milgram - situational variables - evaluation

Question 1

Bickman (1974)

Answer 1

looked at the effect of authority on obedience (confederate dressed in jacket/tie, milkman or security guard).
- conf stood on the street and asked members of the public who were passing by to perform small tasks
- People were twice as likely to obey the ‘security guard’
➢ This supports Milgram’s conclusion that a uniform adds to the legitimacy of the authority figure

Question 2

Milgram’s variations have been replicated in other cultures

Answer 2

• Miranda et al (1981) found over 90% obedience in Spanish students - However, Smith and Bond (1998) note that most replications have taken place in Western cultures (e.g. Spain), culturally not that different from the USA
• only 2 took place in non western countries = india and jordan

Question 3

Milgram’s research has control of variables

Answer 3

• Milgram altered one variable at a time
• This control gives us more certainty that changes in obedience were caused by the variable manipulated

Question 4

Milgram’s conclusions provide an excuse for obedience - holocaust

Answer 4

• Mandel (1998) claims it is offensive to holocaust survivors to suggest that Nazis simply obeyed orders and were victims of situational factors beyond their control
• provides an excuse for destructive obedience
• overlooks dispositional factors
• some people may be more obedient = genetics, upbringing
• oversimplifying causes of obedience
• reductionism

Question 5

Milgram’s variations may lack internal validity - orne and holland

Answer 5

• Orne and Holland (1968) suggest Ps in Milgram’s variations were even more likely to realise the procedure was faked
• In the variation where the experimenter was replaced by ‘a member of the public’, even Milgram recognised some Ps may have worked it out
  ➢ It is unclear whether the results are due to obedience