Psychology WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY AND HOW IS IT CONSIDERED A SCIENCE?

 Introductions!  Post it notes  3 things I can do to help you learn

What is Psychology?  Pop Psychology – theories or concepts that may or may not have basis in psychology  Can be oversimplified based on anecdotal evidence and popular beliefs – unsupported claims  Scientific psychology- based on documented research evidence

In pairs define these terms (relating it to what you know about psychology)

 Common definition: Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour and how these are affected by internal processes and the environment  Scientific – systematic and controlled study of human behaviour.  Cause and Effect – Causality  Mental processes – covert behaviours e.g. attention, memory, emotion, attitudes  Behaviours – Overt e.g. Obedience, prejudice, aggression, helping  Internal processes – hormones, genes  Environment  Nature vs. nurture

 Multidisciplinary science – biology, sociology,  Data collection – experiments, brain scanning, observations, interviews,  Biological – e.g. neurotransmitters, hormones, genes (e.g. effect of drugs)  Social – effects of people, culture and society (e.g. obedience)  Cognitive – Study of mental processes (e.g. memory)

Psychology – how is it considered a science?  Empirical methods – means information gained through direct observation or experiment  To collect facts  Does not rely on beliefs  Important – anyone can make claims  Truth - ‘direct testing’ i.e. Observation and experiments  Replicability – reported in detail so that other researchers can repeat and verify the work  If the outcome is the same, it affirms the original results

 Objectivity - Objective research is when it is not affected by the expectations of the researcher.  i.e. not being influenced by their beliefs or feelings  Unbiased  Systematic collection of data  Controlled conditions  Cause and effect  Which method of data collection would be seen as the most scientific?

 Hypothesis testing : Theories are modified through this process  Good theory must be able to generate testable expectations  If scientists fails to support hypothesis – then theory may require modification  A good theory or hypothesis also must be falsifiable, which means that it must be stated in a way that makes it possible to reject it.  In other words, we have to be able to prove a theory or hypothesis wrong  5 minute Task!  Can human behaviour be measured objectively?  In pairs, make a list of potential problems researchers may come up against when conducting research?  Interviews  Observations  Experiments

Demand Characteristics Validity Example methodological issues

 Reliability It is important that psychology research can easily be repeated and yield the same results each time. Reliability refers to the extent to which the measurement of a particular behaviour is consistent.  Validity  Refers to the extent to which a research technique actually measures the behaviour it is claimed to measure

Back to Social Psychology! The Social approach  Year One/AS course covers obedience and prejudice.  Social approach: people are studied as social beings  Basic assumptions: humans are social, they interact with others and they are affected by others  How individuals interact and how they behave in groups  Groups in society: We live within a culture and society  Our behaviour is affected by experiences within our culture/society  What groups are you part of? Brainstorm a list of the groups to which you belong  How important are they you your personal identity?

 Social Identity

 Social Identity – identifying yourself as a member  Prejudice – examples?  Social situations affect behaviour too – what do you think this means?  Example?  Social roles  Expectations attached to roles

 Recap  Explain three ways in which being ‘social’ influences people  Next lesson: What is obedience? Agency Theory.  Homework: define the social approach, drawing on two of its main assumptions (6 marks)

Obedience  Recap – Social Approach  LO: To define, explain and evaluate the agency theory, including agentic state, autonomous state and moral strain

What is obedience?  In your own words?  Obedience  obeying direct orders from someone in authority  Conformity  doing something which is against the individual’s own inclinations. The act of matching attitudes, beliefs and behaviours to group norms. Yielding to group pressure.  Compliance  going along with what someone says, while not necessarily agreeing with it (e.g. peer relationships) Not an order but a request.  Internalisation  obeying with agreement

What is an authority figure?

