Social Influence - Situational Explanations For Obedience

Question 1

What are the 3 situational factors that affect obedience?

Answer 1

Proximity
Location
Uniform

Question 2

How does proximity to the learner affect obedience?

Answer 2

When the physical distance between teacher & learner is closer participants are less able to divorce themselves from the situation & are more likely to realise the consequences of their actions & leave the agentic state so obedience drops

Question 3

What was the research around proximity?

Answer 3

Milgram:

When the teacher & learner were in the same room obedience dropped from 62.5% to 40%
When the teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto a shock plate -> obedience fell to 30%

Question 4

How does location affect obedience rates?

Answer 4

The location of an environment can be relevant to the legitimacy of authority an authority figure has. If the location is somewhere prestigious (like Yale university) obedience will be higher

Question 5

What was the research around location?

Answer 5

Milgram:

A variation of his study was done in a run-down office block -> obedience dropped from 62.5% to 47.5%

Question 6

How does uniforms effect obedience rates?

Answer 6

Uniforms can give a perception of legitimate authority for authority figures when giving orders so when someone is wearing a uniform (e.g. the lab coat), obedience rate increases

Question 7

What was the research around uniform?

Answer 7

Bickman

A confederate dressed up as a civilian, milkman & guard and ordered people on the street to pick up rubbish, give money to a stranger & move away from a bus stop

14% obeyed milkman
19% obeyed the civilian
38% obeyed the guard

Question 8

What was the evaluation for Milgram’s research into proximity?

Answer 8

Strength: high internal validity as there is high control over variables (IV had definite effect on the DV)

Limitations: Hofling et al (nurses study) -> suggests the legitimacy of the situation is more important than proximity to the learner

Question 9

What was the evaluation for Milgram’s research into location?

Answer 9

Strength: Supporting cross cultural research (Miranda et al found high obedience rates in the Spanish population) -> shows Milgram’s findings are generalisable to women & other individualist cultures

Question 10

What was the evaluation for Bickman’s research into uniform?

Answer 10

High external validity -> field experiment so there is little demand characteristics (people would be less likely to guess the aim of the experiment and act differently as they perceive the confederate to be a real authority figure)