Obedience - situational variables

Question 1

AO1

Answer 1

situational variables = features of immediate physical/social environment which may influence someone’s behaviour
Milgram studied 3 types:
- proximity = teacher & learner in same room - obedience dropped from 65% (original) to 40%
- touch proximity = teacher forced learners hand onto ‘electroshock plate’ if learner refused after wrong answer - obedience dropped to 30%
- remote instruction = experimenter left room & ordered via telephone - dropped to 20.5% –> reasons for decreases: cannot psychologically distance themselves from consequences of actions
- location = run-down office block instead of Yale - fell to 47.5%
–> lack of legitimacy/authority associated with this comparing yale but obedience still high(ish) due to ‘scientific’ nature of experiment
- uniform = experimenter replaced with ordinary member (confederate) in regular clothes - dropped to 20% = lowest
–> uniforms encourage obedience as they’re symbols of authority

Question 2

strength - research support

Answer 2

E: field experiment in NY (Bickman 1974) had 3 confederates dress in varied outfits - 1x jacket/tie, 1x milkman & 1x security guard. They stood in the street & asked passers-by to do tasks eg. picking litter up or handing coin over for parking meter. They were 2x as likely t obey security guard than the jacket/tie.
T: supports view that situational variables (eg. uniform) have a large effect on obedience

Question 3

strength - findings have been replicated in other cultures

Answer 3

• E: Meeus & Raaijmakers (1986) used more realistic procedure than Milgram in Dutch participants. They were ordered to say stressful things during an interview with someone (confederate) who was desperate for a job - 90% obeyed. They also replicated his findings regarding proximity where the person ordering wasn’t present & obedience dropped dramatically
  T: suggests Milgram’s finding’s are not limited to Americans/men but valid across cultures & for women

Question 4

counterpoint to replication in other cultures^^

Answer 4

E: replications of Milgram’s research are not very ‘cross-cultural’ - Smith & Bond (1998) identified 2 replications between 1968-85 in India & Jordan (culturally different to US)
T: may not be appropriate to conclude Milgram’s findings apply to people in all/most cultures

Question 5

weakness - low internal validity as participants possibly aware of fake procedure

Answer 5

E: Orne & Holland (1968) made criticism of his baseline study & said how it’s even more possible in the variations due to the extra manipulation eg. when experimenter was replaced with a ‘member of the public’.
T: in Milgram’s studies it is unclear whether the findings are genuinely due to obedience or if the deception was visible & a response to demand characteristics