Describe and evaluate two studies on obedience. (12 marks)
Outline of the study 1 Process and results Positives Negatives
• Milgram's • Deceived into • Controlled lab • Deception
studies on thinking it was a experiment • No informed
obedience. learning test with consent
• Conducted in • Matched with replicability • Voluntary
1963 Confed • Controlled sampling so can't
• Conducted at • Participant asked to environment control sample
Yale administer shock to decrease set
• Selected via for incorrect demand • Poor
newspaper answers characteristics generalizability
ads • If there was • Caused a (all male
(voluntary) hesitation, the rethinking of volunteers)
• 40 Male participant was theories on • Experimenter Bias
participants encouraged. obedience to due to Milgram's
• Controlled • 65% of people authority. personal
laboratory administered the • Milgram involvement.
experiment full 450 volt shocks, claimed they • Lacked ecological
knowing they were validity (mundane
would be fatal. debriefed. realism)
• 35% did not • Doesn't explain
administer the those who
highest shock refrained from
though. administering the
strongest shock
• Not all were fully
debriefed.
Outline of study 2 Process and results Positives Negatives
• Hofling et al • 22 nurses called up • Natural • Deception
• Conducted in by an unknown experiment, • No informed
1966 doctor. not motivated consent
• Real life field • Told to check that a by demand • Field experiment
experiment certain drug was characteristics is less easily
• 22 nurses available • High ecological controlled
• When nurses did validity • Low replicability
this, the max • Raised issues • Low reliability.
dosage was written on hospital
as 10mg on the practices and
bottle the
• The doctor told importance of
them to administer the power
20mg hierarchy
• Nurses had been
taught to obey
doctors according
to the power
hierarchy.
• This showed nurses
were more
influenced by the
power structure in
hospitals.
, Outline social impact theory (6 marks)
Definition Important details Features of social impact theory
• Social impact is any influence on • Created • Strength- is a net of all individual
individual feelings, thoughts or by factor such as size, intellect, wealth
behavior created by the actions Latane and situational specific info such as
of others • Created belonging to a certain group
• Describes the four basic rules in 1981 • Immediacy - takes into account how
that consider how people can be recently the event occurred
target or sources of social • Number - number of source of
influence. influence.
Four basic patterns of impact
• Consolidation - reiteration of the
idea. As individuals interact, they
become more uniform.
• Clustering - Groups members
interact more frequently.
• Correlation - Convergence so
that opinions become
correlated.
• Continuing diversity - Minority
influence taking over.
Outline of the study 1 Process and results Positives Negatives
• Milgram's • Deceived into • Controlled lab • Deception
studies on thinking it was a experiment • No informed
obedience. learning test with consent
• Conducted in • Matched with replicability • Voluntary
1963 Confed • Controlled sampling so can't
• Conducted at • Participant asked to environment control sample
Yale administer shock to decrease set
• Selected via for incorrect demand • Poor
newspaper answers characteristics generalizability
ads • If there was • Caused a (all male
(voluntary) hesitation, the rethinking of volunteers)
• 40 Male participant was theories on • Experimenter Bias
participants encouraged. obedience to due to Milgram's
• Controlled • 65% of people authority. personal
laboratory administered the • Milgram involvement.
experiment full 450 volt shocks, claimed they • Lacked ecological
knowing they were validity (mundane
would be fatal. debriefed. realism)
• 35% did not • Doesn't explain
administer the those who
highest shock refrained from
though. administering the
strongest shock
• Not all were fully
debriefed.
Outline of study 2 Process and results Positives Negatives
• Hofling et al • 22 nurses called up • Natural • Deception
• Conducted in by an unknown experiment, • No informed
1966 doctor. not motivated consent
• Real life field • Told to check that a by demand • Field experiment
experiment certain drug was characteristics is less easily
• 22 nurses available • High ecological controlled
• When nurses did validity • Low replicability
this, the max • Raised issues • Low reliability.
dosage was written on hospital
as 10mg on the practices and
bottle the
• The doctor told importance of
them to administer the power
20mg hierarchy
• Nurses had been
taught to obey
doctors according
to the power
hierarchy.
• This showed nurses
were more
influenced by the
power structure in
hospitals.
, Outline social impact theory (6 marks)
Definition Important details Features of social impact theory
• Social impact is any influence on • Created • Strength- is a net of all individual
individual feelings, thoughts or by factor such as size, intellect, wealth
behavior created by the actions Latane and situational specific info such as
of others • Created belonging to a certain group
• Describes the four basic rules in 1981 • Immediacy - takes into account how
that consider how people can be recently the event occurred
target or sources of social • Number - number of source of
influence. influence.
Four basic patterns of impact
• Consolidation - reiteration of the
idea. As individuals interact, they
become more uniform.
• Clustering - Groups members
interact more frequently.
• Correlation - Convergence so
that opinions become
correlated.
• Continuing diversity - Minority
influence taking over.
