BICKMAN (1974) STUDY INTO THE POWER OF UNI FORM ON OBEDI ENCE L EVE LS Flashcards
AIM
To investigate whether uniform which signifies authority will affect levels of obedience.
hypothesis
A uniformed guard has more ability to influence individuals than a person in a lower-authority uniform (milkman) or wearing no uniform (conventional dress).
RESEARCH METHOD/ DESIGN
A field experiment was carried out on the streets of Brooklyn, New York.
IV of the experiment
IV-the type of uniform being tested
DV of the experiment
DV- a) The levels of obedience in relation to a uniform. (b) The levels of obedience in relation to the situation.
SAMPLE
153 pedestrians on the streets
of Brooklyn, New York.
procedure
They were given instructions from three male experimenters dressed as either a guard, a milkman or a civilian. All three men took turns to wear all three uniforms.
The experimenters gave one order to each participant who was either to pick up a paper bag, give a coin to a person for a parking meter, or to move to the other side of a bus stop pole.
Experiments were conducted on weekdays with 77% of the data collected during the afternoons.
the three situation used by the experimenters
Picking up a bag
Dime and meter
Bus stop - no standing
Picking up a bag
E stopped the chose participant and pointed to a small paper bag on the ground and said ‘pick up this bag for me’. If the participant did not comply immediately, the E also said ‘I have a bad back’.
Dime and meter
E stopped the chosen participant and pointed to a confederate standing beside a car parked next to a parking meter and said ‘This fellow doesn’t have any change. Give him a dime!’ If the participant did not comply immediately, the E added that he did not have any change either
Bus stop - no standing
E chose the participant if they were standing alone at the bus stop. the E approached them and said ‘ Don’t you know you have to stand on the other side of this pole? The sign says ‘No standing’ (the no standing actually referred to the fact that it is illegal for a car to be parked/waiting in a bus stop). If the participant did not comply immediately, the E added ‘Then the bus won’t stop here, it’s a new law’
types of experimenters
Civilian
Milkman
Guard
Civilian
Sports jacket and tie
Milkman
Dressed in white, carrying milkman’s basket with empty milk bottle
Guard
Similar to policeman, but with different badge and insignia; no gun was carried
Results of experiment 1
paper bag
C : 36
M : 64
G : 82
dime and meter
C : 34
M : 57
G : 89
Bus stop
C : 20
M : 21
G : 56
what can be concluded from experiment 1
Regardless of the scenario, there was no significant difference in obedience rates between the milkman uniform and the civilian dress as a guard, the rates of obedience were significantly higher than when he dressed as a civilian.
This demonstrated the social power of certain uniforms (those that signify authority).
Experiment 2 sample and design
Field experiment, which took place in another part of Brooklyn, New York. The participant were 48 adult pedestrians of an estimated average of 46 years old. The dime and meter was used, as in Experiment 1
What were the two IVs in experiment 2 (1)
Two levels of authority were used: guard and civilian
What were the two IVs in experiment 2 (2)
Surveillance and non-surveillance surveillance:
in the surveillance condition, the experimenter stood with the participant next to the parking meter while the confederate stood nearby the car. In the non-surveillance condition, the experimenter approached the participant in the street, asked them to give the dime, then walked away and was out of sight before the participant reached the parking meter
Results of experiment 2
When the guard’s uniform was used, the obedience rates were much higher than when the civilian outfit was used.
However, surveillance had no significant effect on whether participants obeyed or not.
Experiment 3A
A questionnaire with 29 different scenarios to do with obedience.
The sample was made up of 141 college students who were asked if each was legitimate depending on whether it was made by a young man, a milkman or a guard.
Results of experiment 3A
Of the three original scenarios, the guard was not perceived as more legitimate than the other uniforms when giving the order. This suggests that participants did not think the experimenter’s uniform made their request any more legitimate
Some of the new scenarios were seen as more legitimate than others
Experiment 3B
Questionnaires were used again, but this time to ask participants what they thought people would do in one of the scenarios from Experiment 1.
The sample was made up of 189 students
Results of Experiment 3B
Results showed that participants did not think the guard would have more social power in these situations, compared to the milkman or the civilian
Conclusion (1)
Uniformed people, (even when acting out of role), have greater power than non-uniformed people.
Conclusion (2)
Power and legitimacy seem to be related to the type of uniform worn / the more legitimate the social power
shown by an individual through the wearing of a uniform, the more likely their requests/orders will be obeyed.
Conclusion (3)
Levels of obedience may be related to the situation.
Conclusion (4)
Although, in theory, a situation influences obedience levels, in practice the appearance of the person giving the order has a greater effect.
Conclusion (5)
Predictions relating to obedience behaviour are not good predictions of actual behaviour.
Criticisms (1)
As Bickman used a field experiment so there is a lack of control over extraneous ‘street’ variables, such as noise, weather and crowding, which could have affected the results.
Criticisms (2)
An opportunity sample was used there was no prior knowledge of the personality or circumstances of each participant, they might have been in a hurry or even depressed, which would have affected their obedience and the results of the experiment.
Criticisms (3)
The experiment was unethical as participants did not give their informed consent and they were not debriefed afterwards. This means they could have been distressed or embarrassed by the orders.
Criticisms (4)
The sample is unrepresentative. There was a gender bias as the experimenters were male, so people might have been more likely to obey an order given by a male rather than a female. There was also a culture bias as the experiment took place in only one city. We cannot be sure that people from other cultures would obey in the same way, so the results cannot be generalised.
Criticisms (5)
The use of scenarios in the questionnaire were not ‘real’ enough, which is why more people said they would not obey. Questionnaires rely too much on people’s honesty and insight.
