explanations of obedience- situational Flashcards
what is gradual commitment
once somebody has agreed to do a small, negative task they are more likely to do a larger one as well
how was gradual commitment used in Milgram’s study
participants had already committed to giving lower level shocks making it harder to resist at a higher level
what made it harder for participants to resist in Milgram’s study
volts went up in small increments (15v) each time
what was a limitation of this is Milgram’s study
lacked ecological validity so the findings should be treated with caution when using them as definitive explanations for obedience in real life situations
what is the agentic shift
moving from an autonomous state to a agentic state
what did Milgram 1974 say
people are in an autonomous state when they are taking responsibility for their own actions but they move into an agentic state when they pass this responsibility to the authority figure
what di many participants report after Milgram’s study
they knew it was wrong but felt the authority figure was responsible
evidence of the Agentic state in Nazi germany
at Nuremberg trials many Nazi soldiers defended their actions by saying they were just following orders
limitations of agentic shift
it is innapropriate to draw links between holocaust perpetrators and Milgram’s lab
holocaust perpetrators carried out duties for years Milgram’s study was 30 mins
in what ways was their a difference in perception of harm
holocaust perpetrators knew they were causing harm
Milgram’s participants were assured there’d be no long lasting damage
what are buffers
anything that reduces the immediacy and impact of orders given or reduces the depersonalisation of the victim.
when were buffers used in Milgram’s study
in follow up studies buffers were used when showing different proximities and locations
what does legitimate authority mean
the authority certain people have is because society accepts it.
why do we allow people to have authority
to allow society to run smoothly
what is a consequence of having authority figures
they can dish out punishments
who do we learn who has authority from
parents teachers adults
where was legitimate authority shown in Milgram’s study
the authority figure wore a grey lab coat which showed participants he had legitimate power and prestige
who showed power of uniform
Bickman 1974
What was Bickman’s experiment
he had 3 people ask 153 civilians to do an order one was dressed in normal clothes another in police uniform and one in milkmans uniform
What was concluded from Bickman’s study
higher percentage of people obeyed the one dressed in police uniform
what did Mandel say and when
in 1998 he said in WW2 german reserve police battalion 101 shot a town in poland despite not being given orders to.- behaved autonomously
how was cultural differences a strength of legitimacy of authority
85% of Germans went to 450v in a milgram style study.- mandel
Kilham and Mann in 1974 found 16% australian women went to 450V
countries with similar authority states have similar results
example of real world application
milgrams study can be used to understand the abusive behaviour of guards at abu ghraib prison in iraq
what was important in both these situatins
gradual commitment
how was gradual commitment used in the prison in iraq
prisoner abuse observed was also gradual in natuire coupled with the presence of compliant peers and an apparently unconcerned authority figure
What did Goldhagen argue and when
1996 and he suggested anti-semitism was the primary motivation for the acts. he argued the germans didnt need the pressure of authority to allow them to discriminate and ultimately kill the Jews.
what is a limitation of legitimacy of authority
rank and Jacobsons study
