obediance to authority Flashcards
what is obedience
obedience means acting in response to a direct order usually from an authority figure
who studied obedience to authority
Milgram
1963
what experiments did Milgram conduct to study obedience to authority
laboratory experiments
to test factors thought to affect obedience
what was the aim of milgrams experiment
tester whether people would obey orders to electric shock someone in a seperate room
where did milgrams experiment take place
Yale university
how many people participated in milgrams experiment
40 men
how were people recruited for milgrams experiment
responded to a newspaper advert seeking volunteers for a study on ‘learning and memory’
what did the experimenter wear in milgrams experiment
grey technicians coat
what was the method of milgrams study
participant introduced to confederate
fixer so participant was always the teacher and confederate always learner
particular watched confederate strapped to a chair and connected to a shock generator (didn’t actually administer electrical shocks)
what happened in milgrams experiment when the learner answered incorrectly
the participant had to administer an increasing level of shock
if participants hesitated the experimenter told them to continue
in milgrams experiment what did debriefing involve
an interview
questionnaires
being reuinted with the learner
in milgrams experiment how many participants administered 450V
26 participants
(65%)
in Milgrams experiment how many stopped before administering 300V (when the learner banged on the wall)
none
in milgrams experiment what obvious signs of stress did participants show
sweating
groaning
trembling
one had a seizure
what was the conclusion of milgrams experiment
ordinary people will obey orders to hurt someone even if it means acting against their conscience
what are three limitations of milgrams experiment.
-internal validity
-ecological validity
-ethical issues
why is there an issue with internal validity in milgrams experiment
possible participants didn’t really believe they were inflicting electric shocks
they were just going along with experimenters expectations (showing demand characteristics)
what was milgrams counter to his experiment lacking internal validity
claims participants stressed reactions shows they believed the experiment was real
how was ecological validity a limitation in milgrams experiment
milgrams participants did a task they’re unlikely to encounter in real life (shocking someone)
so study lacks ecological validity
what was milgrams counter to his study lacking ecological validity
was a laboratory experiment
means good control over variables
possible to establish cause and effect
what were the main ethical issues in milgrams study
participants deceived to true nature of study means they couldn’t give informed consent
weren’t informed of right to withdraw and were prompted to continue when they wanted to stop
participants showed signs of stress during experiment so they weren’t protected
what was the counter to the limitation of ethical issues in milgrams experiment
they were extensively debriefed
84% of them said they were pleased to have taken part
at the time of the experiment there were no formal ethical guidelines so technically none were breached
how did milgram identify situational factors affecting obedience
milgram carried out his experiment in lots of different ways to investigate the effect that certain conditions would have on the results
what situational factor did milgram find affected obedience
presence of allies
proximity of the victim
proximity of the authority
location of the experiment
how did the presence of allies affect obedience
when there were three teachers
(1 participant and 2 confederates)
real participant was less likely to obey if the other two refused to obey
allies make it easier to resist orders
in the original condition of milgrams experiment where the victim was in a seperate room what % of participants gave the maximum shock level
65%
what % of participants gave the maximum shock level when the learner was in the same room as the participant in milgrams experiment
40%
what % gave the maximum shock level in milgrams experiment when the participant had to put the learners hand on the shock plate
30%
what was concluded from the effects of proximity of the victim as a situational factor affecting obedience
proximity made learners suffering harder to ignore
how did proximity of authority affect obedience
when authority figure gave prompts over the phone from another room obedience rates dropped by 23%
orders easier to resist further away the authority figure was
what happened in milgrams experiment when participants told the study was being run by a private company and experiment was moved to a run down office
proportion of people giving maximum shock level fell to 48% (from 65%)
what was the conclusion from the location of the experiment affecting obedience
when association with a prestigious university (Yale) was removed the authority of the experimenter seemed less legitimate so participants were more likely to question it
what are non dispositional explanations for obediance
situational variables: proximity, location, uniform
legitimate authority
agentic state
what are dispositional factors:
authoritarian personality
these are characteristics of the individual that would encourage obediance
one factor is the ‘authoritarian personality’
who proposed the idea of a authoritarian personality
Adorno et al 1950
what characteristics do people with an authoritarian personality have
-rigid beliefs in conventional values
-intolerance of ambiguity-see the world as ‘black and white’
