SOCIAL APPROACH

assumptions –
-​ our behaviour, cognitions and emotions can be influenced by actual,
implied or imagined presence of others
-​ all of our behaviour, cognitions and emotions can be influenced by
social contexts, social environments and groups

1.​ Milgram (obedience)

●​ psychology being investigated: destructive obedience, i.e, obedience
that has the potential to cause psychological or physical harm or injury
to another; to prove that the ‘germans are different’ hypothesis that
arose post-holocaust was wrong.

●​ aim: to investigate how obedient individuals would be to orders received

from a person in authority

●​ research method & design: controlled observation; p’s levels of

obedience measured through observation using operationalised
definitions for maximum voltage given; p’s body language and verbal
comments were noted

●​ sample: 40 men between 20 and 50 years; volunteer sample; recruited

from New Haven area, USA from different backgrounds and
occupations

●​ procedure:
-​ participants were promised $4.50 for participating, not conditional on
their completing the study
-​ study took place in lab at yale uni
-​ p’s were told they’d be allocated roles of either ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’, in
reality all p’s were allocated teacher
-​ p was taken to another room where stooge was strapped to a chair with
attached electrodes
-​ p presented w/ a shock generator with voltage readings from 15V to
450V in ascending order with words like ‘moderate’ or ‘danger’, final two
switches labelled ‘XXX’
-​ p was given 45V shock as demonstration
-​ p seated behind a wall - could hear but not see stooge
-​ experimenter remained w/ p whole time - 31-year old dressed in grey
technician’s coat and serious behaviour
-​ p’s instructed in memory task - read pairs of words aloud to learner and
then test on recognition, if learner made mistakes, p’s had to administer
shock, increase level by 15V for each error
-​ stooge followed pre-set plan of mistakes
-​ learner began to bang wall in protest from 300V onwards
-​ p’s told that no answer was equivalent to wrong and required shock
-​ when p’s protested, exp gave verbal prods such as ‘please go on’,
‘please continue’, ‘you must go on’
-​ procedure considered complete if p refused to give more shocks or if
450V shock had been given
-​ p was finally interviewed and deception was explained, given chance to
meet learner to ensure they weren’t injured

●​ controls: same experimenter in same clothes, same pre-set mistakes

by learner, same verbal prods in same order

●​ results:
-​ p’s estimated pain level of 450V shock on a scale of 0-14, mean
estimate was 13.42 → p’s believed they was causing serious pain
-​ some p’s protested against orders but verbal prods convinced them to
go on
-​ after procedure ended, p’s showed signs of relief
-​ minority of p’s didn’t show elevated levels of stress and appeared calm
throughout
-​ 5/40 stopped at intense shock (255-300V)
-​ 8/40 stopped at extreme intensity shock (315-360V)
-​ 1/40 stopped at danger: severe shock (375-420V)
-​ 26/40 gave maximum XXX shock (435-450V)

●​ conclusions:
1.​ individuals far more obedient to authority than expected
2.​ despite high levels of obedience, people find experience of carrying out
destructive acts under orders stressful due to conflict b/w two social
phenomena: need to obey those in authority, need to avoid harming
other people.

●​ strengths and weaknesses

-​ strict controls
-​ standardised procedure: reliability ↑
-​ realistic design of generator and example shock: validity ↑
-​ quantitative measurement of voltage: objectivity ↑
-​ qualitative measurement of p’s behaviour: rich data, subjectivity ↑
-​ sample w/ various backgrounds and occupations: external validity ↑
-​ low generalisability due to small sample

●​ ethical issues: deception, lack of informed consent, physical harm

(distress, guilt, etc)

●​ issues, approaches, debates

-​ raised awareness of the power of authority in the workplace
-​ introduction of whistle-blowing policies to encourage reporting of
mistakes
-​ highlighted importance of situational factors in influencing obedience
-​ role of individual factors as well

