culture affecting obedience

Question 1

individualistic cultures P1, A01

Answer 1

culture can be described as the specific customs and behaviours of a group of people
an individualistic culture is one where people value personal autonomy and self-reliance
individualistic cultures tend to be from places such as the USA and Northern Europe and they may be less obedient because they value self-determination and independence highly

Question 2

strength of individualistic cultures - P1, A03

Answer 2

one strength of culture affecting obedience is study evidence from Kilham and Mann (1974) and Edwards (1969)
Kilham and Mann (1974) found the lowest obedience rating of ppts administering 450V shocks of 28% in Australia (an individualist culture) and Edwards (1969) found a high obedience rating of 87.5% in South Africa (a collectivist culture)
A low obedience rating would indicate that ppts were rebelling against the authoritative orders. Ppts from South Africa have been brought up to respect authority, disregarding their own beliefs
therefore, the results show that when an individual is from an individualistic culture, they are around 59.5% less likely to obey an authority figure which could be because they value independence and self-determination highly so are less obedient

Question 3

collectivistic cultures - P2, A01

Answer 3

collectivist cultures tend to value loyalty to the group, interdependence and cooperation in pursuit of group goals
collectivistic cultures tend to be found more in places such as Japan and Brazil and more obedient because they feel and obligation and sense of duty which may override their desire to rebel

Question 4

strength of collectivistic cultures - Schurz (1985)

Answer 4

one strength of culture affecting obedience is study evidence from Schurz (1985)
Schurz (1985) conducted a replication of Milgram’s study in Austria using the procedure of giving bursts of ultrasounds instead of electric shocks that participants were told would hurt
an 80% obedience rate in the experimental group was found which shows that there is higher obedience in countries that are collectivist compared to America, an individualistic country
therefore, there is study evidence to show that collectivistic cultures are more likely to obey than individualistic cultures because the obedience rate in the USA was 65% compared to 80% in Austria which is showing that obedience rates are lower in individualistic cultures

Question 5

situation alternative explanation - P3, A01 and A03

Answer 5

However, situation is more likely to cause obedience level changes than culture
Milgram found a 17.5% decrease in obedience levels when the study was moved from the prestigious setting of Yale to a run down office block
this shows that a change in situation has a large impact on obedience levels
therefore, the situation in which someone is being asked to carry out orders in can be seen to affect obedience levels in a more noticeable way than the way in which culture affects obedience levels