Social Psychology

Why did Milgram want to investigate obedience of authority?

- Milgram conducted an experiment focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience
- Examined justifications for acts of genocide - holocaust
- Wanted to investigate if humans are particularly obedient to authority figures - explanation of the Nazi's

What was the aim of Milgram's Study?

Aim: to investigate if normal people would obey a person in authority, leading to the potential harm of others

Who were the participants in Milgram’s study?

- 40 males between the ages of 20-50
- Jobs ranged from unskilled to professional
- From the New Haven are (New York, American study)
- Paid participate ($4.50)

How were the participants selected in Milgram's study? (sample method)

His sample method was through advertising in a newspaper for male participants (volunteer sample)

What was the procedure of Milgram’s experiment?

- They drew straws to determine the roles despite it being fixed, the actor was always the learner
- They were placed in separate rooms so the teacher could not see the learner
- The learner was an actor who faked experiencing the shocks to make it more believable to the actual participants
- The teacher tested the learner by naming a word and asking the learner to recall its pair from a list of choices
- When incorrect answers where given the teacher (participant) would have to give them a shock
- The shocks went up in 15 volts each time an incorrect answer was given becoming increasingly painful
- The shocks went up to 450v and the teachers were given verbal prompts by the experimenter to motivate them to continue the experiment

What were the verbal prompts used by Milgram?

- Please continue
- The experiment requires that you continue
- You must go on

What were the results that Milgram found?

- 65% of participants went up to 450v
- 100% of participants went up to 300v

What is obedience?

Compliance with an order or request to another's authority

Who are the BPS and what do they do?

- They are a regulatory body 

- Ensure psychologists are qualified and have the right experience and skills

- Pay you to conduct certain research and it could get published

- They have certain guidelines and consequence if you don’t stick to these (prison, registration removed) that oversees psychological practices in the UK.

BPS - Respect

A principle emphasizing the importance of valuing the dignity and rights of individuals in psychological research and practice. During research, the participant should be treated fairly regardless of any characteristic.

BPS - Competence

A principle that requires psychologists to maintain high standards of professional knowledge and skills, ensuring that they are adequately trained and qualified to conduct research and provide services.

BPS - Responsibility

A principle that emphasizes the importance of psychologists being accountable for their actions, ensuring the welfare of participants and the public, and considering the potential impact of their research and practice.

BPS - Integrity

A principle that emphasises honesty, transparency and ethical conduct in all aspects of psychological research and practice, ensuring that psychologists uphold trust and credibility.

What are ethical guidelines?

Dictate that which deemed acceptable in human behaviour in pursuit of certain goals or aims

Tells you what you can and can't do with participants.

What is consent?

Participants must give their consent to take part in research and they must be informed of the consent. They must be given information to base a decision to participate or not. Participants should be told what they are letting themselves in for. Giving their fully informed consent.

When is it not possible to adhere to consent?

• It may reveal the aim of the study which could affect the results

• Participants could change the way they behave

• We cannot ask children under the age of 18 to consent to take part in research (so we ask parents)

What should researchers do if they have to break consent?

• Presumptive consent: take a sample from the population and introduce them to the research design, if they agree they would give their consent

• Prior general consent: let the participants know that they may be deceived. Those who agree that it is acceptable would them be used.

• Gatekeeper consent: receiving consent from somebody else on the participants behalf

What is deception?

Intentional deception of participants is not allowed and should be avoided when possible. unacceptable if it leads to discomfort anger or objections from the participants.

When is it not possible to adhere to deception?

• When it is integral to what is being investigate and it is impossible to conduct the study without it

• If people are told the aim of the study it could lead to DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS

• This means we are unlikely to get a true reflection of behaviour and so our result will not be accurate

• Screw-you effect: participants know the aim and will intentionally try and ruin it

What should researchers do if they have to break deception?

As soon as we are able to - usually at the end - we must debrief our participants and tell them the truth

What is confidentiality?

Members are required to treat all information regarding the Society confidential. This means no information regarding the society shall be release unless already in the public domain. Keeping personal information about the participants private, so they cannot be identified.

When is it not possible to adhere to confidentiality?

• Difficult when they want to publish their findings

• This is difficult to ensure as things like geographic local or demographic can lead to them be identified

What should researchers do if they have to break confidentiality?

• Use numbers to identify them instead of names

• Use false names or initials

What is debriefing?