2. Perry et al. (personal space)

●​ psychology being investigated:
-​ interpersonal distance: relative distance between people, area of
space around a person in which they prefer not to have others enter
-​ oxytocin (OT): social hormone influencing personal space behaviour;
heightens importance of social cues and is linked to positive social
behaviour
-​ empathy: how people respond to the observed experiences of others,
feeling concerned or upset for them; plays a role in determining
personal space preferences
-​ social salience: importance or attention given to cues from other
people: body language, expressions, etc

●​ aim: to test the differential effect of the social hormone OT on personal

space preference in relation to a person’s empathy ability

●​ research method & design: lab experiment, uni of haifa, mixed exp
design to allocate p’s, 2 experiments, 3 IVs: empathy (natural, not
manipulated), treatment, condition, DV: personal space preferences
●​ sample: 54 male undergraduates, 19-32 years, participated for course
credit or payment, normal vision and no history of disorders; high IRI
group ( 40≥ ) had 20 p’s, low IRI group ( below 33 ) had 20 p’s

●​ procedure: experiments 1 and 2

precursors: (order counterbalanced)

1.​ OT administration: p’s randomly given OT solution or placebo;
double-blind technique: p’s and researchers didn’t know who got what
2.​ assessment of empathy: p’s completed IRI questionnaire

experiment 1: CID paradigm

-​ modified version of older interpersonal space test
-​ circle on computer screen, p’s asked to imagine themselves in the
centre and imagine a person approaching them along a radius
-​ p had to press keyboard space bar when they wanted person to stop
-​ four options for imagined other: close friend, stranger, authority figure,
rolling ball

experiment 2: choosing rooms

-​ p’s were shown pairs of similar rooms and had to choose their preferred
one, told info would be used to design room of their choice
-​ computerised stimuli were coloured pictures w/ two identical chairs,
table, cupboard, plant, lamp, clock
-​ E.G: preferred distance between chairs, angle of chairs positions
-​ C.G: distance between table and plant, angle of table and plant
positions

●​ controls: same rooms shown, same distances and angles, images

shown for 2s duration

●​ results:

Experiment 1
interaction effect: treatment x empathy
-​ OT decreased mean pref. dist. in high empathy group, increased mean
pref. dist. in low empathy group
-​ administration of OT had differential effect on high and low empathisers
-​ high empathy group: 23.29% (OT group) and 26.11% (placebo group)
-​ low empathy group: 30.20% (OT group) and 26.98% (placebo group)
interaction effect: treatment x condition x empathy
-​ high empathisers w/ placebo showed significant differences b/w friend
and authority, and friend and stranger
-​ high empathisers w/ OT showed same differences but w/ differences
b/w ball and stranger, and ball and authority

Experiment 2
-​ differences in preferences for chair distance but not angles
-​ high empathisers chose closer chair distances following OT admin than
placebo admin
-​ low empathisers chose farther chair distances following OT admin than
placebo admin
-​ interaction b/w treatment and empathy only seen in E.G; no effect of
empathy on distances b/w table and plant

●​ conclusions
-​ administration of OT enhances social cues in opposite ways for
individuals with different empathetic abilities, supporting idea of social
salience
-​ people need less distance between them and close friends than they
need with strangers

●​ strengths and weaknesses

-​ low ecological validity bcs lab exp
-​ tasks lacked mundane realism cause in everyday life our personal
space choices are influenced by social cues such as expressions, tone,
etc.
-​ ↑ internal validity - order of exp counterbalanced to prevent order effects
-​ extraneous variables controlled
-​ double-blind procedure - ↓ demand characteristics ↓ researcher bias
-​ ↑ standardisation - ↑ reliability

●​ ethical issues
-​ informed consent obtained
-​ no side effects from OT or placebo
-​ deception in exp 2 - fully debriefed

●​ issues, approaches, debates

-​ important implications for those with social difficulties
-​ shows effect of OT to be more complex due to its differential effect
-​ administering OT could actually cause further social difficulty
-​ situational factors matter in personal space preferences (e.g-
relationship w person), but so do individual factors (e.g.- empathy)

3. Piliavin et al (subway samaritans)

●​ psychology being investigated:
1.​ bystander apathy: a bystander not showing concern for a person in
need
2.​ diffusion of responsibility: an individual being less likely to take action
during an emergency in a group setting because of a reduced sense of
personal responsibility
3.​ modelling: when we watch a person perform the desired behaviour

