A psychologist plans a field experiment in a hospital outpatient area. The same confederate will approach each adult visitor and say, “Please wait behind the yellow line until the corridor is clear.” In one condition, the confederate will wear a hospital security officer’s uniform and identity badge. In the other condition, the confederate will wear ordinary clothes.
The psychologist will use an opportunity sample of visitors available between 1 pm and 3 pm on one Tuesday.
Outline a prediction for the study and explain why Bickman’s (1974) findings can be applied to make this prediction. Explain one weakness of the sampling method for drawing conclusions about obedience.
76 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Psychology 4.2 Theories/Explanations, covering 4.2.1 Situational factors on conformity and crowds, 4.2.2 Situational factors on culture and obedience; criticisms, 4.2.3 Situational Factors research study: Bickman (1974), 4.2.4 Dispositional factors on conformity, crowds, morality, obedience, 4.2.5 Brain in dispositional factors; criticisms, and 4.2.6 Dispositional Factors research study: NatCen (2011). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.