Explanations For Obedience

Question 1

What is obedience?

Answer 1

• Carrying out the instructions of an authority figure

Question 2

Outline Milgram’s Study Of Obedience

Answer 2

• Milgram (1963) aimed to understand how ordinary people obey authority, even to the point of committing harmful acts, like the Nazi officers during World War II
• Milgram conducted his experiment at Yale University and tested 40 paid male volunteers from all types of backgrounds. Participants were told that the research was into the effects of punishment on learning. The participants’ task was to be the ‘teacher’ whose role was to administer electric shocks of increasing voltage to the ‘learner’ each time they made a mistake, these shocks were not real but the participants did not know this. An ‘experimenter’ in a lab coat was overseeing the operation and when the ‘teacher’ began to worry about giving the electric shocks, the ‘experimenter’ insisted that they continue, by the use of ‘prods’
• Milgram found that all participants administered shocks of at least 300 volts and 65% of the participants went up to 450 volts, the maximum voltage. Participants also showed signs of extreme tension including sweating and trembling
• Milgram concluded that under certain circumstances participants will obey an authority figure, even when they feel uncomfortable doing so

Question 3

What are evaluation points for Milgram’s Study Of Obedience?

Answer 3

• High Control (+)
• Low Population Validity (-)
• Ethical Issues (-)

Question 4

Explain the evaluation point ‘High Control’

Answer 4

• A strength of Milgram’s study is that it is a lab experiment and therefore establishes cause and effect
• This means Milgram can be confident that it is the IV, the presence of the researcher and the prods he gave that is causing the DV, the number of participants that gave the learner an electric shock of 450 volts
• This is a strength because we can be confident that results about obedience are not being affected by confounding variables
• Therefore this study has internal validity

Question 5

Explain the evaluation point ‘Low Population Validity’

Answer 5

• A limitation of Milgram’s research is that it has low population validity
• Milgram’s study consisted of American males and therefore were not representative of all people as it may be the case that Americans or males are more or less obedient compared to other people
• This is a limitation because the results about obedience may be difficult to generalise to the behaviours of others such as females or people from other countries
• Therefore this study has low external validity

Question 6

Explain the evaluation point ‘Ethical Issues’

Answer 6

• A limitation of Milgram’s research is that there are ethical issues with his procedure
• Milgram deceived his participants in many ways: they did not know they weren’t giving real electric shocks, they did not know that the experimenter and learner were confederates, they did not know the real aim of the study and they did not know that the study was fixed so that they were the teacher. Participants therefore could not five informed consent
  –> Also, Milgram did not protect his participants from psychological harm as they became very stressed at the thought oof giving a stranger electric shocks. Participants showed signs of tension including trembling, sweating, stuttering, laughing nervously and biting lips
• This is a limitation because it would go against the current BPS ethical guidelines for conducting psychological research
• Though Milgram would argue that deception was necessary, as revealing the true aim could have led participants to display demand characteristics, reducing the study’s internal validity

Question 7

What are situational variables?

Answer 7

• Features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour

Question 8

Explain the situational variable of ‘uniform’

Answer 8

• In the original study the authority figure wore a lab coat, while in a variation they dressed in ordinary clothes. This change led to a decrease in obedience, with only 20% of participants administering the maximum shock of 450 volts. Uniforms symbolise authority, and people tend to comply more with those in uniform, viewing their authority as legitimate, whereas individuals without uniforms have less expectation of obedience

Question 9

Explain the situational variable of ‘location’

Answer 9

• In the original study the experiment was located in Yale University, while in a variation it was located in run down offices. This change led to a decrease in obedience, with only 47.5% of participants administering the maximum shock of 450 volts. The prestigious university setting enhanced the experimenter’s legitimacy, while the office location undermined it

Question 10

Explain the situational variable of ‘proximity’

Answer 10

• In the original study the teacher and learner were in different rooms, while in a variation the teacher and the learner were in the same room. This change led to a decrease in obedience with only 40% of participants administering the maximum shock of 450 volts. Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions, while closer proximity made the teacher more aware of the learner’s distress, reducing their willingness to obey

Question 11

What are evaluation points for Situational Variables Affecting Obedience?

Answer 11

• High Control (+)
• Low Population Validity (-)
• Ethical Issues (-)

Question 12

Explain the evaluation point ‘High Control’

Answer 12

• A strength of Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience is that it is a lab experiment and therefore establishes cause and effect
• This means Milgram can be confident that it is the IV, (SITUATIONAL VARIABLE IN QUESTION), that is causing the DV, the number of participants that gave the learner an electric shock of 450 volts
• This is a strength because we can be confident that results about situational variables affecting obedience are not being affected by confounding variables
• Therefore this study has internal validity

Question 13

Explain the evaluation point ‘Low Population Validity’

Answer 13

• A limitation of Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience is that it has low population validity
• Milgram’s study consisted of American males and therefore were not representative of all people as it may be the case that Americans or males are more or less obedient compared to other people
• This is a limitation because the results about situational variables affecting obedience may be difficult to generalise to the behaviours of others such as females or people from other countries
• Therefore this study has low external validity

Question 14

Explain the evaluation point ‘Ethical Issues’

Answer 14

• A limitation of Milgram’s research is that there are ethical issues with his procedure
• Milgram deceived his participants in many ways: they did not know they weren’t giving real electric shocks, they did not know that the experimenter and learner were confederates, they did not know the real aim of the study and they did not know that the study was fixed so that they were the teacher. Participants therefore could not five informed consent
  –> Also, Milgram did not protect his participants from psychological harm as they became very stressed at the thought oof giving a stranger electric shocks. Participants showed signs of tension including trembling, sweating, stuttering, laughing nervously and biting lips
• This is a limitation because it would go against the current BPS ethical guidelines for conducting psychological research
• Though Milgram would argue that deception was necessary, as revealing the true aim could have led participants to display demand characteristics, reducing the study’s internal validity

Question 15

What are two other explanations for obedience that Milgram put forward?

Answer 15

• Agentic state
• Legitimacy of authority

Question 16

What is the agentic state?

Question 17

What is the agentic shift?

Answer 17

• The shift from autonomy to being an ‘agent’
• Happens when we perceive someone else as an authority figure and we respect their orders
• This person has power due to their social position

Question 18

What are binding factors?

Answer 18

• Aspects of a situation that help individuals ignore the harm caused by their actions and reduce moral strain
• Such as shifting responsibility to the victim or denying the harm done

Question 19

What are evaluation points for the Agentic State?

Question 22

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 22

• People obey those with perceived legitimate power, such as teachers and police officers
• This authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy

Question 23

What are evaluation points for Legitimacy Of Authority?