●​ aim: to study bystander apathy and diffusion of responsibility in a

natural setting

●​ research method & design: field exp, took place in new york city
subway, IMD, four IVs: type and race of victim, behaviour of model, size
of bystander group; DV: level of bystander helping, operationalised as
total number of passengers who helped

●​ sample: people travelling on NYC subway between harlem and bronx

on weekdays between 11 am and 3 pm (opportunity sample), total
estimation: 4450 (44% black 55% white), mean number per carriage: 43

●​ procedure:
-​ four teams of student researchers carried it out
-​ two males and two females - female confederates sat adjacent to critical
area and observed and recorded data, male confederates took role of
victim and model
-​ victim stood at the pole in centre of critical area, model remained
standing
-​ each trial in same route with 7.5 min gap b/w two stations; 70 seconds
into journey, victim staggered and collapsed, remained lying on the floor
for a while till help received
-​ victim played by different males, aged 26-35 years, 3 white 1 black,
dressed in identical, casual clothing
-​ 38/103 trials: alcoholic victim; remaining 65: sober with black cane
-​ models: white males aged 24-29 years dressed informally
-​ trials split into five conditions:
●​ critical/early: critical area, 70 seconds to help
●​ critical/late: critical area, 150 seconds to help
●​ adjacent/early: adjacent area, 70 seconds to help
●​ adjacent/late: adjacent area, 150 seconds to help
●​ no model: model didn’t help till end of trial

●​ controls: same route, between same stops, same time intervals, similar
clothing, same action

●​ results:
-​ high frequency of helping recorded
-​ 60% of cases: more than one p helped
-​ p’s more likely to help victim w/cane than drunk victim
-​ cane victim: white victim (received help in 100% model and no model
trials), black victim (received help in 100% no model trials)
-​ drunk victim: white victim (100% in no model and 77% in model trials)
black victim (73% in no model and 67% in model trials)
-​ both black and white cane victims equally likely to receive help; black
victims received less help overall in drunk condition
-​ 90% of helpers were males
-​ early model intervention were more likely to result in helping behaviour
than waiting until 150 seconds had passed
-​ study found no evidence to support the diffusion of responsibility
-​ evidence suggested that when more passengers were present, rates of
helping were higher
-​ researchers proposed cost-benefit model wherein people weigh up the
pros and cons of helping and then decide whether to do so or not

●​ conclusion:
-​ someone using a cane will be helped more than a drunk person
-​ men more likely to help than women
-​ people more likely to help members of their own race, especially if
victim is drunk
-​ the longer an emergency continues, less likely it is that anyone will help

●​ strengths and weaknesses

-​ ↑ ecological validity due to field setting
-​ less control over extraneous variables such as weather, train delays
-​ p’s could’ve taken part in the exp twice, making them more likely to
help, creating demand characteristics
-​ sample may be unrepresentative as they’re all passengers travelling in
NYC subway, however large sample w/ various races makes it more
inclusive and thus, generalisable
-​ quantitative measure: ↑ objectivity
-​ qualitative data collected: more rich data

●​ ethical issues
-​ no consent taken
-​ no debriefing
-​ deception
-​ risk of psychological harm or guilt

●​ issues, approaches, debates

-​ tells us about specific situational factors that make bystanders more
likely to help
LEARNING APPROACH

assumptions –
-​ each life begins as a ‘blank slate’: observable changes to our behaviour
can result from interactions with our environment
-​ the process of social learning, operant conditioning, and classical
conditioning are the ways in which humans and animals learn. these
processes involve stimulus-response.

1.​ Bandura et al. (aggression)

●​ psychology being investigated: social learning, aggression, models

●​ aim: to investigate whether a child would learn aggression by observing

a model and would reproduce this behaviour in the absence of the
model, and whether the sex of the model was important.

