Obedience Flashcards
Name some reasons why people obey immoral orders
-Praise/reward
-Fear of punishment and authority
-Told not their responsibility if something goes wrong
-Easier to follow orders than go against them
What is obedience?
Type of social influence which causes a person to act in response to an order given by another person
When was Stanley Milgram’s ‘memory study’ published? (Obedience study)
1963
Give an overview of Milgram’s obedience experiment
-Given $4
-Men ages 20-50
-40 participants
-Told it was a memory test
-Told random teacher/learner role
-How much volts to electrocute another (testing obedience similar to Nazis to Jews in Holocaust)
-People were not actually being electrocuted (voltage buttons activated pre-recorded audios and screams)
-Were the participants of Milgram’s study allowed to leave?
Were told they could leave at any time at beginning of experiment
Most did not leave as lab coat confederate told them repetitively to continue in the name of science
What % of participants went to the maximum 450V in the experiment?
65%
What was concluded from Milgram’s study?
-Ordinary people astonishingly obedient to authority when asked to behave in inhumane way
-Not necessarily evil people commit evil crimes but are ordinary people who are just obeying orders
What can you gather in terms of society or personality factors from Milgram’s study?
Crimes against humanity may be the outcome of situational rather than dispositional factors
What are dispositional factors?
Explanation of individual behaviour caused by internal characteristics that reside within the individual’s personality
When is an individual’s independence capacity suspended?
When they are under certain situational constraints, such as being given an order by an authority figure
What is internal validity?
Degree of confidence that the causal relationship being tested is trustworthy and not influenced by other factors or variables
What is the internal validity in Milgram’s study?
Degree to which the observed effect occurred due to the manipulated internal validity (experiment did not test what it stated: was not a memory test)
Describe the realism in Milgram’s study?
Refuted by psychologists:
Experimenter was cool and distant when learner cries out in pain (showed almost sadistic characteristics)
Therefore participants can suppose victim cannot really be suffering any real harm
Which is why so many administered the shocks
What was a replication of Milgram’s study?
Sheridan and King puppy study
When was Sheridan and King’s experiment published?
1972
Give a brief overview of the puppy experiment
-Shock puppies if in cage was not touching the plate
-20-25 female and male participants
-Dogs either died from electrocution or euthanised after
What was the results of the puppy experiment?
54% men delivered full 450 volts
100% women (13 women) delivered maximum 450 volts
What is another supporting replication of Milgram’s study?
French ‘Game of Death’ (‘la zone xtreme’)
2010
80% participants delivered maximum shock of 460 voltsto unconscious man
Fake electrocution
What was Diana Baumrind’s ethical issues wuth Milgram’s study?
-Milgram deceived his participants
-Inhumane
-Made them continue even with right to withdraw (35% of participants did)
Why did Baumrind say Milgram’s study involved deception levels?
-Participants believed randomly allocated teacher/learner
-Believed electric shocks were real
-Level of betrayal/trust could damage reputation of other psychologists
-People in lab coats were not scientists (key to obedience lies in authority identification)
Why did people obey Milgram’s study (social identity theory)?
Participants identified with doing experiment in name of science
Why did people not obey Milgram’s study (social identity theory)?
People identified more with learner’s auditory pain than with supposed science behind study
What did Haslam and Reicher (2010) state about the first three prods of Milgram’s experiment?
They did not demand obedience, but rather an appeal for help with science to continue the experiment
What are the situational variables?
Proximity
Location
Uniform
What is proximity as a situational variable?
The physical distance someone is from the authority figure
What was the effect of proximity in the original Milgram study?
Teacher and learner in adjoining rooms
Teacher and confederate in same room, close proximity
65% obedience
What was the effect of proximity in the variations of Milgram’s study?
Variation 1 = teacher and learner in same room and force hand onto electroshock plate in same room (visible learner), where obedience fell to 30%
Variation 2 = experimenter left room and gave instructions over phone (remote proximity), where obedience rate dropped to 20.5%
What is location as a situational variable?
Refers to place where order is issued (status or prestige associated with location)
What was the effect of location in the original Milgram study?
