obedience Flashcards
what is obedience
Obedience is when someone follows direct orders from someone with perceived authority- behaving in a way they wouldve have done without the order
what are the 4 factors that affect obedience
the proximity of the authority figure, proximity of the victim, proximity of consequences, location and uniform
what does the proximity of the authority figure mean
how close the authority figure is to the person obeying orders, if the authority figure is in the same room you are less likely to disobey
what does the proximity of the victim mean
the proximity of the victim influences obedience because if you do not have to see the consequences of your actions you are more likely to obey the orders
how can the location you are in affect whether you are likely to obey
if you are in a location that is associated with authority, like a police station or yale uni you are more likely to obey orders
how does uniform affect obedience
if the authority figure is wearing uniform that indicates authority and power, you are more likely to obey
what is the aim of milgrams study
to find out whether ordinary americans would obey to an unjust order from an authority figure to inflict pain on another person, and what factors in a situation led people to obey
milgram procedure key point
laboratory exp
40 male volunteers, paid 4.50
told: role of punishment in learning
experimenter, teacher (genuine participant) and learner (confederate)
p was shown learner prior to study began
p was deceived into giving electric shocks when no shocks were given
the confederate had to learn words pairs and every time they made a mistake the p had to give a shock (15 to 450v)
the experiment continued until p refused or 450 was reached 4x
p was debriefed and shown confederate
findings of milgram: what percent actually went on giving shocks up to and including 450 volts
65%
findings of milgram: all participants gave shocks up to at least….
300 volts
findings of milgram: only…. of p stopped at 300 volts
12.5%
findings of milgram: how may learned something of self importance because of being in the study
74%
findings of milgram: how many were glad to have participated
84%
findings of milgram: how many regretted taking part
1 person
deception in milgram (3)
ps told it was about effects of punishment when it was really on obedience to authority
ps led to belive shocks were real
ps led to believe learner was real when they were confederate
defence to deception in milgrams study (2)
lack of ic and deception was neccessary for internal validity.
ps were debriefed after which included meeting the learner
failure to provide the right to withdraw in milgrams study (1)
verbal prods made it difficult to withdraw or didnt know they could
defence of lack of withdrawal, milgram (1)
milgram argues they were free to leave
harm to participants milgram (3)
some ps had seizures, experiencing high levels of stress and low self esteem
harm to participants milgram defence (3)
follow up 1 yr later showed no lasting harm to ps
m couldnt forsee harm because he didnt expect obedience to be so high
many were glad to have participated/only 1 regretted
milgram: due to a lack of deception there was a lack of….
and defence
informed consent however milgram used presumptive consent instead
what happens to buffers with proximity
increasing the proximity also serve to remove buffers. buffers protect the ps from having to confront the consequences of their actions
how did obedience change when m carried out the study in a rundown office and why
it dropped to 48% because their perception of legitimate authority dropped as yale is presitgous and so that perceives as legitatmate
how did obedience change when the teacher and the learner were placed in the same room
it dropped to 40%
how did obedience change when the teacher placed the learners hand on the shock plate
it dropped to 30%
what is the dispositional explanation of obedience
explanations that emphasise behaviour as being caused by an individuals own personal characteristics rather than situational (external) influences within the environment
what is the authoritarian personality
it is collective traits developed from strict parenting
they have a rigid belief in conventional values, they are dogmatic (follow the rules no matter what), intolerance of ambiguity, strict adherence to social rules and hierarchies including a submissive attitude towards authority figures and general hostility towards other groups