4 hypotheses –
-​ obs. agg. beh. will be imitated; children seeing an agg. model will be
more agg. than those seeing a non-agg or no model
-​ obs. non-agg. beh. will be imitated so children seeing non-agg. models
will be less agg. than children seeing no model
-​ children more likely to copy same-sex model
-​ boys more likely to copy agg. than girls

●​ research method & design: lab exp, controlled environment, IMD, 3

IVs: model type, model sex, learner sex; DV: behaviour displayed by
child, measured using controlled observation

●​ sample: 72 children aged 3-6 (36b, 36g) from stanford uni nursery
school

●​ procedure:
-​ children were first observed in school and rated on four measures of
aggression - physical, verbal, agg. to inanimate objects, and aggression
inhibition (anxiety) on a five-point scale
-​ assigned to three groups, ensuring aggression levels were matched
-​ 51 p’s rated by two observers, rest rated by only 1 (inter-rater reliability)
-​ 12b and 12g assigned to no-model group (same assignment to
remaining two groups to same and opposite sex models)
-​ exp and child entered obs room, play area shown
-​ activities were taught to children
-​ opposite corner of room had toys: table, chair, Tinkertoy set, mallet,
bobo doll, inflatable clown-like doll – model sat here
-​ exp remained in room to ensure child wouldn’t refuse to be alone or try
to leave early
-​ non-agg condition: model assembled tinker toys for 10 mins
-​ agg condition: 1 minute, model attacked bobo doll (laid, sat on,
punched, hit with mallet, kicked, agg and non-agg verbal comments)
-​ exp procedure continued when all p’s were deliberately mildly annoyed
-​ test of child’s agg followed wherein they were observed for 20 mins from
a one-way mirror, i.e, p didn’t know they were being observed
-​ agg model group: test of delayed imitation in experimental room
containing bobo doll, mallet, peg board, dart gun, and non-agg toys like
tea set, crayons, ball, farm animals, etc – toys presented in same order
-​ children’s behaviours observed in 5-sec intervals using response
measures: imitative phy agg, imitative verbal agg, imitative non-agg
verbal responses
-​ partially imitative agg categories: mallet agg, sits on bobo doll
-​ further categories: agg gun play, non-imitative phy and verbal agg
-​ male model scored children’s behaviours and to test reliability, second
scorer independently rated half the children

●​ controls: deliberate annoyance, toys in same order

●​ results:
-​ children exposed to agg models were more agg physically and verbally
-​ imitative phy agg for boys seeing male model was 25.8
-​ imitative phy agg for girls seeing female model was 5.5
-​ girls imitated more phy agg when seeing male model and more verbal
agg when seeing same-sex model
-​ boys more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls
-​ children seeing non-agg model much less likely to exhibit aggression
-​ differences seen in non-agg play: girls played more with tea set and
colouring, boys more explorative and gun play
-​ records of remarks about agg models showed that some comments
seemed to be based on previous knowledge of sex-typed behaviour, i.e,
actions typically performed by one particular sex and seen more
appropriate for a sex – disapproving comments about female agg,
approving comments about male agg
●​ conclusion:
-​ obs agg behaviours are imitated: children seeing agg models more
likely to be more agg than those seeing non-agg or no model
-​ obs non-agg behaviours are imitated: children seeing non-agg models
less agg than those seeing no model
-​ children more likely to copy same-sex model, may depend on extent to
which behaviour is sex-typed
-​ boys more likely to copy agg than girls

●​ strengths and weaknesses:

-​ lab exp - ↑ controls
-​ standardised behaviours - ↑ validity ↑ reliability
-​ ↑ inter-observer reliability
-​ use of one-way mirror - ↓ demand characteristics
-​ clearly defined categories - ↑ validity ↑ reliability
-​ children matched to reduce risk of p variables
-​ only six children in each E.G from same background - ↓ generalisability
↓ validity, risk of sample bias
-​ quantitative and qualitative data collected

●​ ethical issues:
-​ children might have been harmed by becoming more agg
-​ seeing aggression could’ve been distressful for the children
-​ deliberate annoyance could’ve also been distressing

●​ issues, approaches, debates:

