The studies carried out by Milgram, Piliavin, Haney and Gardner & Gardner, have unearthed some very important as well as surprising details about human behaviour and experience which in nearly all situation affects it.

YEAR 1 – PSYCHOLOGY ESSAY

QUESTION 1A

The studies carried out by Milgram, Piliavin, Haney and Gardner & Gardner, have unearthed some very important as well as surprising details about human behaviour and experience which in nearly all situation affects it. This question looks at the various forms of human behaviour, which make us what we are and also looks at ‘experience’, something we all seem to rely on heavily.

Firstly, in Milgram’s study of obedience, it was found that under pressure or authority we sometimes do what we normally would not have done, therefore showing that others influence our behaviour, particularly those who we think are more superior to us. “Carry on ……”, one of the main prods the experimenter used on the teacher to make the teacher carry on with the shock treatment. This shows that not only the presence of some authority figure, but also what they do and say can influence human behaviour. One of the reasons, which make us think that a person is superior to us, is because we think of the experience he/she has in that particular field or area. Because of this we assume that they are superior to us and that what they tell is the only option we can follow. Of course this is not always the case. Hitler did have some men in his army who did not follow his instructions and did try and betray him, but the majority of his army did do as he commanded.

The effect of an authority on human behaviour is demonstrated clearly in Milgram's study as the ‘teachers’ ask the so called experimenters, who they think are an authority over them, whether or not they should continue giving shock treatment to the subjects and they also turn to them for support and advice during a very tough emotional and moral battle that they are fighting within themselves.

Therefore we turn to people who we think have more experience than us and our decisions are affected by what others say and do, especially those who we see as an authority above us.

Similarly, in Pilavin’s study, human behaviour when helping people revolves particularly around three main factors. These are: Cost Reward Analysis, Plurastic ignorance and the emotional arousal. It was discovered in the experiment that people only went to help if the situation appealed to them and if they thought it was serious enough to help. This resulted in the drunk getting less help than the cane victims. Also people used the cost reward analysis before helping. This in simplified terms means the advantages and disadvantages of helping and also the advantages and disadvantages of not helping. This shows another part of the human behavioural patterns. Another, which can be added to this, is that of plurastic ignorance, which means that people do not know what to do, and therefore look at others near them and assess the genuineness based on what they do. Therefore if most people would not help, neither would that person. Also another reasons for humans not helping during certain situation is because of the Diffusion of Responsibility which means that the more people we see around us, the less we help out as we think that someone else will do so. There is also emphasis on ‘experience’ in the experiment as it can once again have effect on human behaviour. In this particular experiment if passengers on the train had themselves been a victim (i.e. cane victim, or drunk), or even if they had helped others before, it will most probably have an effect on their behaviour. Those people, who got help from others when they themselves were victims, might help out, whereas those who got no help when in a similar situation might not help. Also if a person has helped before and had not had the best of times helping, may decide to stay away from he incident this time around.

Zimbardo’s Prison Stimulation experiment was another experiment during which human behaviour and experience paid an important role. It was thought that prison life would have an effect on the behaviour of the prisoners as well as that of the guards.

It was discovered that prisoners started to behave in degrading ways because of them being trapped in a prison environment and also because they always had to follow orders from the guards and also because of the fact that they had no choice in the matter. Similarly the guards started to behave in cruel ways once they knew ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Zimbardo’s experiment proves the fact that when we have power and are see as an authority figure by others, our behaviour changes drastically and we become on some occasion very unfair and cruel to those below us.

Experience once again can affect behaviour. This is because those who have been in a prison before will feel that it is not that bad as they have been there before and know what to expect whereas those who haven’t been before find it as a shock. Those who have been in prison before may behave in a more civilised manner than others who haven’t.

Finally, the experiment carried out by Gardner and Gardner did not really uncover anything about human behaviour apart from the fact that language is something we are innately programmed to do. In this experiment a chimp named ‘Washoe’ was taught ASL(American Sign Language), but even after 4 years of training, only 132 signs were learnt. In comparison with that human children learn much more as they grow older, therefore showing that humans are innately programmed to do so. It also shows that we have a much more complex form of communication which animals like chimps cannot learn.

