Obedience Flashcards
What was the aim of the Milgram experiment?
To discover if ordinary American citizens would obey beyond their morals.
What was the sample size and demographic of the Milgram experiment?
40 US males.
In the Milgram experiment, who were the two participants involved?
One participant (teacher) and one confederate (learner).
What task was the learner performing in the Milgram experiment?
Testing on word pairs.
What voltage level was the learner shocked up to in the Milgram experiment?
450V.
What happened after the learner reached 300V in the Milgram experiment?
The learner protested and pretended to be unconscious.
What percentage of participants obeyed all the way to 450V in the Milgram experiment?
65%.
What conclusion was drawn from the Milgram experiment?
People will obey an authority figure beyond their morals.
What is one strength of the Milgram experiment related to real-world situations?
Hofling found obedience in a field study - 21/22 nurses obeyed lethal orders from a doctor.
How does the Milgram experiment have real-world applications?
Helps us to understand examples of extreme obedience, such as Nazis.
What aspect of the Milgram experiment was highly controlled?
Using the same learner and the same voice recordings.
What is one ethical concern raised about the Milgram experiment?
The experimenter would often use more than 4 verbal prods, as much as 26.
What limitation does the Milgram experiment have regarding population validity?
Lacks population validity as it’s only males.
What did Milgram (1974) find regarding gender differences in obedience?
Found no gender differences.
What limitation does the Milgram experiment have regarding temporal validity?
Lacks temporal validity
- Although Burger (2009) found no differences.
What was the obedience level when the experimenter gave orders over the phone?
20%
- This demonstrates the impact of the proximity of authority on obedience.
What happened to obedience when the learner was in the same room as the participant?
Obedience dropped to 40%
- If the participant had to push the learner’s hand onto the shock plate, obedience dropped to 30%. This supports the concept of the Agentic State.
How did the location of the experiment affect obedience levels?
Obedience dropped to 48%
- When the experiment was conducted in a run-down office instead of Yale, supporting the Legitimacy of Authority.
What was the effect of the experimenter’s attire on obedience levels?
Obedience dropped to 20%
- When the experimenter wore casual clothing instead of a lab coat, which supports the Legitimacy of Authority.
What was the obedience level when two other teachers rebelled?
Obedience dropped to 10%
- This illustrates the influence of the presence of allies on obedience.
What was the obedience level when two teachers obeyed?
Obedience rose to 92.5%
- This supports both explanations of obedience.
What is the ‘Legitimacy of Authority’ in the context of obedience?
We obey when the authority is higher on the social hierarchy and supported by an institutional framework that gives them influence over us.
What is an ‘Agentic State’?
We obey when we do not feel responsible for our actions and blame the authority figure.
What do the Milgram variations illustrate about obedience?
They are situational explanations that ignore dispositional factors.
What is an Authoritarian Personality? (Adorno)
A personality type that makes someone more obedient.
- Those with strict parents develop Fascist views.
- They admire strength and authority, and dislike weakness.
- They are more likely to have rigid, conservative political views.
What support is there for the Authoritarian Personality?
Elms & Milgram
- Found that Milgram participants who obeyed had higher F scores (a test developed by Adorno). This implies fascist, right-wing views.
Explains individual differences in obedience
- Milgram found only 65% obedience, so there must be individual differences.
What weaknesses are there for the Authoritarian Personality?
Elms & Milgram found no link between F scores and relationship with parents.
Link between Authoritarianism and obedience could just be correlational, not causal.
Situational variables had the highest impact on obedience in Milgram’s study
- Presence of obedient vs. disobedient allies made obedience fluctuate between 10% and 92.5%, regardless of disposition.
