Situational variables Flashcards
(16 cards)
What are situational variables?
Feature software the immediate psychical and social environment which may influence a person behaviour.
What is proximity?
Psychical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to
What happened in the proximity variation of the baseline study?
In base line study teacher could hear learner but not see him.
In proximity variation teacher and learner were in the same room.
obedience rate dropped from origional 65% to 40%
What happened in the touch proximity variation of the baseline study?
Teacher had to force learners hand onto an electroshock plate, if refused to place it there himself after giving wrong answer.
Obedience dropped a further 30%
What happened in the remote instruction variation of the baseline study?
Experimenter left the room and gave intrusions to teacher by telephone.
Obedience reduced to 20.5%
Participants also frequently pretended to give shocks
What is an explanation for the results of the proximity variation?
Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves form the consequences of their actions.
What is location?
The place where an order is issued
What happened in the location variation of the baseline study?
Run down office block rather than in the prestigious Yale university setting
Obedience felel to 47.5%
What is an explanation for the results of the location variation?
Prestigious university environment gave study legitimacy and authority.
Participants more obedient in this location
They perceived that the experimenter shared this legitimacy and that obedience was expected
Obedience was still quite high in office block
Participants perceived the ‘scientific nature of the procedure
What is uniform?
People in positions of authority often have specific outfits that is symbolic of their authority.
What was the uniform variation of the baseline study?
Baseline study experimenter wore grey lab coat as symbol of authority.
In one variation experiment was called away because of inconvenient telephone call at start of procedure.
Role of experiment was taken over by ordinary member of the public (confederate) in everyday clothes.
Obedience rate dropped to 20%
What is an explanation for the uniform variation?
Uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised symbols of authority.
We accept that someone is in uniform is entitles to expect obedience because their authority is legitimate.
Someone without a uniform has less right to expect our obedience.
What is an evaluation for the situational variables on obedience?
Research support
Field experiment
New York City
Bickman
Three confederates dress in a different outfit.
Jacket and tie
Milkmans outfit
Security guard uniform
Confederates individually stood in the street and asked passers by to perform tasks such as picking up litter or handing over a coin for the parking meter.
People were 2x likely to obey the security guard uniform than one dressed in jacket and tie.
Supporting view that situational variables do have a powerful effect on obedience
What is an evaluation for the situational variables on obedience?
Cross cultural replications
Meeus and Raaijmakers
More relaistic procedure than Milgram’s study.
Dutch participants
Participants ordered to say stressful things in an interview to someone desperate for a job.
90% participants obeyed.
Researcher also replicated findings concerning proximity
When persons giving order were not present, obedience decreased dramatically
Suggesting finding about obedience are not just limited to Americans or men
But valid across cultures and apply to women too
What is an evaluation for the situational variables on obedience?
Counterpoint to cross cultural replications
Replications aren’t very cross cultural
Smith and Bond
Identified two replications between 1968 and 1958
India and Jordan
Both countries culturally quite different from US
Other countries involved are culturally quite different from the US
Countries involved are culturally quite similar to US
May not be appropriate to conclude milligrams findings apply to people in all or most countries
What is an evaluation for the situational variables on obedience?
Low internal validity
Participants may have been aware the procedure was faked.
Orne and Holland
Point out it is even more likely in his variations because of extra manipulation variables.
Eg. when replaced by member of public
Even milgram recognised that situation was so contrived that some participants may have worked out the truth.
In all of muilgrams studies it is unclear whether the findings are genuinely due to the operation of obedience or because the participants saw through the deception and just play acted.