Prestigious university setting (Yale University)
65% obedience
What was the effect of location in the variation of Milgram’s study?
Changed location to a run-down office down town
Obedience fell to 47.5%
What was the effect of uniform in the original Milgram study?
Experimenter wore lab coat
65% obedience
What was the effect of uniform in the variation of Milgram’s study?
Experimenter role wore ordinary clothes
Obedience fell to 20%
Who conducted a similar experiment to Milgram?
Research support - Bickman
When did Bickman test ecological validity on Milgram’s study?
1974 - he conducted the experiment in a more realistic setting
Describe in brief Bickman’s replication of Milgram’s study?
-3 male researchers gave direct requests to 153 randomly selected pedestrians in Brooklyn NY
-Researchers dressed in one of 3 ways:
Guard uniform
Milkman uniform
Civilian clothing
-Asked them a simple request, such as give a man change for a parking meter or pick up a bag
What were the results of Bickman’s experiment?
80% obeyed ‘police officer’
40% obeyed milkman/civilian
When did Bushman carry out his obedience test?
1988
Describe briefly Bushman’s experiment
-Female researcher dressed either as: Policewoman
Business executive
Beggar
Stopped people on street and asked them to give change to male researcher for expired parking meter
What were the results of Bushman’s experiment?
Policewoman = 72% obedience
Business executive = 48% obedience
Beggar = 52% obedience
Why do we control variables in psychological studies?
So that it is possible to replicate them
Why do researchers do cross-cultural replications of studies?
To make sure in science that findings are not just one-off events
What were the results of the Spanish replication of Milgram’s study?
90% obedience
What does the Spanish replication of Milgram’s study indicate?
Milgram’s findings not limited to American males, but valid across all cultures and apply to women
Suggests robust phenomenon is being studied
Describe in brief the Hofling et al.
-22 real night nurses
-Dr Smith (stooge) phones nurses on separate occasions and tells them to check if they have drug astroten
-Nurse checks that maximum dosage is 10mg
-Doctor tells them to administer 20mg to patient ‘Mr Jones’
-Smith says he will sign administration form later but was in a hurry
-Drug itself was actually a harmless sugar pill invented just for the experiment
What rules did the obedient nurses break by administering the double dosage drug?
-Not allowed to accept instructions over the phone
-Dose was double the maximum limit stated on the box
-Medicine as unauthorised (not on the ward stock list)
When was the Hofling et al. experiment published?
1966
What were the results of the Hofling et al. experiment?
21/22 patients obeyed
Describe the Rank and Jacobson variation of the nurse experiment of 1977
-Nurses asked to administer drug Valium (drug nurses should be familiar with)
-Gave name of doctor they knew and nurses all had chance to discuss with each other
-Ecological validity
What were the results of the Rank and Jacobson experiment?
Only 2/18 nurses obeyed
What is research on external validity on the nurse experiment?
Cohen and Davis, 1981
Nurse read prescrition from doctor wrong (supposed to say R ear - right ear - but r and ear close and looked like it said rear)
-Nurse use ear drops rectally
-Neither nurse nor patient questioned it due to being administered by doctor (figure of authority)
Why do some people consider it offensive to blame the Holocaust on situational variables?
Removes personal responsibility from perpetrators and trvialises death of victims
What is legitimacy of authority?
Explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
Authority is justified by individual’s position of power within a social hierachy
Describe Milgram’s agentic shift
Autonomous State
-State a person is in when he ‘sees himself acting on his own’ (independent)
Agentic Shift
-Shift from autonomy (independence) to ‘agency’
Agentic State
-Condition a person is in when they ‘see themselves as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes’
What is research support for legitimacy of authority?
Blass and Schmitt 2001
Students were shown a video of Milgram’s experiment
Blamed experimenter rather than teacher
Responsibility due to legitimacy of authority
What is evidence against Milgram’s agentic shift theory?
Doctors in concentration camps in Auschwitz carried out vile and lethal experiments on victims
Carrying out acts of evil over a long period of time can change the way people think and feel (don’t shift back)
What are some culturally different results for Milgram’s study?
Kilman and Mann (1974)
-Australia - 16% obedience
Mantell (1971)
-Germany 85%
What are some binding factors of obedience in Milgram’s experiment?
