explanations of obedience - situational variables Flashcards
(19 cards)
name the three areas that explanations of obedience fall into
situational
psychological
dispositional
what are the situational variables
proximity, location and uniform
what are the psychological variables
agentic state and legitimacy of authority
what are the dispositional variables
the authoritarian personality
explain proximity as an explanation of obedience
proximity refers to how close you are to the authority figure
what was the % of participants forced the learners hand onto the plate
30%
what % of participants obeyed when the teacher and learner were in the same room
40%
what % of participants obeyed when the orders where given over the phone
20.5%
explain location as an explanation for obedience
in another variation of Milgram’s experiment he changed the location to a run down office block instead of Yale university
what was the obedience rate in the run down office block compared to in the university
in the run down office block, the obedience rate was 47.5% whereas in the university it was 65%
explain uniform as an explanation for obedience
in Milgram’s experiment he wore a grey laboratory coat, this was his uniform to give him a look of authority
in one variation the researcher was called away by a phone call and a person in ordinary clothes obedience rates dropped to 20%
when the person conducting the research was in ordinary clothes, what did the obedience rate drop to
20%
who is the research evidence to support the role of uniform by
Bickman
Explain the evaluation point of research evidence to support the role of uniforms
explain the procedure
three male experimenters dressed in a uniform, as a milkman, security guard of a civilian they told passers in the street in New York to pick up their rubbish, move away from a bus stop or loan money to a stranger for a parking meter
what were the results of Bickmans study
the security guard had the most obedience with 38%
the civilian got 19%
the milkman got a 14% obedience
what do the results of Bickman suggest about the influence of uniform on obedient responses
it shows us that the smarter you look, the more people will obey you
how does Bickman’s study support Milgram’s and the situational explanation
when the experimenter was wearing the lab coat he had a uniform that was legitimate and looked like an authority figure and the security guard had the power in these scenarios that is why he had the highest obedience
explain the evaluation point control of variables
a strength of Milgram’s variations is that he systematically varied one variable at a time to see its effects on obedience, the studies were done over and over again with in total with approximately 1000 participants
explain the evaluation point the obedience alibi
one weakness is that situational factors provide an obedience alibi Mandel argues its an excuse for their behaviour which could be seen as offensive, arguing people are victims of situational factors beyond their control
This is a weakness because it could be argued it removes personal responsibility of individuals for their actions such as perpetrators of the holocaust
