Bickman (1974)

Question 1

Bickman (1974) - aims?

Answer 1

investigate effect of uniform on perception of legitimate authority and whether people would obey this

Question 2

Bickman (1974) - participants?

Answer 2

153 adult pedestrians on weekday afternoon in New York identified by convenience sample

Question 3

Bickman (1974) - method?

Answer 3

three experimenters took turns dressing as a civilian, milkman and guard (ensured reactions were to uniform not individual)
each experimenter gave one of the three orders to each passing pedestrian
orders: picking up litter (bag on ground), coin and parking meter (nod at helper stood by parking meter and tell pedestrian that the man is overcharged but doesn’t have any change so they must give him a dime) and bus stop (experimenter approached subject waiting for bus and tells them they should be standing on the other side of the pole as a sign says ‘no standing’)

Question 4

Bickman (1974) - results?

Answer 4

parking meter - 89% obey guard, 57% milkman and 33% civilian
litter picking - 38% obey guard, 14% milkman and 19% civilian
no gender difference in obedience levels observed or reported

Question 5

Bickman (1974) - conclusions?

Answer 5

study showed power of uniform and how authority can be shown just by what someone is wearing
people are more likely to obey if they think someone has authority to punish them