-​ clear implications: children exposed to violence at home or on TV and
are influenced by it
-​ many countries now have restrictions on television programs and films
-​ situational influence of models on acquisition of agg behaviours are
examples of nurture
-​ differences between boys and girls explained by nature AND nurture
-​ nature factors: hormones, brain development
-​ nurture factors: acquired stereotypes, sex-type behaviours rewarded
-​ shows individual and situational factors influence imitation
-​ unclear if informed consent from kids and parents was obtained
-​ use of children in study was more ideal as they may have much less
extraneous factors affecting their agg levels + less likely to suspect
2.​ Fagen et al. (elephant learning)

●​ psychology being investigated:

-​ operant conditioning: learning through consequences: reward/
punishment
-​ positive reinforcement: rewarding desirable behaviour to encourage
repetition
-​ positive reinforcer: reward for behaviour that fulfills a biological need
-​ secondary reinforcer: stimulus associated with primary reinforcers can
also be learned
-​ secondary positive reinforcement: training wherein a secondary
reinforcer is used followed by administration of a primary positive
reinforcer

●​ aim: to see whether free-contact, traditionally trained elephants can be

trained to participate in a trunk wash (to detect tuberculosis) by using
positive reinforcement

●​ research method & design: controlled and structured observation

●​ sample: 5 female elephants from nepal: 4 juvenile, 1 adult, all docile

and traditionally trained, no previous experience of SPR; spent most of
the day grazing under mahout’s control, diet of fresh grasses, grain and
nutritional supplements and given access to river during grazing hours

●​ procedure:
-​ chopped banana (primary reinforcer), short whistle blow (secondary
reinforcer)
-​ training sessions conducted with mahout present for safety but to the
side and no speaking or signalling
-​ purpose was to teach elephants to perform voluntary trunk wash in
several behavioural steps
-​ marker-reward relationship established, three methods taught: capture,
lure, shaping
-​ behavioural tasks: trunk here (lure), trunk up (lure and shaping), bucket
(lure), blow (capture and shaping), steady (shaping)
-​ task paired with verbal cue neither in english or nepali
-​ behavioural chaining followed individual behavioural tasks, wherein the
separately trained behaviours are performed in sequence
-​ tasks were first paired, then put in longer sequences
-​ trainer introduced syringe to trunk-here position using desensitisation
method, i.e, reading and extinguishing fear response to syringe stimulus
-​ to avoid elephants drinking saline or water, they were offered drinks
prior to sessions
-​ no time limit on stages of process, depended on success of elephants
-​ after 10 sessions, elephants tested every five sessions, passing score
was 80% (8/10 correct)

●​ results:
-​ 4 juvenile elephants successful, not adult
-​ reasons for adult’s failure: older, likely had some visual impairment or
trunk weakness, distracted, impatient, foot abscess
-​ mean success rate went from 39% after 10 sessions to 89.3% after 35
sessions

●​ conclusion: juvenile, free-contact elephants can be trained to

participate in a trunk wash using only SPR techniques; can be carried
out with voluntary participation of elephants avoiding punishment

●​ strengths and weaknesses:

-​ small sample - ↓ generalisability, not representative
-​ practical challenges: control for distractions and other extraneous
variables
-​ controlled observation - ↑ replicability
-​ attempts to maintain validity: mahouts asked to not speak, verbal cues
with no meaning in nepali or english - ↓ demand characteristics
-​ quantitative data - ↑ objectivity, easier to analyse

●​ ethical issues:
-​ elephants well-treated, no physical harm, freely grazed, fed adequately,
allowed to socialise, no punishment so minimised harm

●​ issues, approaches, debates

-​ study shows that using positive reinforcement learning techniques can
enhance captive animal welfare and help increase the well-being and
safety of those working with animals
-​ nurture-based approach as human training shaped the elephants’
behaviour
-​ however, as all the elephants didn’t acquire the learner behaviour, it
suggests the influence of some individual differences that may affect the
elephant’s ability to learn
-​ animals were ethically fed, housed, and treated

3.​ Saavedra and Silverman. (button phobia)

●​ psychology being investigated:

