Psychology - Social Area + Core Studies - OCR

Social psychologists state behaviour is influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of others.

Social psychologists assumes that the differences between people, and not just the factors that people share in common, have an important influence on our behaviour

Behaviour occurs in a social context - situational factors influence our behaviour rather than personality.

Our behaviour and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences

To understand why students obey orders off teachers

To understand if Nazis were fundamentally different to normal people

To understand if an experiment is conducted in a prestigious setting, such as a university, that the likelihood of obeying an authority figure will increase.

To investigate what level of obedience would be shown when participants were told by a figure of authority to administer electric shocks to another person.

To see whether a prestigious setting alters the participants obey rate when testing and then punishing another person by electric shocks and then isolation

To determine if an authority figure can persuade the participants to attempt to kill another person

40 male volunteers from New Haven, ages 20-50

25 males and 15 female volunteers from New York, ages 18-34

18 males and 6 female volunteers from Florida, ages 38-56

Memory test with numbers

Memory test with words

Word pairing task

Associating pictures with numbers

20 volt increase

15 volt increase

5 volt increase

50 volt increase

The learners task was complete

The experiment got to 15 minutes

The participant was in too much distress

The participant reached 400 volts 2x in a row

The participant reached 500 volts 3x in a row

The participant reached 450 volts 3x in a row

Please continue / go on

Don't be weak

The learner is in no pain, theres nothing to be worried about

You have no other choice, you must go on

We wont let you leave until the experiment is over

The experiment requires that you continue

Although the shocks may be painful, they are not harmful

All 40 of them

None of them

22

38

27

65%

48%

100%

29%

9%

84%

No informed consent on the actual task

No debrief

Failure of protection

They were prompted to not withdraw

No confidentiality

To investigate why Kitty Genoveses death went unreported as a result of diffusion of responsibility, by conducting a field experiment in New York subway.

Conduct a field experiment to investigate the effect of several different variables on who responded to help, the speed of responding and the likelihood of responding

To investigate whether individuals from New York are less likely to help in a social situation

The experiment took place on one 7.5 minute journey between two stations on the New York Subway. In total there were 6 researchers of different ages who would come into the train and pretend to be nearby passengers who actually observed and took notes. The female researchers sat by the victim and by the pole of the train whilst the males were scattered around the carriage.

The emergencies were staged in the short 7.5 minute journey between two stations on the New York subway. On each trial 4 researchers ( 2 males and 2 females) entered the train. Each time the female researchers took seats and kept notes while the male 'victim' and male model ( potential helper stood near a pole in the centre of the train.

Male, 3 white and 1 black, aged between 26 and 35 years. In 38 trials the victim smelled of alcohol and carried alcohol in a brown bag; In 65 trials he appeared sober and carried a cane.

2 Females and 2 males, 2 white and 2 black. Ages between 21 - 38, in 40 trials the victim smelled of alcohol and carried alcohol in a brown bag; in 63 trials they appeared sober but with an injured leg and a cane.

Drunk vs Ill

Male vs Female

Model vs late model

Critical area vs adjacent area

Carriage full vs emptyish

Black vs White

Time taken for first person to help

Time taken for last person to help

Age and ethnicity of 1st helper

The duration of the train journey

Gender of 1st helper

Any comments

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim (70 seconds after collapse)

The model stood further away and waited until after the sixth station before helping

The model stood a little further away and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the sixth station before helping the victim (150 seconds after collapse)

The model stood a little further away and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the sixth station before helping the victim (150 seconds after collapse)

The model stood further away and waited until after the sixth station before helping

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim (70 seconds after collapse)

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the sixth station before helping the victim (150 seconds after collapse)

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim 970 seconds after collapse)

The model stood a little further away and waited until after the sixth station before helping

The model stood a little further away and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim.

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the sixth station before helping the victim (150 seconds after collapse)

The model stood further away and waited until after the sixth station before helping

The model stood in the critical area and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim (70 seconds after collapsed)

The model stood a little further away and waited until after the train passed the 4th station and then helped the victim.

4,500 participants in 3 months

5,000 participants in 4month

2,200 participants in 2 and a half months

1,800 participants in 1 months

Cane = 100% + Drunk = 79%

Cane = 92% + Drunk = 70%

Cane = 100% + Drunk = 100%

Cane = 100% + Drunk = 77%

Cane = 84% + Drunk = 80%

Cane = 100% + Drunk = 100%

Cane = 70% + Drunk = 68%

Cane = 78% + Drunk = 83%

Cane = 100% + Drunk = 73%

There was a difference between the help given to the white and black victims

There was no difference between the help given to the white and black victims

New Yorkers are less likely to help than most other countries

A diffusion of responsibility was found

A diffusion of responsibility was not found

There was a slight in group effect (black drunk was more likely to be helped by another black)

The fuller the carriage the more likely to help

The ill person was helped every time

There is a significant difference between the likelihood of helping a female victim compared to a male

To investigate whether different cities are kinder than others, relating to individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

To determine if a city's tendency to offer non - emergency help to strangers is stable across situations over a wide range of cultures

To determine whether people who drop certain items in different countries are more disliked in some cultures compared to others

Accidentally dropping a pen

Accidentally dropping an ornament

Being drunk

Accidentally dropping books - with leg brace / limp

Accidentally dropping magazines - with leg brace / limp

Dressed as a blind person

Seeming lost

Population size

Gender ratio

Economic indicator

Indiviualism - collectivism

Downtown walking speed

The more collectivistic a city is, the more likely help would be offered. Also the less economically rich a city is too also affects the helping rate by also increasing it.

The helping rate is characteristic of a place. slower cities are more helpful. Collectivism and individualism of a culture is not related to helping behaviours

Economic indicator

Gender ratio

Individualism - Collectivism

Downtown walking speed

To investigate whether whistleblowing is a result of biological factors and childhood experiences

To investigate rates of obedience, disobedience and whistleblowing in a situation where instructions were clearly ethically wrong

To determine whether social situations that were ethically and morally wrong would encourage an individual to alter their behaviour to commit ethically wrong deeds as a result

Lab experiment

Lab experiment with no IV

Field experiment

Field experiment with no IV

Opportunity sample

Random sample

Volunteer sample

149 undergraduate students

103 college students

Students given cover story about recent experiment investigating sensory deprivation on brain function- conducted on 6 participants in Rome, spent time completely isolated, unable to see or hear anything, with extreme panic and had to be stopped. The students were told experimenters want to conduct similar study but awaiting ethical approval, they were told to write a statement to convince other students to participate in the experiment. If a participant believed the proposed research was unethical he/she could anonymously challenge it by putting a form in the mail.

Students were approached and asked to help conduct a study in which they isolated 12 students at another university that eventually led to it being stopped completely due to the ethical issues and the distress caused to the students. The isolation method measured the lack of social interaction on an individual and its effects. The students in this study were tested to see whether they'd assist or volunteer themselves to become a researcher/ experimenter for this unethical study

Estimated = 64.5% Actual = 9.4%

Estimated = 80.1% Actual = 33%

Estimated = 31.9% Actual = 9.4%

If tempted, individuals are likely to conduct or assist ethically or morally questionable acts of behaviour as long as they can see it will benefit them

This study highlights the lengths individuals would go to, to obey authority figure, this is because they were socialised to do so. 65% of the participants completely obeyed despite their hesitant and understanding it was morally wrong

People overestimate the tendency to whistle-blow and underestimate likelihood of obedience

Results support previous research that participants tend to see themselves as special and rate themselves favourably