Experience is again a relative feature in this experiment. The experiment shows that with adequate experience even animals can learn features of our communication, therefore if they were to continue to be taught for many hundred of years they too may be able to communicate in the complex form that we are now able to communicate in.

Therefore all these various studies show a close relationship between experience and our behaviour.

QUESTION 1B

Psychological Research often shows one main problem, which is “ecological validity”. This in simplified terms means that the various studies have little application in real life situation. Below are reasons, which highlight the problems we face when we try to apply this information to everyday life.

Firstly, the main problem facing the application of Milgram’s study in real life is once again ecological validity. The results Milgram obtained from his research bear resemblance to ‘response bias’, which is related to the idea of ‘demand characteristics’. This means that the participants tried to anticipate beforehand what the purpose of the test was and also tried to do what they though would please the experimenter and what they thought was being asked of them. Therefore showing that the majority of the results obtained would be based on demand characteristics. For example many of the participants might have withdrawn if it were not for the ‘prods’. Also the experimenter said, “You cannot withdraw now”. Financial incentives were also given if the participants participated right to the end of the experiment, again leading to a 'response bias'. The location of the study was also another reason why some carried on as they perceived this as a study rather than something real life. Another reason why this study would be difficult to apply is the fact that the so-called ‘teachers’ were following all these commands when they couldn’t even see the subjects. This is very unreal and in real life situations we are more likely to see as well as hear the person. If the teacher could see the subject, the results may have been different.

Secondly, in Piliavin’s study the problem was not related to ecological validity but to other variables such as the; age of the bystanders; their colour and race; what past experience they may have; whether they were tired and so on. Variables such as these can have an effect on the way that the bystanders behave in a real situation. The age of the bystanders will be a factor as some may be too young to help and other too old. As the experiment showed that people from the same race helped out, the race of the bystanders can’t be controlled. Another aspect of the experiment, which cannot be controlled if the past experience which people, may have. It can incidentally have an effect on the outcome of the experiment as past experiences can either make people help or it can prevent them from helping. Similarly factors such as tiredness, mood and others can either prevent people from helping or infact make them help.

The main problem with Zimbardo’s ‘Prison Stimulation’ was the fact that it was exactly how a real prison would be. The guards had no one above them, which meant that they could misuse power to whatever extent they felt like. Also there were only a limited amount of prisoners who were all white. In prisons there are all races and so the behaviour of the prisoners may have been different. Also Zimbardo’s prison did not have any guideline, which the prisoners and guards had to adhere too, once again making it different from a real life prison.

Finally, Gardner and Gardner’s experiment had one main problem, which was ‘ecological validity’. Not all of us know ASL, which would therefore make the experiment of no use to us. Another problem would be the tendency to anthropomorphise, which means that we may interpret the chimp’s behaviour in human terms.

QUESTION 1C

The impacts of this psychological research have had many advantages and disadvantages on life.

Firstly, Milgram’s study has unearthed some very I important facts about human behaviour, which can lead to a many problems, which can be split in two categories. First being the disadvantages for the individual and the second being the disadvantage for the society. Milgram’s study suggests that we seem to obey people in authority. This would incidentally mean less control for an individual and what’s more it can mean in he/she having to do what they are told and not necessarily what the individual wants to do. This can lead to other severe other problems such as a lack in self-confidence and also maturity as other would be making most of the decisions for the individual. If a whole society was full of people who did not have their own say in a matter it would mean that the society itself would just be a computer game, which just a few people can play, and control. Other problems for the society would include a lack of dissent and therefore no pressure for social change. Although these are just the disadvantages, there are of course some advantages. Firstly, advantages for the individual include less aggravation and more acceptance. This would then result in a much more settled society and it would mean that there would be greater social order. This would then result in far less fights, wars and disputes.