COMPLIANCE TO THREATS DIRECTED AGAINST SELF AND AGAINST AN INNOCENT THIRD PERSON.
Abstract
The experiment is concerned with comparing compliance to two types of threat: (1) alter threatens to harm ego if ego does not comply with alter's wishes; and, (2) alter threatens to harm a third party if ego does not comply with alter's wishes. It was reasoned that the latter type threat activates social responsibility motives and, consequently, produces relatively more compliance. The experiment employed a 2 x 5 experimental design. Sex, one of the two variables, was systematically varied over five different threat conditions: In two conditions the innocent third party's losses for non-compliance were varied in the context of a 3-person game; in two conditions, the subject's losses for non-compliance were varied in a 2-person game; the last condition allowed to compare conditions in which the magnitude of loss was constant but the third party's presence or absence varied. The data do not support the hypothesis. It is suspected that the intensity of social responsibility forces is affected by conditions that affect the degree to which the other is perceived as having the right to expect help. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 04, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0642062
Entities
People
- Barbara A. Benedict
- Harvey A. Hornstein
- Morton Deutsch
Organizations
- Columbia University