-strict adherence to social rules and hierarchies including a submissive attitude towards authority figures
-general hostility towards other groups
what i’d the F scale
Adorno developed it to measure the different components that make up the authoritarian personality
in the F scale you have to indicate whether you hold a slight, moderate or strong support/opposition to what sample statements
‘obediance and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn’
‘most of our social problems would be solved if we could somehow get rid of the immoral, crooked and feeble minded people’
‘what the youth needs most is strict discipline, rugged determination and the will to work for family and country’
‘rules are there for people to follow, not change’
‘sex crimes such as rape and attacks on children deserve more than imprisonment: such criminals ought to be public ally whipped or worse
how did Altemeyer later refine the concept of the authoritarian personality
identified a cluster of three of the original personality variables and referred to this as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)
what components make up the RWA
conventionalism
authoritian aggression
authoritarian submission
what i’d conventionalism
an adherence to conventional norms and values
what is authoritarian aggression
aggressive feelings toward people who violate these norms
what is authoritarian submission
uncritical submissiveness to authority
how did adorno et al suggest an authoritarian personality developed
as a result of an individuals upbringing
raised by parents with an authoritarian parenting style
strict harsh upbringing (including use of physical punishment)
strong emphasis on obediance
what research doesn’t support the idea that people with an authoritarian personality are more obedient
the social context (proximity, location etc) had such an impact on obediance levels
indicated situational variables are the primary influence on obediance levels rather than personality variables
what evidence supports the idea that those with an authoritarian personality are more obedient
milgram 1974
Altimeters right wing authoritarianism
Begue et al 2014
what did milgram find in relation to the authoritarian personality
high scorers on the F scale gave stronger shocks than low scorers when ordered to do so by an authority figure
how did altemeyers right wing authoritarianism support the authoritarian personality
those on the right of the political spectrum would be more obedient than those on the left
what did begue et al (2014) find to support the view that those with an authoritarian personality are more obedient
used a fake game show where contestants gave electric shocks to other contestants
participants interviews used by world value survey found more participants identified themselves as being on the left of the political spectrum, the lower the intensity of shocks they were prepared to give the other contestant
what were situational variables affecting obediance
proximity
location
uniform
how did the experimenter use uniform to help establish authority in Milgrams study
wore a white laboratory coat
who did a field experiment into the effect of uniform on obediance
Bickman 1974
what were the three ways the experimenter dressed in Bickmans experiment
a) a jacket and tie
b) a milkman’s uniform
c) a guards uniform that looked like a police officer
what three orders did the experimenter give in bickmans experiment
-ordered them to pick up a bag
-give a guy money for a parking meter
-ordered them to stand on the other side of a pole
what were the findings of Bickmans experiment
92% of people complied with the request to lend money when asked by the experimenter in a guards uniform compared to 49% when in ordinary clothes
what did Bushman 1988 find that supported Bickmans study
70% of people complied when the confederate was uniformed compared to 58% when she was wearing ordinary smart clothes
what Did milgrams agentic state explanation of obedience argue
that individuals operate at two levels in social situations:
autonomous state
agentic state
what is the autonomous state
where the individual is aware of the consequences of their actions and choose voluntarily to behave in particular ways, accepting responsibility for their behaviour
what is the agentic state
where the individual sees themselves as an agent (or subordinate) of another and carried out their orders without accepting personal responsibility for their actions
they see the person giving the orders as responsible not themselves
what is agentic shift
refers to the switch from operating as an autonomous individual to acting as an agent for another person, usually an authority figure
agentic shift is therefore more likely when there is a perception of legitimate authority
how did milgrams experiment support the agentic state
some participants had serious reservations about continuing: asked experimenter who would take responsibility. experimenter said they would take full responsibility and participatants continued to obey the experimenter
what did Dambrun and Vatine (2010) find that supported the agentic state
participants who gave the most electric shocks in milgram situation held the experimenter and victim responsible rather than themselves
participants who gave the fewest shocks accepted personal responsibility and didn’t hold experimenter and victim responsible
why have some people questioned milgrams study and agentic state
questioned whether participants were really operating in the agentic state
many didn’t ignore the victims plight and struggled to obey experimenter
showing clear signs of stress and conflict between experimenters demands and their own conscience
indicated individuals didn’t simply surrender all personal responsibility
