4 Factors Affecting Obedience : Situation & Culture

Question 1

What factors affect obedience SC? FAO : SC

Answer 1

• Situation (legitimacy, proximity, behaviour of others)
• Culture (individualism vs collectivism, power distance index)

Question 2

What is legitimacy (situation)? FAO : SC

Answer 2

Legitimacy is the how legitimate the authority figure is perceived.

• A man in a lab coat is more legitimate than a man in shorts and a t-shirt.

Question 3

What is proximity (situation)? FAO : SC

Answer 3

Proximity refers to the physical distance between the authority figure and the subject. The closer the authority figure is, the more influence it has.

• Milgram showed that telephonic instructions were less influential than physical instructions.

Question 4

What is behaviour of others (situation)? FAO : SC

Answer 4

Behaviour of others influence the degree of obedience. More obedient peers result in one being more obedient.

• Milgram showed this when two confederates refused to go on, which made obedience drop to 10%.

Question 5

What is individualism vs collectivism (culture)? FAO : SC

Answer 5

Individualist cultures, such as America and parts of Europe, value independence and autonomy more than Collectivist cultures such as China.

• Individualist : less likely to be obedient.
• Collectivist : more likely to be obedient.

Question 6

What is power distance index (culture)? FAO : SC

Answer 6

PDI refers to how accepting people are of hierarchical order. Higher PDI is more hierarchical.

• Hofstede (2017) showed that people in high PDI cultures expect to be told what to do by their bosses.