Obedience

Question 1

Define the term obedience

Answer 1

Following orders or commands from people in authority

Question 2

Define the term authority

Answer 2

A level of status or power

Question 3

Define the term defiance

Answer 3

Resisting orders or commands from people in authority

Question 4

Define the term denial of responsibility

Answer 4

Blaming actions on a higher authority rather than accepting the blame yourself

Question 5

What four factors does the situational factors theory suggest affects the level of obedience?

Answer 5

Setting
Authority
Consensus
Culture

Question 6

Define the term consensus

Answer 6

When everyone agrees on something

Question 7

What are three main criticisms of the situational factors explanation of obedience?

Answer 7

• It ignores the role of personality in obedience
• Research into situational factors can often be unethical
• A lot of the research lacks ecological validity

Question 8

Define the term dispositional factors?

Answer 8

Factors that are associated with someones personality in obedience

Question 9

Define the term authoritarian personality?

Answer 9

Someone who is more likely to obey to commands/orders

Question 10

What did Bickman Aim to find out?

Answer 10

If a persons uniform/appearance affects someone’s level of obedience

Question 11

What method did Bickman use in his study?

Answer 11

A field experiment

Question 12

How many participants took part in the study?

Answer 12

153

Question 13

What was the sampling technique?

Answer 13

Opportunity sampling

Question 14

Where did the study take place?

Answer 14

On a street in Brooklyn, New York

Question 15

What was the independent variable?

Answer 15

Whether one of the three confederates wore the uniform of a guard, a milkman, or a civilian

Question 16

What the dependent variable?

Answer 16

Someone’s level of obedience towards the confederates in uniform

Question 17

What 3 instructions did the experimenters ask the participants?

Answer 17

• Pick up litter
• Give a dime to a stranger
• Stand on the other side of a bus stop

Question 18

What percentage of participants obeyed the guard?

Answer 18

89%

Question 19

What percentage of participants obeyed the milkman?

Answer 19

57%

Question 20

What percentage of participants obeyed the civilian?

Answer 20

33%

Question 21

What did Bickman conclude from the results?

Answer 21

Someones uniform/appearance affects the level of obedience shown towards them

Question 22

What are the methodological limitations of this study?

Answer 22

• The study cannot be generalised as it only took place in New York
• The study used opportunity sampling
• They only used male confederates
• As it was a field experiment, there was a lack of control over extraneous variables.

Question 23

What real life situation can research into obedience be applied to?

Answer 23

• Prisons
• Schools
• Armed forces

Question 24

How is research into obedience relevant to schools?

Answer 24

There needs to be a level of obedience in schools for them to function effectively

Question 25

How is order maintained in schools?

Answer 25

Students are punished/given sanctions when they do not obey someone in authority (teachers)

Question 26

How is research into obedience relevant to the armed forces?

Answer 26

Its important to understand the hierarchy of the armed forces to understand how it works effectively e.g what would happen to a soldier if they disobey the general?

Question 27

How is authority maintained in the armed forces?

Answer 27

Those higher in power in the armed forces wear a different uniform than the soldiers

Question 28

How is research into obedience relevant to prisons?

Answer 28

There needs to be a level of obedience in prisons for it to function effectively and safely

Question 29

How is order kept in Prisons?

Answer 29

- By giving punishments to inmates who do not obey orders - By separating the prisoners to avoid consensus, and as a result, disobedient - Uniform of the guards to show authority