Milgram - situational variables affecting obedience Flashcards
what is a situational variable
external to the pp’s
> eg a factor of tje environment
what is a dispositional variable
interanal to the pp’s
eg personality of the individual that affects behaviour
what type of proximity would it be if the teacher and learner were in the same room
proximity variation
how were obedience rates affected when teacher and learner were in the same room
obedience rates decreased from 65% to 40% of the pp’s who administered the full 450V
what type of proximity is it if the teacher had to put the learners hand on the plate
touch proximity
how does the teacher having to out tje learners hand on the electric plates affect obedience
rates decreased from 65% to 30% of the pp’s who administered the ful 450V
what type of proximity is it if the experimenter gives order from a different room via telephone
remote proximity
how does the experimenter giving orders from a different room affect obedience
rates decrease from 65% to 20.5% of pp’s going to 450V
what is the location variation of milgrams experiment
experiment moved from Yale university to a run down building
— obedience levels decreased from 65% to 47.5% who went to the full 450V
what was the uniform variation of milgrams experiment
experimenter who wore a grey lab coat was replaced by an ordinary member of the public who was dressed in everyday clothes
— obedience rates decreased from 65% to 20% of pp’s administrating the full 450V
Bickman 1974 procedure
3 male actors: one dressed as a milkman, one in normal clothes and one as a security guard
- actors asked members of NYC to do three things : pick up a bag, give someone money for a parking metre and stand on the other side of a bus stop that said no standing
Bickman 1974 findings
guard obeyed : 76% of the time
milkman obeyed : 47% of the time
pedestrian obeyed : 30% of the time
— these suggest people are more likely to obey when instructed by someone wearing uniform. This is becuase the uniform gives a sense of authority and power
A03 evaluation
+ There is research to support > Bickman
- Fails to consider dispositional variables affecting obedience , like authoritarian personality > reductionist
- low internal validity > in original experiment 25% of pp’s thought it was fake and this could’ve been more apparent in the uniform variation
- ther is cross cultural variation > Meeus and Raaijimakers
