Explanations For Obedience (Situational) Flashcards
(17 cards)
What was the aim of Milgram’s experiment?
To investigate the extent to which people will obey instructions that may harm others
Conducted at Yale University.
What is obedience?
When a person changes their behavior in response to a direct order from an authority figure.
Define ‘Agentic State’.
A mental state where a person sees no responsibility for their actions, believing they are acting for an authority figure.
What percentage of participants administered the maximum shock of 450V?
65%.
What factor significantly influenced obedience in the Milgram study?
Legitimacy of authority.
How did the location of the experiment affect obedience rates?
Obedience decreased to 48% when moved to a rundown office.
What was the effect of proximity to the learner on obedience rates?
Obedience decreased to 50% when the learner was in the same room.
What was the obedience rate when the teacher was required to hold the learner’s hand on the shock plate?
Obedience decreased to 30%.
How did the uniform of the authority figure affect obedience?
Obedience decreased to 20% when instructions were given by someone in casual clothes.
True or False: The Milgram experiment found that the more prestigious the setting, the higher the obedience rates.
True.
What is a key situational factor that influenced obedience in the Milgram study?
Proximity of the authority figure.
What were the results regarding visual cues and empathy in the Milgram experiment? (Proximity)
Visual cues of someone else’s pain triggered empathetic responses, lowering obedience.
What percentage of participants showed obedience when the authority figure was in a lab coat?
Higher rates of obedience compared to when the authority figure was in casual clothing.
AO1 Situational Variables
Are external factors that influence the levels of obedience. Milgram investigated obedience through studying the extent to which a participant would obey to shock a confederate if they incorrectly recalled the list of words they learned. In his first study, 65% of all 40 participants obeyed to the experimenter and shocked the participant to 450 volts. All went to 300 volts
AO1 Milgrams Variation Studies
Investigated situational variables by replicating his original experiment in different situations. Some examples include: location of experiment, proximity of learner and the legitimacy of the authority figure. Milgram found that when the experiments location was changed to a run down office from originally being done at Yale university, the rate participants shock to 450V decreased to 48%. Authority, casual clothes, decreased to 20%. Proximity of learner and teacher in same room, decreased to 50%. Participant hand on learner, decreased rate to 30%.
Strength- Hofling et al FINISH
Studied obedience with nurses to see how far they would obey to doctors telling them to give patients medications double the recommended dosage over the phone. Found 21/22 nurses obeyed the doctor, 10 realised the dosage was too much and could lead to a possible overdose.
Links to legitimacy of authority and agentic state.
Alternative theory for obedience
Dispositional explanation, Adorno, f-scale, found people who had an authoritarian personality had a tendency to be especially obedient to authority. Suggests there is a psychological disorder (internal personality characteristics) that make people more likely to obey.
