Social Influence- Obedience Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is obedience?
A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order.
What was the procedure of Milgram’s study?
40 male American volunteers at Yale university, after seeing an ad in a newspaper- $4.50 to participate.
Upon arrival, introduced to ‘another ptpt’ (confederate). Ptpt always teacher, confederate always learner but pretended to randomly allocate. Another confederate ‘mr Wallace’ wore a lab coat and was ‘experimenter’.
Learner strapped to chair in next door room, had to recall word pairs and each time they were wrong, electric shocks administered. Shocks started at 15V, up to 450V (‘danger severe shock’). 300V learner would shout and bang on walls, 315V no response.
What were the findings of Milgram’s study?
All ptpts went up to at least 300V, 65% continued to administer full 450V. Observations of teachers reported signs of distress, tension, sweating etc.
What is a strength + however of Milgram’s study?
Visible, genuine distress displayed.
Study was filmed by Milgram, emotions real.
High internal validity.
However- task was artificial. Asking to deliver an electric shock to somebody is not reflective of real life.
Low ecological validity.
What are two weaknesses of Milgram’s study?
Androcentric- beta bias.
Sample only American males- research may have minimised difference between men and women in relation to obeying an authority figure.
Ethical issues- deception, informed consent, right to withdraw.
Ptpts’ wellbeing was ignored. Deceived about the shocks, didn’t give informed consent (told it was a memory test not an obedience test). When they attempted to withdraw, the ‘experimenter’ made it difficult to do so.
However, main defence is that the study wouldn’t have been possible if ptpts knew what was being investigated.
Explain proximity variation (situational factor of obedience)
In baseline study, learner and teacher in adjoining rooms. Proximity variation- in the same room. Obedience 65%-40%.
Explain location variation (situational factor of obedience)
In location variation, place changed from Yale uni to a run down office block. 65%-47.5%.
Explain uniform variation (situational factor of obedience)
Authority figure wearing lab coat in baseline. In uniform variation, experimenter was then a member of the public in normal clothes. Obedience 65%-20%.
What are two strengths of situational factors affecting obedience?
Supporting evidence for uniform.
Bickman conducted a field experiment in York city- 3 confederates dressed in either a suit, as a milkman, or or as a security guard. Stood in street and asked passers by to do tasks such as picking up litter. 2x more likely to obey security guard outfit.
High internal validity.
Methodological approach.
Milgram’s systematically changed one variable at a time. High control over variables meant that it was possible to closely monitor effect it was having on obedience.
Highly reliable.
What is a weakness of situational factors affecting obedience?
Didn’t test what it set out to investigate.
Was proposed that so many ptpts went to higher voltages because they didn’t believe shocks to be real and weren’t fooled by the experiment setup. Saw through the deception.
Low internal validity.
What is the agentic state?
Mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure- as an ‘agent’.
What is the autonomous state?
A mindset where we behave independently, make our own decisions about how we behave, and take responsibility for the consequences of our own actions.
What are binding factors? (Explanation for agentic state)
Factors which allow people to limit/shield the damaging effect they’re having and therefore ease the ‘moral strain’.
What is a strength of the agentic shift (situational explanation of obedience)?
Supporting research.
Milgram’s research supports role of agentic state- most ptpts resisted giving shocks at one point- e.g. ptpts continued to the end when hearing experimenter was responsible.
High internal validity.
What is a weakness of the agentic shift (situational explanation of obedience)?
Contradictory evidence.
Cannot explain all research findings. Experiment with doctor and nurse
What is legitimacy of authority?
More likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. Justified by the individuals position of power within a social hierarchy.
What is destructive authority?
When an authoritative individual uses their power to destruct through encouragement of cruel, stupid, dangerous behaviours.
What is a strength of legitimacy of authority?
Explains cultural differences.
Countries differ in how obedient they are to authority. Milgram’s study being replicated in different countries found different levels of obedience- showing that authority is more legitimate in some cultures than others.
Cultural relativism.
What is a weakness of legitimacy of authority?
Contradictory evidence.
Can’t explain disobedience when legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted. Experiment with drs and nurses, disobedient despite rigid hierarchical structure. Possible that innate tendencies have greater influences on behaviour than legitimacy of authority.
Low internal validity.
What is the authoritarian personality?
Especially susceptible to obeying people in authority, and dismissing people who are inferior.
What is the origin of the authoritarian personality?
Harsh discipline, conditional love, high standards. Fears are displaced onto others who are seen as weaker.
What was the procedure of research into the authoritarian personality?
Studied obedient personality in more than 2000 middle class white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups. Used fascism scale.
What were the findings of research into the authoritarian personality?
The more authoritarian they were, the more they identified with strong people. Conscious of their own and others statuses. Found that authoritarian people had a cognitive style which categorised others into stereotypical categories- strong positive correlation between prejudice and authoritarianism.
What is a strength of dispositional explanations for obedience?
Research support for the authoritarian personality.
Later research from milgram- 20 obedient ptpts scored significantly higher on F-scale in comparison to 20 disobedient ptpts.
High internal validity.
