the social area Flashcards
milgram-piliavin = bocchiaro-levine
background of milgram study
ww2- germans must have a basic defect that allowed them to blindly obey their authority figures
aim of milgrams study
investigate the process of obedience by testing how far ordinary americans would go in obeying an authority figure
method of milgrams study
1.participants greeted by experimenter+mr wallace
2.playing memory game where mr wallace always learner+participant teacher
3.match words by memory-every one got wrong mr wallace electric shock of 15V inc by 15V every time- participant given test shock of 15V and learner taken to diff room
4.at 300v learner bangs on wall to show hes distressed
5. at 315v learner stops answering,told to treat as wrong answer
6.experiment ends once teacher reaches 450V or refuses to continue
design of milgrams study
controlled observation-
not lab experiment as lacks independant variable
control variables include the test shock
findings of milgrams study
quantitative:65% went to 450V, 0%stopped before 300V, 14 had nervous laughter, 3 had full blown seizures
qualitative:observed to ‘sweat,tremble,stutter,bite their lips, groan and dig their fingernails into their skin’, “well its not fair to shock the guy”,”im sorry, i cant do that to a man, ill hurt his heart”
milgrams sample
40 new haven working men aged 20-50
self-selected
conclusions of milgrams study
the situation produced strong tendencies to obey
the situation caused emotional strain and tension on the participants
overall,germans arent different
what reasons were given for why milgram found high levels of obedience
conducted in yale-with good rep
had volunteered so felt obliged to continue
were paid so felt obliged
evaluation of milgrams study
strengths-replicable, controlled experiment, had debrief,no demand characteristics
weaknesses: only 40 men from one area, unethical, lacks ecological validity
how does milgrams study relate to the social area
testing how authority figures can influence our behaviour and our obedience to authority
situation=lab experiment and experimenter presence make it feel more real and formal
background to piliavin study
kitty genovese murder-38 citizens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman on 3 seperate occasions in kew gardens. police only called once after she had died.
Darley and latane- intercom discussion about problems, one had elipeptic seizure and tested how long it took for people respond. found the presence of others inhibits helping behaviours
what is the social area
understanding how human behaviour is influenced by the social context which is occurs
4 aims of piliavins study
- would an ill victim get more help than a drunk one?
2.would people help others of the same race before those of different race? - if a model person started helping the victim, would that encourage others to help?
4.would the number of bystanders who saw the victim influence how much help was given?
bystander apathy
when people fail to act and help someone in need when others are present
diffusion of responsibility
when there is a victim and lots of bystanders, each individual takes less responsibility so no one helps.
altruism
the unselfish concern for others and doing things out of a desire to help and concern for their wellbeing
what type of experiment was piliavins study
field experiment
on a train so natural setting not controlled
variables in piliavins study
independant:
victim conditions: drunk or ill,black or white
model conditions: intervened early or late, intervened from critical or adjacent area
dependant:
2 observers recorded the race,sex and location of every passenger in the critical and adjascent areas, and the latency of the first helpers response and total helpers
sample in piliavin
passengers on 8th avenue train to NY
overall 4,450 participants studied over 3 months and 103 trails. on average 43 people in each carriage
opportunity sampling
procedure in piliavin study
took place on weekdays from 11-3 over 3 months
1.70s into the journey a student would collapse in the ‘critical area’
2. participants reactions would be convertly observed by 2 observers
3.on some trials the victim would use a cane to appear ill, or a brown paper bag smelling of alcohol to appear drunk
piliavins findings
quantitative:90% of first helpers were male,participants helped in 62/65 ill trials and 19/38 drunk trials, median of 5s for ill victims to get help and 109s for drunk victims, victims were helped faster when 7+ passengers on train, model had no effect on level of helping
qualitative: “its for men to help him” “i wish i could help-im not strong enough” “you feel so bad that you dont know what to do”
conclusions of piliavins study
the state of the victim affects how likely people are to help
males are more likely to help than females
there was no diffusion of responsibility
explanation of piliavins findings
passengers were trapped on the train so couldnt leave the situation
it was less effort for passengers to help as they were waiting there anyway
the problem of the victim was clear unlike with kitty genovese
model of response: when faced with a situation creating a sense of arousal we want to either leave or help depending on the costs and rewards of either option
evaluation of piliavins study
strengths:confidentiality,no observer effect, high ecolocial validity,no experimenter bias, large sample, opportunity sampling, results were conclusive
weaknesses: no debrief, no consent, deception, no right to withdraw, no protection from harm, participants may get train more than once so change their behavipur to situation