Who are you more likely to obey, and why? 1. A fireman in uniform approaches you in the street and tells you to cross to the other side of the street immediately 2. You volunteer to contribute ideas to a book, for which you’re being paid, and in your first session the tutor tells you to step on snails and then write about the experience

Why Study Obedience?  Why do people suspend moral judgements and carry out an order that is inhumane or destructive? “ The Nazi extermination of European Jews is the most extreme instance of abhorrent immoral acts carried out by thousands of people in the name of obedience” - Stanley Milgram

Evolution of obedience – Milgram  Why is obedience important in society?  Society is hierarchal in nature  Survival function  Social order and harmony  Without obedience there would be challenges to social order  Societal breakdown  Nature vs Nurture  Innately predisposed to be obedient  Authority figures (parents, teachers etc.) nurture us through socialisation  Rewards and punishments encourage obedience and discourages dissent  Society – encourages us to develop as subordinates (legal system for example)

 Stanley Milgram  Could ‘anyone’ be ordered to harm another person?  Conducted experiments on ‘normal’ healthy participants  Investigate whether these ‘normal’ participants would yield to an authority figure and administer electric shocks to an innocent person  Milgram concluded that we are capable of complying to the demands of a legitimate authority figure, even if it means causing harm.  Milgram believed that this must serve a function – evolutionary or societal

Milgram – Study of Obedience   Nature Vs Nurture  Which side of the debate do you think Milgram was trying to argue?

Obedience Theory 1 – Agency Theory  Agency Theory (Milgram) – Mechanism to ensure obedience  People operate in 2 ways 1. Autonomous – aware of consequences of actions and choose to act 2. Agentic state – persons sees themselves as an agent. Carry out orders but do not feel personally responsible  The change from autonomous to agentic state is agentic shift  How would you feel if you were taking part in an experiment and you were asked by one of the researchers to administer an electric shock to someone else in the next room?  What if you were told by the researcher that you needed to continue as it was essential to the study?  What if the they also said that they would take full responsibility for your actions?

 Moral Strain – asked to do something they wouldn’t normally do  They may believe it is immoral or unjust  Results in feelings of discomfort, anxiety and distress  They are thinking about dissent however this goes against what they have been socialised to do  Agentic state of mind  Displaces responsibility onto the authority figure  Absolving them of the consequences  There are other ways to relieve moral strain  i.e. removing yourself from the situation

Evaluation - Agency Theory  Mai Lai Massacre  Lieutenant Calley instructed American soldiers to shoot occupants of Mai Lai  “just following orders”  They massacred women, men and children – despite no return fire  Does this support or refute the agency theory? Why?  Supports – involves displacement of responsibility.  Hofling (1966)  21 out of 22 followed the doctor’s orders (administer twice the daily dosage of a drug to a patient)  Some of the nurses justified their behaviour due to the hierarchy of authority at the hospital – displacement of responsibility

 Mail Lai – some soldiers refused to shoot  Robert Maples – refused an order to fire his gun  Even when his commanding officer aimed his gun at him  Hofling (1966) 22 out of 23 nurses carried out the order  Not 100%  Agency theory does not explain Individual differences – obedience is a complex process  Dissent can occur for many different reasons (i.e. personality type, gender and situation)  Agentic shift – internal mental process  Can be inferred but not measured  No direct evidence to support the evolutionary basis of obedience  However similar hierarchal systems exist in animal groups (primates)  Can be inferred that it has evolved to serve a purpose (survival function)

 Motivation issues aren’t explained by agency theory  There are other possible explanations – when another explanation is equally possible, this makes the theory less powerful  French and Raven (1959) Five bases of power that motivate and influence behaviour  Legitimate power  Reward power  Referent power  Expert power  Coercive power  Examples ?  Agency theory- a claim that provides a description  No evidence to suggest that we have evolved to obey those in higher positions

Issues and Debates - Obedience  Nature vs Nurture  Milgram: obedience is “an ingrained behaviour established through the process of socialisation. This behaviour manifests as we are exposed to authority figures under certain environmental conditions conducive to compliance”

 Homework:  Explain Milgram’s agency theory of obedience (4 marks)  What is meant by the terms ‘agentic state’ and ‘autonomous state’ (4 marks)  Next Lesson: social impact theory of obedience

 Recap – Agency theory  Apply your knowledge of agency theory and explain this behaviour:  Prisoner’s human rights were abused at the Abu Ghraib prison under the authority of the American armed forces in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war. Soldiers were thrust into the role of prison guards and began to sadistically torment prisoners there and at other detention sites in Afghanistan and Iraq. The soldiers claim that they were following orders and documented what they did.

