question 6

Describe the procedure in Milgrams study.

Answer 6

• names drawn from a hat to ‘decide’ which (out of naieve pp and confederate) would be learner and teacher
• this was rigged so that naieve pp was always teacher and confederate / actor was always learner
• both taken to room where learner was strapped into chair and attached to electrodes, pp’s given 45V shock to be demonstrated shock and told they could be painful but not dangerous
• task: pp’s read out word pairs to test ‘learner’ and each time learner made a mistake, experimenter ordered pp to give shock, increasing by 15V each time
• teacher did not know learner was not really being shocked as they were played tape recordings of learners ‘responses’
• at 300V ‘learner’ (tape recorder) pounded on wall and pleaded to stop, then went silent (indicating unconscious / even dead)
• if teacher did not want to continue, given a series of verbal prods and urged to continue
• debriefed and interviewed pp’s after experiment finished
• told real purpose of study was to test obedience and that learner was not hurt or given shocks

Question 7

Describe the results of Milgrams study.

Answer 7

quantitative data (level of shock they gave):

• all obeyed to 300V
• 65% to 450V (only ‘obedient’ ones)
• 5 refused after 300V, 4 at 315V, 2 at 330V, one each at 345, 560 and 375V.

Qualitative data (behavioral responses during and post experiment):
- many showed signs of nervousness and tension e.g. Sweating, trembling, stuttering, biting lips, or nervous laughter fits, one uncontrollable seizure

Question 8

Describe the conclusions of Milgrams study.

Answer 8

• pps surprisingly obedient to orders given by people in authority
• yet pps did become distressed when obeying orders to hurt another person (destructive orders)
• estimated only 3% would continue to end - completely wrong
• authority figure, legitimacy of setting, worth purpose, paid volunteers, told there was no permanent damage and verbal prods all could explain high levels of obedience.

Question 9

Evaluate the research method in Milgrams study.

Answer 9

• lab procedure - took place in high controlled environment so can eliminate many extraneous variables
• easy to replicate so reliable
• weaknesses of lab studies: realism of environment and pp’s tasks
• difficult to have lab procedures where people behave as they would in real life (generally low ecological validity)

Question 10

Evaluate the data in Milgrams study.

Answer 10

• strength was recording both quantitative and qualitative data, as had strengths of both types of data - helps draw correct conclusions

Question 11

Evaluate the Reliability of Milgrams study.

Answer 11

• procedures are reliable if can be replicated and get same results
• lab experiments generally easy to replicate
• debate over reliability of some of Milgrams variations, but results of basic procedure have proved to be v consistent
• so, Milgrams procedure has good reliability.

Question 12

Evaluate the ethical considerations in Milgram’s study.

Answer 12

• a number of ethical issues: e.g. Causing pps considerable distress, maybe even putting health at risk, (e.g. One suffering such a severe seizure that procedure had to be stopped)
• did not obtain informed consent as pps agreed to take part in a learning experiment, not a study of obedience
• pps deceived about purpose of study, nature of confederate, reality of the ‘shocks’ + apparent suffering of learner
• so pps effectively denied their right to withdraw by use of verbal prods, although still could have withdrawn, felt they couldn’t
• Milgram’s application for membership of American Psychological Association was suspended while he was investigated over these ethical issues, but he justified procedure and was found to have acted properly
• arguments in his favour were facts that: 1) deceiving is sometimes allowed providing it is essential for design + pps are fully debriefed at earliest opportunity (and they were) 2) although distressed for a short time, vast majority of pps said they were glad to have taken part at learnt something useful. 3) study was an important one, especially given historical period + for understanding holocaust

Question 13

Evaluate the validity in Milgram’s Study.

Answer 13

• realism of lab studies can be a potential weakness
• Milgram’s procedure took place in artificial environment, task was also artificial (do not find ourselves operating electric shock machines everyday)
• so can be argued study is low in ecological validity
• however: had a respectable situation, and experimenter was in a position of legitimate authority in that environment, pps told experiment was for advancement of science - a noble aim, and electric shocks were increased by small amounts (15V), so each decision to obey was only a slight move from one before.

Question 14

Evaluate the sampling bias in Milgram’s Study.