This means all information about the research must be provided after the study. Any deception is disclosed, explained and justified, the aims must be given and they must be told how they contributed to them. Allows them to leave the same way they came to combat any negative experiences. Restores them back in their original state. Allows it to be a valuable learning experience.

When is it not possible to adhere to debriefing?

When it is a field experiment - done in the public with people who went on about their day

What is withdrawal?

Participants should be able to withdraw from the experiment at any time. This can be due to discomfort and they cannot be persuaded. This is even if they have been paid. They are also free to withdraw their data after the research is completed.

When is it not possible to adhere to withdrawal?

• In some occasions withdrawal may be difficult as some participants where paid so they may not feel as though they can withdraw as ty fear they might lose their money

• Some children with learning difficulties may not understand that they can withdraw and be too afraid to tell a teacher

• In the name of the research, if the research requires that people must stay within the study it is acceptable to break that guideline (Milgram)

What should researchers do if they have to break withdrawal?

• Debrief to check if the participant is okay with what has happened and tell them the truth

• Give them the needed information to make them feel okay about what had happened

• Researcher may apologise

What is Protection of Participants?

This means that the researchers have the responsibility to protected all participants harm and they must preserve their dignity and rights. They must not only protect them from physical harm (discomfort, pain, diminished health) but also psychological harm such as distress, embarrassment, guilt and lose of dignity.

When is it not possible to adhere to protection of participants?

never

What should researchers do if they have to break protection of participants?

Debriefed effectively to try and help them overcome and harm caused (psychological harm)

What is an aim?

The idea of what you want to test, the outline of the purpose of the study

When writing the aim out you must start with 'To investigate'

Never a question

With an aim you can for a hypothesis

What is a hypothesis?

It is a prediction or a testable statement

What are the different types of hypotheses we use in psychological research?

• Null hypothesis: this hypothesis mean that you will not find anything in our research, we always try to prove these wrong

• Experimental hypothesis: predicts that we will find something in our research, split in two types:

1. Directions (or one-tailed) - predicts a clear direction of results (e.g. this will happen) -----> when there has been previous research done it may be influenced to do this

2. Non-directional (or two-tailed) - predicts that something will be found but not sure what it is, there are two ways in which the study will go -----> when there has been no research done before

What is the IV?

Independent variable - the variable that has the affect or does the influencing (e.g. noise). The researcher needs to manipulate the variable, otherwise it is not 'independent'

What is the DV?

Dependant variable - the variable that is affected (e.g. performance on memory). It must be measurable for an experiment to be valid (e.g.  scores on a test)

What do we mean by ‘operationalise variables’?

The process of devising a way of measuring a variable

Make things measurable

• IV: find a way to manipulate

• DV: find a way to make in measurable

What are the two additional types of variable that can impact a study?

• Extraneous variables - makes it hard to accurately measure what you want to giving you false results, impacts DV (e.g. lack of sleep)

• Confounding variables - impact the study in a way that you cannot measure the effect of the IV on the DV, affects the IV and DV

What is internal validity?

Validity = accuracy

Aiming for good internal validity = accuracy of results

Poor internal validity = something other than the IV has affected the results

What happens within a study dictates the internal validity

What is an extraneous variable?

Makes it hard to accurately measure what you want to giving you false results, impacts DV (e.g. lack of sleep). Split in 2 categories:

1. Participant variables: These are characteristics about the participant themselves that affect the results of the study

2. Situational variable: These are factors in the environment or situation that can impact upon the results of a study

What are some participant variables?

• Age - the use of technology in a study means older people may struggle to use it. reaction times and memory naturally decline with age

• Eyesight- poor eyesight might mean people can’t see images, words or visual stimuli, causing them to have a bad performance

• Personality - introverted vs extroverted people can have different confidence levels whilst doing tasks

• Gender - males may be naturally better at some tasks compared to females such as physical performance. Men and women also have different hormones causing them to behave in certain ways.

What are some situational variables?

• Temp - Hot conditions may make people feel frustrated or agitated affecting behaviour. If it’s too cold, concentration may be affected.

• Setting - Some situations may make people uncomfortable making them nervous and struggle to concentrate. If the place is more natural their behaviour is more natural

• Time of day - it being too late or too early in the day may affect the way they behave

• Lighting - People need to be able to see any visual that they are presented with. If it is too dim they may struggle to see.

What is a cofounding variable?

