Obedience

Question 1

Obedience to authority

Answer 1

Following orders from a legitimate authority figure

Question 2

Milgram

Answer 2

Investigated how far people would go obeying instructions. 40 male volunteers between 20-50 were recruited in a study as ‘teachers’, they were introduced to their ‘learner’ and then the learner was strapped into a shock machine and tested on word pairs. Each time the learner got a wrong answer the teacher had to shock the learner with an increasing voltage. The scientist would tell them ‘it is vital for the experiment that they continue’
65% of participants continued to shock to the highest level, 450 volts, all participants continued to 300 volts

Question 3

Milgram Evaluation

Answer 3

:) High internal validity, high control
:( Low ecological validity
:( Ethical issues raised

Question 4

Bickman

Answer 4

Three experimenters were dressed in either uniform (a milkman or a guard) or a civilian (coat and tie) and walked around the streets of New York telling people to do things such as pick up litter or provide someone with change for parking
They found that people obeyed the guard most and the civilian least

Question 5

Hofling et al

Answer 5

An unknown doctor rang the hospital late at night and informed nurses to administer a large injection of an unknown drug, that stated it shouldn’t be given over a certain dosage, into a patient as they were running late.
21/22 nurses went to deliver the drug to the patients

Question 6

Why do people obey?

Answer 6

• Request by a legitimate authority

- Experience agentic shift and see others as responsible

Question 7

Agentic shift

Answer 7

When someone obeys to instructions as they do not feel responsible