Social Impact Theory of Obedience  Latane (1981)  Influenced by the actions of others  Persuaded  Inhibited  Threatened  Supported  The result of others’ actions – changes to how we feel and act  Target  Source – influencer

Principles  Social Forces  Psychosocial law  Multiplication vs division of impact  Research task – 3 groups (one principle each) Extra resources available  Design a poster/presentation to explain each principle to the class  5 minute to present each principle in as much details as you can.  Everyone to have notes on all three principles

 Wider issue and debates  Is this theory useful? Why?  Examples?  Social engineering or social control?

Evaluation  Potential weaknesses?  Views individuals as passive receivers of others’ behaviour  Disregards active nature of social interaction  What does that target bring to the situation?  Oversimplifies the nature of social interaction – ignores individual differences  Some people may be more resistant to social impact others may be more passive  Static theory – rather than dynamic  Ignores interaction between source and target  Can not explain all social situations  What about two equal groups? (equal in number, immediacy and strength)  Who would be the source/target?

 Strengths  A descriptive theory rather than explanatory (can predict behaviour under certain conditions)  Explains what conditions people are more likely to be influences  Quantifiable (measurable) – principles can be observed  Research has demonstrated the impact of strength, immediacy and number in social situations.  Asch - conformity  Latane – bystander behaviour  Milgram - obedience

 Recap –  H/W  Next Lesson – Read up on Milgram’s research into obedience  Watch this video and make notes:  Complete a summary including the following:  Aim  Procedure  Results  You will need to know results of the studies – percentages

 LO’s  Recap – what is obedience?  Explain the following terms:  Compliance  Conformity  Internalisation

Milgram (1963) – Basic study of obedience  H/W Using notes from the video and books please summarise the study  Aim  Procedure  Results  You will need to know results of the studies – percentages  Conclusion: Social influence is strong and people obey orders even when this causes them distress

Evaluation  Individual task: What strengths and weaknesses can you come up with?  Share with someone sitting next to you – can you add more to your list?  Strengths  Well controlled procedure – cause and effect  Prompts were in a set order  Learners response same across participants  Made every effort to ensure all participants had the same experience – to avoid bias  Obedience due to response of an authority figure – unlikely that other factors could have contributed to the findings  Can be replicated and tested for reliability

 Weaknesses  Ethical issues  BPS ethical code – hand out/ electric document  Anxiety and stress – psychological harm  Deception  Right to withdraw – given but the prompts made it difficult for some participants to leave  Consent – not fully informed due to deception  Others confirmed his competence  Debrief given  Lack of validity  The participants may have continued due to the prestigious setting (trusted everything would be okay)  However, some of the participants experiences distress  Would they have acted differently in a real life setting?

Variation studies  Telephonic Instructions  Proximity – could this have influenced the level of obedience in the basic study?  To test the effects of physical distance between the experimenter and teacher  Provided face to face instructions first of all and then left the room  Continued to provide instructions over the phone  Results: 22.5% continued to 450v in comparison to 65% in the original study  Why do you think results were so different?  Participants administered lower shocks (rather than increasing by 15v) and lied to the experimenter

 Evaluation – Similar to original study  Procedure the same - Different results can be said to be caused by the variation made (the IV)

 Run down office block  Same procedures as the original study  Participants told the research was being conducted by Research Associated of Bridgeport (private company)  Dissociated from Yale (integrity, prestigious settings)  Building partly furnished  Results?  48% in comparison to 65%  Less reputable context effected legitimacy of the study  During debrief participants questioned the credentials of the company

 Ordinary man gives orders  Power relations- role of authority on obedience  No lab coat – experimenter played by an ‘ordinary man’  Draw for three roles: experimenter, teacher and learner (all rigged)  Experimenter – noting times from clock and seated at a desk  Followed instruction to strap the learner into the electric shock chair  Didn’t tell the teacher what levels of shocks to administer  Received a phone call to leave the room telling the teacher to continue – to ensure the learner had learned the word pairs perfectly  Learner – ‘a good way to conduct the study would be to increase the shock level after each incorrect answer’ – repeated throughout the study  Results?  20% obedience level compared to the original 65%  80% broke off before the maximum shock 450v  Particular situational factors – encourage dissent