Impact the study in a way that you cannot measure the effect of the IV on the DV, affects the IV and DV

Difficult to detect, difficult to control

Brings down validity

What are experimenter effects?

The way in which the experimenter behaves can impact upon the outcome  of the study

Favouring participants will inflate results and make it look like results that have been found when they have not

What is The Hawthorne Effect?

• Only occurs during observations

• Participants changes their behaviour when they realise they are being watched, they won't act in a natural way changing their behaviour affecting the results

• Reduces internal validity results

What is Demand Characteristics?

• Only occurs in the experiments

• Pp guess the aim of their study and change their behaviour, so we are unlikely to get a true reflection of behaviour and so our result will not be accurate

• Reduces internal validity of results

What is The Screw You Effect?

• This can happen in many different types of studies

• Participants know the aim and will intentionally try and ruin it

• Reduces internal validity of results

How do we increase internal validity of studies? And control these extraneous and cofounding variables?

• Standardised Procedure

• Single Blind Procedure

• Double Blind Procedure

• Counterbalancing

• Randomisation (of sample)

What is a standardised procedure?

This means making the experiment the same experience for everyone. Everyone is given standardised instructions which are instructions that remove the chances of the experimenter effect occurring because it removes the potential for the experimenter to give verbal or non-verbal cues. It ensures all the participants are treated in the same way so they all experience the research the same. So there will be no change in behaviour for anyone, the procedure is also very replicable.

What is a single blind procedure?

This is where the Pp's are unaware of the aim of the aim of the study so I cannot influence how they perform. However, the experimenter present knows what the aim is.

What is a double blind procedure?

To avoid the experimenter effect, the independent researchers who are unaware of the aim are chosen by the experimenter to conduct the study on their behalf. So neither the participant nor the researcher knows the aim of the study.

What is counterbalancing?

The group of participants where split in half with two conditions in one order and then reversing the order for the second group to complete. It is systematically varying the way each condition is presented to each group to ensure the order doesn’t impact the results.

What is randomisation (of sample)?

Is making the order in which the conditions are introduced to the participants are random. This means that the order of the conditions will not affect the results allowing there to be validity.

What is a lab experiment?

An experiment conducted in a lab where they are able to control the environment.

Features of a lab experiment

• They use an artificially created setting - Controlled setting - eliminates extraneous variables = Lab experiments have high internal validity

• They use a standardised procedure - Pp takes part in the study the same way = eliminated extraneous variables giving it high internal validity

• They allow for the use of technology and specialised equipment = the ethical principle of competence should be considered here as they should know how to use the equipment.

Describe the setting that Milgram used:

• He used a university setting making it seem very professional making it believable

• Two rooms one where the teacher sat and one where the learner sat

• A two way mirror so Milgram could observe the Pp's reactions

Describe the procedure that Milgram used:

All Pp's selected the roles. He showed them the place where the student was going to get shocked. He then had them ask them questions and shock them if they were incorrect. They were all given the same prompt. The shocks went up in 15v

Describe the equipment that Milgram used:

• Shock generator and electrodes

• Intercom  

What are the strengths of using a lab experiment?

• Researcher can precisely manipulate the IV and measure the DV - a high level of control means that the researchers directly control and change the IV to accurately then measure the DV

• Gives highest confidence in cause and effect - due to the amount of control and the ability to minimise extraneous variables, the research can be confident that the IV had CAUSED a change in the IV. This makes lab experiments very scientific.

• Don’t need to wait for natural events to occur - this means that lab experiments can be conducted quickly and efficiently, whenever the researcher requires. Lab experiments can be conducted at any time.

• Easily replicated - due to such tight control and standardised procedures, other researchers can reproduce the study. This can help to generate theory. This makes lab experiments very scientific.

What are the weaknesses of using a lab experiment?

• Poor ecological validity - this refers to the setting that a study is conducted in and is a type of EXTERNAL VALIDITY. We are limited in what we can understand about human behaviour if behaviour is tested in fake conditions.

• Tasks often lack mundane realism - this refers to the task that the participants do. These tasks are often not reflective of real-life tasks and so again, we are limited in what we can understand about how Pp would act in the real world. This is another type of EXTERNAL VALIDITY.

• Chance of demand characteristics increases - when Pp know that they are being studied, there is an increased chance of them getting the aim and then changing their behaviour. This means that the INTERNAL VALIDITY is lowered.