Answer 14

• fact that sample was all male + all from same area makes it hard to generalise results to whole pop
• however, intention was to replicate study in different pops, so this is not a serious weakness
• volunteer sampling method (aka self-selection) = more of a problem
• self-selection is most unrepresentative of all methods, as most people don’t volunteer for anything, so volunteers aren’t typical people.

Question 15

Evaluate the practical applications in Milgram’s Study.

Answer 15

• a strength of Milgram’s research
• study (understanding circumstances in which people obey destructive orders) has proved useful in understanding atrocities
• understanding obedience has also had more surprising benefits e.g. In Tarrow (2000) - analysing of plane crash records and finding that 25% of cases were a direct cause of pilots obeying orders from grounds

Question 16

Describe the aim in Bocchiaro et Al.

Answer 16

• to investigate rates of obedience, disobedience, and whistle blowing in a situation where no physical violence was involved but was clear instructions were ethically wrong.
• also to investigate accuracy of people’s estimated of obedience, disobedience and whistle blowing in this situation, as well as to investigate role of dispositional factors in obedience, disobedience and whistle blowing

Question 17

Describe what happened before the study started in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 17

• other uni students surveyed to gather info about estimated responses
• predicted that pps would underestimate tendency for compliance with unethical instructions
• pps assessed for dispositional characteristics, including personality and social values
• main study held in lab conditions
• each pp paid €7 or given course credits
• all arrived alone and met by stern experimenter who informed them they were carrying out research in sensory deprivation.

Question 18

Describe the design and procedure in terms of the cover story in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 18

• pps told that in the last study, all pps had panicked and some asked for procedure to be stopped (this untrue)
• told they aimed to carry out a similar study but were waiting for ethical approval from the Uni

Question 19

Describe the design and procedure in terms of the participants instructions in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 19

• were instructed to write a statement to convince other students to take part in sensory deprivation procedure
• told they had to use at least two words from a choice of ‘exciting / incredible / great / superb’ and not to mention negative effects of sensory deprivation
• then left alone in room with a computer to write statement, a mailbox and ethics committee forms (as if a pp believed study was unethical they could complete a form and put in mailbox)
• obedience / disobedience was assessed by whether they completed and ethics form and mailed it or not.
• after 7 mins, experiments returned and led pp back to first room where they were given a set of dispositional measures.

Question 20

Describe the dispositional measures used in the design and procedure of Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 20

The HEXACO-PI-R personality test:
- measures six personality traits; honesty, humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness (niceness) and conscientiousness and openness to experience.

The decomposed games measure of social values:
- extent to which personal values are oriented towards benefit for all or just for the self

Religiosity:
- assessed by asking pps about their religion, frequency of worship, and extent of faith

Question 21

Describe the design and procedure in terms of the participant sample in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 21

Experimental group:

• 149 undergraduates at VU uni in Amsterdam
• 149 = 96 women, 53 men of mean age of 20.8
• recruited by flyers at uni cafe.

Comparison group:

• 138 students from VU uni
• provided with detailed description of experimental setting
• asked “what would you do?” And “what would average student at your uni do?”

8 pilot test groups:

• 92 students from VU Uni
• used to ensure procedure was credible and morally acceptable
• also served to standardise the experimenter - authority behaviour throughout
• found that from pps perspective, procedure was both believable and ethical

Question 22

Describe the design and procedure in terms of what happened after the experiment in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 22

• pps debriefed with emphasis on why that had been deceived in course of study
• gave written consent for data to be used
• whole procedure took roughly 40 mins
• 138 pps separately asked to estimate likely obedience levels in this situation
• provided with detailed description of procedure and asked “what would you do?” And “what would average student at your uni do?”

Question 23

Describe the results in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 23

Experimental group (actual behaviour):

• 76.5% obeyed experimenter (114)
• 14.1% disobeyed (21)
• 9.4% blew whistle (9)
• among 9 whistle blowers, 6% wrote a message

Comparison group (estimates of own behaviour):

• only 3.6% indicated they would obey experimenter
• most beloved they’d be disobedient (31.9%) or whistle blowers (64.5%)

Predictions of behaviour of other typical students:

• only 18.8% thought average student at VU uni would obey
• believed most other students would disobey (43.9%) or whistle blow (37.3%)

Question 24

Describe the results of the dispositional measures used in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 24

Personality test:
- results for individual diffs in personality among three groups showed no significant diffs in any of six personality factors

Social values orientation:
- showed that ‘prosocial’ and ‘individualistic’ pps were not unequally distributed among three groups

Religiosity:

• no significant diffs in any of groups in relation to gender, religions or frequency of worship
• however a significant diff found in faith, those expressing strong religious faith were slightly more likely to whistle blow.