 Recap – Quiz  Why did Milgram use the same procedure in the variations?  Milgram and three variations  Plus evaluation  Homework:  Using Milgram’s basic study and the variations, explain situational factors that reduce obedience (6 marks)

Factors affecting obedience and dissent  Situational Factors 1. Momentum of compliance – gradual commitment  Binding relationship that escalated  Examples?  Trivial requests- request increases (duty bound to continue)  Slow 15 volt increments 2. Proximity  Distance – buffer to obedience (telephonic condition)  Learner and teacher in the same room – obedience dropped  Generator – physical buffer (more inclined to use machinery rather than doing something first hand) 3. Status of authority  Legitimate authority figure  Yale rather than run down office or when conducted by ordinary man  4. Personal responsibility  Variation study – participants had to sign a contract stating they were acting of their own free will and Yale would not be made responsible.  Obedience fell to 40%

Individual differences  10 minutes to look up the following terms in pairs – books, internet  Relate this back to Milgram (original and variations)  Summarise and explain to the rest of the class  Locus of control  Authoritarian Personality  Empathy

Example: Promotion at work External: Passive and/or fatalistic when faced with stress or difficulty. Internal: Can control most of their life and you can succeed in stressful and difficult situations.

 The Authoritarian Personality  Tendency to be extremely obedient  Respect for authority/ hostile to lower rank  Adorno: key to understanding extreme obedience and racial prejudice: early childhood experiences  Personality formed  Adorno (1959)  2000 American students – mainly white middle class  Interviewed about political views and childhood experiences  Strict parents + harsh punishment = hostile and angry  F scale  Milgram and Elms (1966): Compared F Scale scores on 20 obedient and 20 defiant participants. Fully obedient – scored higher on tests of authoritarian personality

 Empathy  High levels of empathy – less likely to harm another person  More likely to defy orders from an authority figure  We will look at Burger (2009) a bit later on  Found that those who score high on empathy more likely to protest  Did not find lower levels of obedience

Gender  Links to developmental psychology  Gender Role Schema (Bem, 1981)  Sense of masculinity and femininity developed as they are brought up and socialised  Affects how we perceive ourselves and others  List a few stereotypes  Men are often depicted as__________________  Females are often depicted as_______________  Who thinks females would me more obedient than men?  This prediction may not be accurate

Gender  Milgram experiment 8 – 4 female teachers  Level of obedience 65%  27.5 broke off at 300v  Level of anxiety was a lot higher than males  Sheridan and King (1972) – live puppy as victim  All 13 female participants delivered the max level of shock to the puppy compared to males  Kilham and Mann (1974) direct replication of Milgram’s research (Australia)  Females less obedient (16%) than males (40%)  Male teachers were paired with male learners  Female teachers paired with female learners  Joined together in alliance against the demands of the male experimenter?  Very little evidence to show gender differences in obedience despite traditional beliefs

Culture  Individualistic  Collectivist  Matching exercise  Match the definition to the term and the cultures (smith and Bond 1998)  Which culture would be predicted to be more obedient?

Culture – Blass (1999) review of obedience research ResearcherCountry% of obedience Milgram (1962)US65% Edwards et al. (1969)South Africa87.5% Bock (1972)US40% Kilham and Mann (1974)Australia28% Shanab and Yahya (1977) Jordan73% Miranda et al. (1981)Spain50% Schurz (1985)Austria80% Ancona and Pareyson (1968) Italy85% Burley and McGuiness (1977) UK50%

 Is this cultural variation or could the difference be explained by something else? Think about replication….. Examples: Ancona and Pareyson (1968) – 85%  Max shock was 330 volts  Less dangerous than 450 volts  Students used – Milgram avoided students due to their compliant and competitive nature

 Recap  To what extent can individual differences explain variation in levels of obedience?  Tips – review all available information  Come to reasoned conclusion that directly answers the questions