obedience: situational factors Flashcards
(15 cards)
define ‘gradual commitment’
When an individual is asked to perform a seemingly harmless task, and so finds it harder to refuse tasks that escalate to something more serious.
Using a study, give an example of gradual commitment.
Milgram asked the ppts to administer shocks for every wrong answer, increasing by 15V each time and so the increase from 15-450V would seem less drastic.
What is the name given to the first process of gradual commitment?
foot in the door
How does proximity affect the level of obedience?
The closer the authority figure, the more obedient an individual is likely to be.
How did Hitler maintain both types of proximity with his followers?
Physical = he had guards patrolling the streets so that everyone was reminded of his authority
Psychological = his propaganda withheld the idea of his power and authority, alongside his control over the majority of the German population
define ‘buffer’
Any aspect of a situation that protects people from seeing the consequences of their actions.
Give an example of a buffer in Milgram’s study
Milgram = the wall separating the learner and teacher stopped the teacher from seeing the affects of his shocks to the learner.
How does location affect obedience?
- A prestigious/unfamiliar location adds to the credibility of the authority figure giving orders.
- A familiar location would make the individual feel more relaxed and so more likely to disobey.
How did the use of uniform affect Milgram’s study?
The experimenter wore a lab coat which indicated that he possessed scientific expertise and so would have increased obedience as he was considered a legitimate authority figure.
Which variation of Milgram’s experiment supports the idea of uniform playing an important part in obedience?
The ‘Ordinary Man Gives Orders’ variation as there was a significant increase in disobedience when the legitimacy of the experimenter was removed.
Why does group pressure change the level of obedience?
When a group norm has been established (obedience/disobedience) an individual will likely conform to this norm so that they don’t stand out.
How does accountability affect obedience?
When an individual feels responsible for the consequences of their obedience to authority they are more likely to disobey. Differing this responsibility to the authority figure makes the individual more likely to carry out extreme orders.
ideal circumstances for obedience-
- unfiform which suggests legitmacy
- intimidating/unfamiliar environment
- when a large amount of people are conforming
- authority figure in close proximity
- individual feels they are not directly responsible for consequences
strength of situational factors
m
A strength of situational factors is that Milgram’s variations support. Despite having exactly the same standardised procedure as his original variation of administering electric shocks when the learner got the answer wrong except for instructions being given via telephone, in variation 7 obedience decreased from 65% to 22.5%, which suggests that as all ppts were subject to the same controls, it is situational factors affecting obedience.
weakness of situational factors
m
a weakness of situational factors is that it is reductionist. in his orginal experiement, 35% of the ppts did not continue to 450v despite all being subject to the same conditions, with no change in situational factors. this suggests that there might be something different about their personalities- dispositional factors- and so situational factors may not be the only thing influencing obedience, and so is an incomplete explanation of human behaviour.
