What is a confederate in psychology research?

A confederate is a research actor who secretly participates in an experiment alongside actual subjects. Confederates follow the researcher's directions to create controlled social settings while participants believe they are interacting with genuine participants. This allows researchers to reliably capture naive reactions and study complex social behaviors that would be difficult to observe naturally.

How does perceived social status affect mimicry behavior?

In the confederate experiment, participants who believed the confederate held higher power as a residence hall assistant mimicked significantly more behaviors than those who thought the confederate was an equal-status student. This demonstrates that perceived social power influences whether people unconsciously imitate others' actions, revealing a key mechanism in social influence and status-based behavior.

What is the two-group design used in this confederate study?

The two-group design divides participants into two conditions: one group believes the confederate has higher power, while the other believes the confederate has equal power. Researchers then measure the dependent variable—the number of behaviors mimicked—across both groups to test whether perceived status influences mimicry. This design isolates the effect of the independent variable on participant behavior.

What specific behaviors does the confederate perform in the mimicry experiment?

The confederate performs seven key behaviors in sequence while solving math problems: playing with hair, putting a pen in their mouth, tapping fingers on the desk, touching their face, wrinkling their nose, whistling, and leaning back in the chair. Researchers tally how many of these behaviors participants unconsciously imitate while scoring the confederate's math performance.

Why is deception necessary in confederate experiments?

Deception is necessary because if participants knew a confederate was acting, they would not display natural, unconscious behaviors. Participants must genuinely believe they are observing another real participant to produce authentic mimicry responses. After the experiment concludes, researchers debrief participants and explain why the deception was essential for capturing genuine social behavior.

How do confederates help researchers study memory and social influence?

Confederates enable researchers to introduce controlled social elements into experiments. In memory studies, confederates provide misinformation to test whether social influence affects recall accuracy. In attraction studies, confederates interact with babies to measure whether witnessing nurturing behavior influences how women perceive attractiveness. This approach reveals how social context shapes cognition and perception.

What materials and setup are required to conduct a confederate mimicry experiment?

The experiment requires informed consent forms, pens, GRE-level math problem sheets, a one-way mirror for observation, and a behavior tally chart. The one-way mirror allows researchers to observe participants secretly while participants believe they are watching another person solve problems. This setup ensures participants remain unaware they are being observed, preserving the authenticity of their mimicry responses.

实验使用的邦联

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1.定义的关键变量。

创建电源操作定义（即，到底什么的研究员手段，概念清楚地描述）。
1. 本实验的目的，为功率测量的相对权威的大学校园，例如，住宅厅助理有更多的权力比不持有这种立场的学生。
创建模仿业务定义（即，到底什么的研究员手段，概念清楚地描述）。
1. 本实验的目的，模仿被定义为参与者的非自觉模仿南部邦联的制作类似的运动，他们的脚和手。

2.进行研究。

满足在实验室工作做一个学生参与者。
为参与者提供知情同意，简要说明研究的一种程序，相对值的潜在的风险利益，撤回权在任何时间和方式寻求帮助，如果他们经历不适。
参与者坐在一张课桌上单向镜子的窗边。
告诉参与者你希望他们能记得另一个参与者（在现实中的邦联）将坐在镜子镜子的两面单向 GRE 数学问题 (图 1) 工作时的行为。¹

图 1:给予南部邦联的 GRE 数学问题的例子。
火车的邦联。
1. 同盟军，也被称为走卒，是实验的一部分，并完全充当研究员指示。参与者被引导去相信邦联是一个参与者。
2. 培养邦联从事 7 关键行为: 玩他们的头发、把笔放在他嘴里，他们用手指敲、摸他们的脸、起皱他们的鼻子，发出哨声，和靠在椅子上。
3. 为保持一致性，邦联应匹配每个行为在 GRE 数学问题上的具体问题。例如，南部邦联在问题 1 时，他们应该玩头发，当他们工作的问题 2，他们应该把一支钢笔放在嘴的问题 3，他们应该利用他们的手指，等等。这将确保所有的行为都发生在相同的相对时间，为所有参与者。
导致他们的椅子前面的单向镜子镜子旁的邦联。
对待像一位参与者，邦联给予知情同意（2.2 以上所述），，然后解释参与者将完成 GRE 数学问题的表。
1. 在靠窗边的单向镜子，参加者有清晰的视觉和声音的研究员和同盟间的相互作用。
返回到参与者与一支钢笔和一份 GRE 问题。指示的参与者对那些他们认为邦联了一颗星，与那些他们认为邦联了不正确的 X 与正确的标记。
1. 处于一种状态，告诉参与者邦联是校园的头住所大厅助理。
2. 在其他条件下告诉参与者邦联是另一位与会者"就像你。
参与者的一侧坐下来并记录参与者的行为在图表上 (图 2)。

图 2:图表实验用于记录参与者的行为。

3.汇报的参与者。

告诉参与者的性质研究。
1. "谢谢您的参与。在本研究中我试图确定是否一位参与感知力量或权威将增加机会，像你这样的参与者会模仿他们的行为。在研究中有两组，一组被告知他们观察到的人是住所大厅助理，而另一组被告知他们只是另一位与会者。我们假设那些观察驻地大厅助理会更容易模仿他们的行为，因为他们是权威人物"。
明确地解释为什么欺骗是必要的实验。
1. "我们想要告诉你我们在本研究中使用的欺骗。我们用欺骗手段所告诉你的人，你观察到了另一位与会者，但事实上，他们研究的一部分，担任南部邦联。我们这样做感觉真实的实验，确保被观察那人做为研究中每个参与者同样行事。如果参与者知道真正的推理和假说研究的背景，他们可能通过试图辜负主试的感知来执行非自然的方式。为了消除这一问题，是我们必须使用邦联。由于欺骗性质，它是很自然的参与者不会意识到他们受骗。