Milgram’s Situational Variables Flashcards
What were the three situational variables Milgram testes for?
Proximity
Location
Uniform
What is proximity within Milgram’s experiment?
Refers to the physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the
person they are giving an order to.
What is Location within Milgram’s experiment?
Original research was in a lab at Yale University.
Milgram changed this to a run down building in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
What is Uniform within Milgram’s experiment?
Originally the experimenter wore a grey lab coat, indicating a status as a professor/scientist.
In the variation, the experimenter was called away because of an inconvenient telephone call right at the start of the procedure.
What were the results for changes in proximity during Milgram’s variations
Variation: where the teacher and learner were seated in the same room.
Percentage of p’s who administrated 450 volts dropped from 65% to
40%.
When the experimenter left the room and gave instructions via phone,
obedience levels fell to 20.5%
What were the results for changes in location during Milgram’s variations
Percentage of p’s who administrated full volts dropped from 65% to
47.5%.
Highlighting the importance of location in creating a prestigious
atmosphere generating respect and obedience.
What were the results for changes in uniform during Milgram’s variations
P’s who administrated 450 volts dropped from 65% to 20%.
What explanation do Milgram’s findings support?
Milgram’s findings from his variations support a situational explanation of
obedience, they all influenced levels of obedience.
What is a strength of Milgram’s variations?
P: A strength is that other studies have demonstrated these situational
variables on obedience.
E: In a field experiment, in New York, Bickman (1974) had confederates
dress in three different outfits (jacket & tie, milkman and security guard). The
confederates asked passers-by to perform tasks such as picking up litter etc.
People were twice as likely to obey the security guard that the others
C: This supports Milgram’s conclusion that a uniform conveys authority of
its wearer and is a situational factor likely to produce obedience
What is a limitation of Milgram’s variations?
P: A limitation is that many of Milgram’s participants worked out that they
procedure was faked. It is even more likely that Milgram’s variations
realised this because of the extra manipulation.
E: A clear example of this is when the experimenter is replaced by a
member of the public. Even Milgram recognised that that may be
problematic
C: This is therefore a limitation of all of Milgram’s studies because it is
unclear whether the results are genuinely due to obedience or because
the participants say through it all and acted accordingly.
