A psychologist studies behaviour at two residential activity centres. At Centre A, participants are taught that the group succeeds together and that everyone is expected to help with shared jobs. At Centre B, participants are encouraged to concentrate on their own achievement and are responsible only for their own equipment.
The psychologist records whether participants voluntarily help another participant put away shared equipment. An unfamiliar adult also uses the same words to ask participants to move some chairs. For half of the participants, the adult wears a site supervisor's uniform and identity badge. For the other half, the adult wears plain clothes.
| Activity centre | Participants who helped (%) | Participants who obeyed the adult in the supervisor's uniform (%) | Participants who obeyed the adult in plain clothes (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centre A | 72 | 86 | 51 |
| Centre B | 39 | 79 | 44 |
Describe the situational influences illustrated by these results and the likely effects on behaviour of the following changes: a participant spending several weeks at Centre A after moving from Centre B, and the same adult giving the same instruction while wearing a delivery driver's uniform.
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.