• Possibility of experimenter effects - as the experimenter is present, the chance of them having influence over Pp increases (whether this is deliberate or not). This means that the INTERNAL VALIDITY is lowered.

What is external validity?

The extent to which we can generalize results to the real world

• mundane realism

• ecological validity

• population validity

Where are field studies conducted?

A study that is conducted in a real world environment, naturally occurring environment. Researcher does not manipulate this.

How much control does the researcher have over the IV in a field experiment?

They can control who they are exposed to (e.g. the person they interact with) and what the circumstances of the interaction will be

How easy is it for the researcher to measure the DV in a field experiment?

It will be difficult due to the fact they cannot control the situational variables

You cannot discuss with the Pp’s so it is harder to collect accurate data

Who where the the Pp’s in Bickman (1974) study?

153 pedestrians who were on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, USA

What was the procedure in Bickman (1974) study?

The procedure was carried out in the form of a field experiment. The three experimenters each took turns dressing as a guard, milkman and then a civilian so the reactions would be to the uniform and not the individual. Each where given one of the following orders to the pedestrians:

• Picking up litter

• Giving a man a dime to pay for his parking meter

• To stand at the other side of the bus stop.

What did the researchers in Bickman’s study find?

People were 2-3 times as likely to follow orders given by the guard compared to the civilian. The number of participants who obeyed the guard was 89%

Who were the Pp’s in Hofling (1966) study?

22 real night nurses at a hospital in the United States

What was the procedure in Hofling (1966) study?

An unknown doctor (a confederate) called the hospital and ordered the nurses to administer a dangerously high dose of a fictional drug (astroten) to a patient. The dose was twice the maximum daily limit stated on the drug's label.

What did the Hofling find?

21/22 nurses obeyed the command of the doctor even though it would have been unauthorized.

What are the strengths of field studies in obedience research?

• Use of natural events - have to wait for an event to happen but its in the real world so better results

• Ecological validity - it resembles the real world

• Mundane realism - in a real world setting

• Real world application

• Demand characteristics - increase internal validity and give you better results

What are the weaknesses of field studies in obedience research?

• Manipulation the IV and Measurement of the  DV - can't measure properly or control the environment

• Ethical guidelines broken

• Cause and effect - cant establish cause and effect due to extraneous variables

• Replicability - cant have the same Pp's so different results

What technique do you use for an evaluating research?

• G - generalisability

• R - reliability

• A - application

• V - validity

• E - ethics

What is generalisability?

• This considers whether the study's sample is truly representative of the target population

• The sample is the participants who were used in the study

• If a sample used in a study does not represent the wider population. The study has poor population validity

• If I only use 1 demographic in my study, my results will have poor population validity and lack generalisability

What is reliability?

• This means whether the procedures are consistent enough to be replicated and get the same results again. Replicability is split into:

  1. Internal reliability - this is to do with the tools and techniques that we use in a study. If multiple tools are used and results are consistent, the internal reliability is good. To achieve this we need standardised procedures

  2. External reliability - if we are able to replicate a study again and again over a period of time, it has good external reliability. If you have this you can generate theory 

What is application?

• You need to consider how useful the results of the study are in the real world

• So we can effectively explain human behaviour in the world around us

• Things that can affect this include the situation or environment research was conducted in

• The task that participants engage I also need to be considered. If it is something they would do in real life

What is validity?

• Internal validity - the accuracy of results

• External Validity - the extent to which we can generalise the results of a study to outside of the study. Population validity, ecological validity, mundane realism

What is ethics?

• Focus on:

• Ones that were broken

• The extent to which they were broken

• Were the breaches justifiable

• Did the method used to affect the researcher's ability to adhere to guidelines

Generalisability - Milgram

40 men aged from 20-50 who were all American and from New Haven.

The population validity was poor because it inly shows results for males - androcentric/alpha bias

Ethnocentric - only applicable to people

Reliability - Milgram

• Internal reliability - He used tools such as the shock generator and techniques such as prompts like 'please continue.’. This shows he used standardised procedure as he showed every participant the room and the generator to show that it is 'real' he made them all do the same task in the same place.

• External reliability - he has many variations. he used standardised procedure which allows us to replicate his study again and again over a period of time to be able to generate theory

Application - Milgram

• The mundane realism is poor because people wouldn’t usually be asked to electrocute people.

• The ecological validity is also poor as the study was carried out in a lab and not in the natural world therefore his results mainly relate to historical events.

