The Social Area Flashcards
What core studies are in the social area?
- Milgram
- Piliavin
- Bocchiaro
- Levine
What are the strengths of the social area?
Practical application
High ecological validity
What are the weaknesses of the social area?
Difficult to be ethical
Not true for all times/place
Ethnocentric
What is a defining principle of the social area?
The main influence on our behaviour is other people (immediately present or whose presence is applied or believed)
What are some concepts of the social area?
Conformity
Diffusion of responsibility
The bystander effect
Responses to authority
Responses to people in need
The arousal-cost reward model
What are some applications of the social area?
Using CCTV to deter crime (as people act differently when they know they are being watched
Managers/teachers wear formal clothing and act sternly to get obedience from others
Companies to have an app or website to allow employees to blow the whistle on unethical practices anonymously
How does Milgram relate the social area?
Shows that other people (authority figures) have a large influence on behaviour
Majority went to 450v when instructed by the experimenter
How does Piliavin relate to the social area?
Level of help depends on the appearance of the victim (whether they appeared to be ill or drunk)
Also investigated diffusion of responsibility (whether having more people present influences helping)
How does Bocchiaro relate to the social area?
Showed that people still obey authority figures even when it would be easier to disobey/blow the whistle
Most recommended the unethical research and did not report it
How does Levine relate to the social area?
Suggests that culture affects the level of help given
Countries with higher PPP were less helpful
Simpatia cultures were more helpful
