Answer one question from this Section.
You should attempt all parts of the question you choose.

Question 1

Total for this question: 30 marks

(a) Outline two reasons why people obey.

(3 marks + 3 marks)

Legitimate authority: we may obey someone because we respect their credentials and respect their credentials and assume they know what they are doing. They may have legitimate power because of their status (for example, the commanding officer for a soldier or a policeman). The more we respect the credentials of an authority figure, the more likely we are to obey them. Milgram found higher rates of obedience when his experiments were carried out at the prestigious Yale University than when they were carried out in a seedy downtown office building.
Agency theory: Milgram believed that people may obey others because they see themselves as agents, acting for that person and therefore do not feel responsible for the consequences of their actions. One of the questions asked by his participants was about who would take responsibility. When they were told that the experimenter was responsible, they often continued to administer electric shocks. Soldiers involved in massacres have defended their actions by claiming that they were only following orders.

(b) Describe the procedures and findings of one study that has explored obedience to authority.

(6 marks)

In Milgram's original procedure, paid male participants were asked to administer electric shocks to a male learner (for incorrect responses) in 15V increments up to 450V. The severity of the shocks was clearly labelled on the shock generator, describing the shocks from 'mild shock' to 'severe shock' and the screams and eventual silence could be heard by the participant. The learner was a confederate and no shocks were actually delivered. The participants believed they were taking part in a study of the effect of punishment on learning. Despite verbally protesting, all participants went up to 300V and 65% went all the way (delivering 450V three times).

(c) Describe two ethical issues that were a feature of the study you have described in (b).

(3 marks + 3 marks)

Deception: the participants were deceived about the nature of the study (they were told it was a study of punishment and learning, not obedience). For this reason, they could not be considered to have given consent to take part. They were also told that the learner was also a participant and were led to believe that actual shocks were delivered.
Protection of participants: participants were clearly distressed by the procedure. Baumrind suggested that Milgram showed insufficient respect for his participants and did not take adequate steps to protect them from the potential long term harm that they could have suffered.

(d) "For some, social influence research has been ethically indefensible, yet for others it has been described as having great moral significance."

From your knowledge of the ethical issues involved in social influence research, to what extent can such research be justified?

(12 marks)

Social influence research has been criticized an ethical grounds for a number of reasons. For example, Baumrind said that Milgram failed to protect his participants from potential long-term psychological harm because they were led to believe they had seriously harmed the learner. Others have said that in was ethically unjustifiable to deceive participants about the nature of the research (because then they could not give informed consent to take part) - Milgram's participants were told it was a study of punishment and learning and. Milgram's participants were also deceived about the procedure used because they were led to believe that actual shocks were delivered and that they.
Milgram defended his experiments by saying that he debriefed the participants and reassured them that their behaviour was normal. Over 80% claimed it was a positive experience whereas less than 2% reported negative feelings. However, it seems that 2% would not be a satisfactory risk if the damage done to these participants was significant. Milgram also said that the results had not been expected - psychiatrists predicted that less than 1% would go all the way to 450V. However, when it was clear that participants would frequently obey the experimenter, it could be argued that he should have stopped and re-appraised his procedure. Milgram also argued that any deception was essential to the experiment, since if they knew the true nature of the experiment, this would certainly have not given a true reflection of their behaviour. The implications of findings from research in social influence have major implications for how we view the behaviour of individual's who act in response to instructions from perceived authority figures. Furthermore, this research has led to the setting up of important ethical guidelines and ethical committees responsible for monitoring and approving psychological research.

Question 2

Total for this question: 30 marks

(a) What is meant by the terms 'conformity', 'minority influence' and 'obedience'?

(2 marks + 2 marks + 2 marks)

Conformity: a change in behaviour or belief as a result of real or imagined pressure from a group. For example, a person may choose not to by music by a particular artist because they believe that their friends would consider this to be uncool.
Minority influence: where a small group or individual is able to change the beliefs or behaviour of the majority (e.g. the green or gay movements).
Obedience: when somebody does as they are told by a person that they perceive to be in a position of authority. For example when a soldier obeys and order from an officer, despite that action going against their conscience.

(b) Describe two explanations of why people yield to minority influence.

(3 marks + 3 marks)

Conversion: an undecided person may pay attention to the viewpoint of a minority because they are interested in the reasons for their different viewpoint. They may then respond to this information by changing their opinions.
Identification: we are most likely to be influenced by the members of a group that we perceive to be most like us. We are more likely to adopt the views of those people that we respect and see as role models.

(c) Outline two ethical issues that have arisen in social influence research.

(3 marks + 3 marks)

Deception: the participants in Milgram's study of obedience were deceived about the nature of the study (they were told it was a study of memory and learning, not obedience). For this reason, they could not be considered to have given consent to take part. They were also told that the learner was also a participant and were led to believe that actual shocks were delivered.
Protection of participants: participants in Milgram's study were clearly distressed by the procedure. Baumrind suggested that Milgram showed insufficient respect for his participants and did not take adequate steps to protect them from the potential long-term harm that they could have suffered.

(d) "The role of ethical guidelines is to preserve an overriding high regard for the well-being and dignity of research participants."

Assess whether psychologists have been successful in resolving the ethical issues raised by social influence research.

(12 marks)

Ethical guidelines around research now mean that participants should give informed consent where possible. This requires that the nature of the research has to be disclosed. Furthermore, they may withdraw from the study at any time. Presumptive consent allows the investigator to inform a sample of the exact nature and procedures involved in an experiment which involves deception, and ask them if they would still agree to take part. If they say that they would be willing to take part, the researcher may assume that a sample selected for a study would agree to take part, even though they are going to be deceived. Prior general consent involves the participant giving consent to take part in an experiment in which they know that they may be deceived, even though they are not told what the deception will be.
With respect to the protection of participants, the risk involved in a psychological investigation should be no greater than the risks that the individual would be expected to experience in everyday life.
As a consequence of these guidelines psychologists have to consider the ethical issues involved in their research, because their procedures have to be approved by an ethical committee. Furthermore, researchers such as Zimbardo have actually stopped their experiments because they felt that the consequences of their research were in danger of breaching ethical guidelines. It is highly unlikely that an experiment such as Milgram's would be approved if such an experiment were proposed today. Indeed, far more ethically questionable experiments are carried out on a regular basis in the name of TV entertainment today than are carried out by psychologists. In this respect, it would appear that the ethical guidelines laid down have been successful in resolving the ethical issues raised by social influence research