• Real world events that can be explained are the holocaust which was Milgram's aim.

Validity - Milgram

• Extraneous variables such as participant variables like age, gender, personality

• Situational variables such as setting, lighting.

• Experimenter effects such as the prompts which may have influenced the Pp.

• The aim was achieved as Milgram found out that people do obey people in authority.

• The mundane realism is poor because people wouldn’t usually be asked to electrocute people.

• The ecological validity is also poor as the study was carried out in a lab and not in the natural world therefore his results mainly relate to historical events.

Ethics - Milgram

• Guidelines such as deception, consent, withdrawal and protection of Pp were broke

• Some were broken more badly than others however they can be justified except for protection of Pp. This is because if they were not broken the internal validity of the study would be poor.

Generalisability - Bickman

• 153 adult pedestrians of both genders, who were American in Brooklyn, New York. The population validity was decent as it shows for both genders but not all nationalities.

• Ethnocentric

Reliability - Bickman

• Different uniforms were used guard, milkman, stranger (civilian)

• Standardised procedure was used as the same types of commands were used. Pick up rubbish, go to the other side of the bus stop etc.

• Internal reliability- high

• External reliability- high

Application - Bickman

The mundane realism is good as they were normal tasks that were not out of the ordinary. The ecological validity is also good because it was done in very natural settings and nothing was altered.

People obeying authoritative figures as people were 2-3 times more likely to obey the policeman

Validity - Bickman

Extraneous variables such as

Participant variables such as personality, gender, age.

Situational variables such as, weather, environment.

There could have been experimenter effects as they chose the Pp and it could be biased

Ethics - Bickman

Debrief and consent

Not broken too much as consent isn't needed to follow an order

Generalisability - Hofling

22 nurses who were women and adults and American.

Poor population validity:

- All female nurses: gynocentric - cannot be applied to men

- Done in the USA: cultural bias - ethnocentric bias

- Close in age

- Does not represent the wider population as they used 1 demographic so they lack generalisability

Reliability - Hofling

• Good Internal Reliability - used tools such as a fake doctor name and a fake drug name, used it with all of the participants, consistent with them through (standardised procedure)

• Low External Reliability - you can no longer call a hospital as a doctor and give orders, there are more safety and privacy precautions

Application - Hofling

• Mundane Realism - high mundane realism as nurses are usually told by doctors to give certain drugs to patients, this makes this study very realistic.

• Ecological validity - high ecological validity as the study was conducted in a real life hospital

Validity - Hofling

Field experiments - too hard to control many distractions i.e. other nurses interrupting, other Pp asking questions.

No experimenter bias as Hofling wasn’t there and orders were given over the phone

Ethics - Hofling

Consent, withdrawal, protection of Pp, deception were broke however they were not broken to a bad extent, and are justified except for protection of Pp as if they weren't the studies internal validity would be poor.

What where the three aims of Burger (2009) study?

1. To find out if the same results as Milgram’s 1963 study re-occur when the study is replicated with modern participants

2. To see if personality variables like empathy and locus of control influence obedience

3. To see if the presence of a disobedient “model” makes a difference to obedience levels.

What is Locus of Control?

How much control you believe you have over your life and your behaviour, measured on a scale, either internal or external but you can be at different places on the scale

Internal - everything that happens in life is up to you, you take responsibility for your behaviour

External - deflect blame, cast responsibility on others, others control my destiny, more likely to be obedient

Burger wanted to compare results to Variation 5 of Milgram’s study- what was this variation?

Variation 5 - it is the 'empathy variation' where the learner stated that they have a heart condition

Who were the participants and how were they recruited in Burgers study?

70 participants which was a mixture of men and women being randomly put into the two conditions. They were a volunteer sample, recruited through newspaper. They were paid $50 before the study started. They were aged 20-81. Mean age was 42.9 years. 29 men 41 women.

What was the screening process used by Burger?

He dropped volunteers who had heard of Milgram’s original experiment, who had attended more than 2 Psychology classes, who had anxiety issues or drug dependency.

They did a questionnaire and then were interviewed by a clinical psychologist

How did the researcher ensure credibility of the experiment? (what did they expose real Pp to and what was said to them?) in Burgers study?

• Before the experiment started the Participants felt an electric shock themselves

• The learner indicated also he had a heart condition

What was the max voltage in Burgers study?

• 150v

• It made it more ethical and was only necessary to 150v as he observed it was the no point of return