Question 25

Describe the conclusions found in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 25

• people v obedient + whistle blowing is uncommon
• people overestimate likelihood of obedience
• individuals behave in diff ways than expected when find themselves in circumstances that are unfamiliar and extreme
• tend to see ourselves as ‘special’ and rate ourselves as less likely to follow destructive orders
• little to no evidence that dispositional factors affect obedience or whistle blowing

Question 26

Evaluate the research method in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 26

• study was a lab procedure
• referred to as an ‘experimental study’ although only had one condition
• highly controlled environment so possible to eliminate many extraneous variables and be confident its IV affecting DV.
• lab procedures easy to replicate so reliable, potential weakness is with realism of environment and pps tasks
• here, procedure was lifelike as situation being investigated was a psychologist carrying out a study and that’s what happened, so nothing artificial about procedure.

Question 27

Evaluate the data in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 27

• data gathered was quantitative, in form of percentages of pps displaying obedience, disobedience and whistle blowing behaviour
• this is a strength as researchers interested in making comparisons between rates of disobedience and whistle blowing, and comparing these two estimates, requiring use of quantitative data.

Question 28

Evaluate the ethical considerations.

Answer 28

• is a behavioural study of obedience so may have raised some of same ethical issues as Milgram, however researchers clever in designing study to minimise these problems
• situation relatively low in stress as pps not ordered to inflict direct harm / pain as were in Milgram
• also left alone when deciding whether or not to obey so not ‘prodded’ or felt under pressure to oblige
• v diff to being told ‘experiment requires you to continue’ / having to refuse to obey an experimenter face-to-face
• extensive piloting carried out to establish pps had an opportunity to withdraw data if not satisfied with ethical conduct of study
• design of study necessarily involved deceit, an ethical issue, however can be acceptable in research if pps are informed of true nature of study asap and they are happy once aware, and good as these conditions were met

Question 29

Evaluate the validity of Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 29

• all lab studies set out to represent a real-life situation, with varying degrees of success
• this unusual for a lab procedure as real life situation it set out to represent was taking part in lab study!
• so in spite of artificial surroundings, and unusual task, ecological validity actually v good.

Question 30

Evaluate the reliability of Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 30

• reliability = consistency
• lab procedures generally easy to replicate, and so also have internal reliability if can be sure all pps have similar experience
• in this study, conditions all standardised, so had good internal reliability.

Question 31

Evaluate the sampling bias in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 31

• sample in main study made up of 149 undergrads from a Ducth Uni
• large sample size for a lab study = strength as reduces probability that results affected by extraneous pp variables
• however, sample characteristics and method not so good
• volunteer sampling = good for ethics but unlikely to lead to a representative sample as most do not volunteer
• population sample is drawn from may be unrepresentative of general pop, and may not generalise to other age groups and cultures

Question 32

Evaluate the ethnocentrism in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 32

• although researchers looked at sample from a single pop, they assessed religious affiliation as a variable that may affect obedience
• religion strongly associated with culture and no religious diffs found in this study for e.g. In behaviour between Christian and Muslim pps
• so some account taken of culture, though limited, so study can still be said to be to some extent ethnocentric.

Question 33

Evaluate the practical applications in Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 33

• whistle blowing under research, and is of great interest to people in many fields.
• has been considerable publicity about whistle blowing over poor quality care provided in health service.

Question 34

Describe the similarities between Milgram and Bocchiaro et al.

Answer 34

• both investigated obedience to direct orders to allow harm to others
• both lab procedures with a single condition
• both samples recruited using an advert (volunteer / self-selecting)
• both collected quantitative data in form of obedience rates
• both ethnocentric for pps
• both involved deception

Question 35

Describe the differences between Milgram and Bocchiaro.

Answer 35

• M= ethically controversial study but In B researchers used elaborate ethical safeguards
• M= all male sample but B = mixed sex
• M’s additional measures were quantitative and qualitative but B’s were quantitative
• M had authorities figure present, but in B pps left alone to decide whether or not to obey for 7 mins
• M’s small sample size is less accurate than B’s large, more reliable one as individual diffs cause less of a problem.