-​ classical conditioning: learning through association
-​ stages of classical conditioning: UCS triggers an UCR, and a NS
triggers no response before conditioning; UCS + NS triggers an UCR
during conditioning; CS triggers a CR after conditioning
-​ phobias: irrational, persistent fear of an object or event that poses little
real danger but creates anxiety and avoidance
-​ evaluative learning: form of classical conditioning wherein attitudes
towards stimuli are considered to be the product of complex thought
processes and emotions, leading to the individual’s negative perception

●​ aim: to examine the role of classical conditioning in relation to fear and

avoidance of a particular stimulus; to see if using a type of exposure
therapy could reduce the disgust and distress associated w/ buttons

●​ research method & design: clinical case study; data collected using
self-report measures

●​ sample: 9-year old hispanic american boy who had sought support from
child anxiety and phobia program at miami with his mom, met criteria for
having a specific phobia

●​ procedure
-​ boy and mother provided informed consent
-​ interviewed to understand background – phobia began at age of 5 when
boy knocked over bowl of buttons in front of class and teacher
-​ aversion to buttons steadily increased and was now interfering with
daily functioning
-​ researchers created hierarchy of feared stimuli with boy using feelings
thermometer
-​ boy treated with two interventions: contingency management and
imagery exposure therapy
1.​ contingency management
-​ form of positive reinforcement
-​ boy rewarded for showing less fear and actually handling buttons
-​ reward given to boy by mother after completion of gradual exposure to
buttons
-​ researchers observed how boy approached buttons and measured
subjective ratings of distress on feelings thermometer

2.​ imagery exposure therapy

-​ person asked to vividly imagine their feared object/stimulus, uses
visualisation techniques
-​ interviews revealed boy found buttons touching him disgusting and that
they smelled unpleasant
-​ disgust-related imagery exposures were incorporated with self-control
strategies
-​ boy asked to imagine buttons falling on him and describe how it made
him feel
-​ exposures progressed in line with boy’s fear hierarchy
-​ self-report measures on feelings thermometer taken every session

●​ results

1.​ positive reinforcement therapy

-​ successful completion of all exposure tasks
-​ boy approached buttons more positively
-​ subjective ratings increased significantly between sessions two and
three, and continued to rise
-​ despite behaviour towards buttons improving, feelings of disgust and
fear actually increased

2.​ imagery exposure therapy

-​ successful in reducing boy’s distress
-​ boy’s subjective ratings of disgust and fear reduced from 8 before
imagery therapy to 5 midway through IET and 3 at the end
-​ 6-month and 12-month follow-ups conducted following treatment
wherein boy reported feeling minimal distress about buttons, no longer
met diagnostic criteria for specific phobia, and feelings towards buttons
no longer affected normal functioning
●​ conclusion
-​ positive reinforcement therapy was successful in changing observable
behaviour, and IET was successful in reducing feelings of disgust and
fear
-​ emotions and cognitions relating to disgust are important when learning
new responses to phobic stimuli
-​ imagery exposure can have a long-term effect in reducing the distress
associated with specific phobias as it tackles negative evaluations

●​ strengths and weaknesses:

-​ small sample - not representative, ↓ generalisability
-​ different methods of data collection used - ↑ validity
-​ standardised measures (feelings thermometer)
-​ quantitative AND qualitative data collected
-​ study pretty subjective because self-reports used
-​ high risk of researcher bias - ↓ validity
-​ ↑ demand characteristics - may have affected ratings

●​ ethical issues:
-​ informed consent
-​ overall experience was distressing but the overall aim of improving
boy’s quality of life and minimise distress justified it
-​ boy’s anonymity preserved

●​ issues, approaches, debates:

-​ showed that methods such as disgust imagery exposure can be used in
clinical practice to help overcome feelings of fear and disgust
-​ demonstrates long-term improvement that can result from exposure
therapies
-​ relies on nurture-based explanation of learning
-​ phobias are not considered innate or genetically inherited but products
of negative experiences
-​ treatment also based on nurture, subsequent neutral or positive
experiences with stimulus can reduce fear