-Obligation = reluctance to disrupt the experiment
-Legitimate authority = pressure of the surroundings
-Insistence of the authority
-Social etiquette regulates our behaviour
-They agreed to take part in the experiment, therefore breaching the commitment they made
-Fear of appearing arrogant/rude if breaking away from the experiment
Why do we hand ourselves over to legitimate authority?
-Granted power to punish others
-Give up independence and hand control of our behaviour to people we trust
-Perceiving someone to be in a position of social control
-Shared expectation to have a leader
-Power stems from their perceived position in social situation
-Milgram - entered lab with expectation someone will be in charge
What is an example of destructive authority?
Mai Lai Massacre (1968)
-American soldiers killed 500 villagers
-Lieutenant William Calley ordered them to do this
-Accepted no guilt and blamed it on his commanding officer
What changes about an individual’s self image when in the agentic state?
-Worry about own image is no longer relevant
-See action as no longer being their responsibility or reflections of their own self image
Describe the cockpit evidence for obedience
Supports redefining situation and legitimate authority
Review of accidents
Second pilot did not want to question authority of lead pilot (‘cockpit culture’)
Air Asiana Crash (2013) - “didn’t want to questions captain’s orders”
3 deaths
304 survivors (initially 305)
Describe the procedure of the authoritarian personality test
Adomo et al, 1950
Measured 2000 middle class white people
Measured Americans’ unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
What scale is used to measure an authoritarian personality?
The F-scale (Fascism scale)
What is an authoritarian personality?
People who are obedient are the result of a psychological disorder
Obey unconsciously because they had harsh parenting
What are the options on the F-Scale?
Disagree/Agree strongly
Disagree/Agree mostly
Disagree/Agree somewhat
No neutral option
What are the 5 result options for the F-scale?
Whining rotter
Liberal airhead
True American
Far right-winged
Fascist
What correlation is found between authoritarianism and prejudice?
Positive
What are authoritarian people often driven by?
Stereotypes and prejudice
Name some characteristics of an authoritarian personality
-Obedient to authority
-Submissive to authority (blind respect)
-Inflexible with their outlook (no grey areas)
-Society is “going to the dogs” (need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values)
Explain how harsh parenting links to having an authoritarian personality
Strict discipline
Expectations to be loyal
Impossibly high standards
Severe criticism of perceived failings
Conditional love from parents
What 2 aspects of personality does the F-scale measure?
Conventionalism
Preoccupation with power
What do experiences of harsh parenting do to a child?
Create resentment and hostility
Despair
They displace these feelings onto the ‘weak’ (scapegoating)
What did Altemeyer state in 1981 are the 3 most important characteristics that a right-wing authoritarian will possess?
Conventionalism (adhering to norms set by society)
Authoritarian aggression (aggressive to people who violate norms)
Authoritarian submission (uncritical submission to legitimate authorities)
What did Milgram and Elms do in 1966?
Interviewed full obedient patients who scored highly on the F-scale to try to find link between authoritarian personality and obedience
What did Hyman and Sheatsley find in 1954 in relation to obedience?
Authoritarian personality is more likely to exist among less educated people and of low economic status
Why is Hyman and Sheatsley’s belief of economic status and education as the third variable inconsistent with the explanation of obedience?
Uneducated, poor people are seen as the rebellious subordinates, not the strict and the oppressive
What is a methodological problem with the F-scale procedure?
-Relies on self-report, which may be invalid due to social desirability bias (e.g. picking all ‘agrees’ to end up as a wanted result)
A decent scale would randomise, so “agree” did not always lead in one direction
What did Greenstein state in 1969?
The F-scale is a “comedy of methodological errors”
Because every item is worded in the same direction
It provokes acquiescence bias
What is acquiescence bias?
The tendency to simply “agree” with everything
What did Christie and Jahoda discover in 1954 about political bias with the F-scale?
F-scale measures tendency towards an extreme right wing ideology
Are there situational explanations to obedience?
Yes
Miglram’s vigorous and controlled experiments have shown that obedience is affected by the situation
The situational variables in the variations of the experiment are reliable and valid
