Obedience Flashcards
What are the two theories of obedience?
Milgrams agency theory
Social Impact theory
What is the autonomous state
We are free thinking and able to make our own decision and take responsibility for our actions
What is the agentic state
Occurs when we are faced with an authority figure, we are acting as agents of others and we displace responsibility for our actions onto the authority figure
What is the agentic shift
When faced with an authority figure individuals will move from the autonomous state to the agentic state
What is moral strain
When an individual is given orders by an authority figure that goes against their morals, causing extreme discomfort
How did Milgram explain the fact humans are so obedient?
Socialisation from socialising agents such as teachers and parents, hierarchical society
Describe displacement
Once fully in the agentic state moral strain is relieved as responsibility has been displaced onto the authority figure
What are the findings of Milgrams original study that support agency theory
100% -> 300v
65% -> 450v
Faced with authority figure went to this voltage
What is a theory of obedience that is more testable than Agency Theory?
Social Impact Theory
O=SxIxN
What are sources
An individual who is trying to influence someone
What is a target?
An individual that someone is trying to influence
What is the formula for Social Impact Theory
Obedience = strength x immediacy x number
In Social Impact Theory what does “Strength” refer to
How important the influencer (source) is to you
In social Impact Theory what does “Immediacy” mean?
How close the source is to the target in space and time
In Social Impact Theory what does “Number” mean?
How many sources are present
In Social Impact Theory, what is the multiplication effect
The greater the strength, immediacy and number, the greater the chance of obedience
In Social Impact Theory, what is the division effect
This refers to when there are less sources than targets
Why is Social Impact Theory testable? Why might it not be completely testable?
It is a formulaic theory, however elements are still relatively subjective
Which of milgrams variations support the “strength” part of Social Impact Theory? And why does it support it?
Variation 13 -> the ordinary man condition
16/20 refused to participate and the remaining 20% went to the full 450v
What variation (milgrams) supports the “immediacy” part of Social Impact Theory? And why?
Variation 7, as only 22.5% went to 450v
Does Social Impact Theory have good application?
Yes it allows psychologists to mathematically predict the chances of someone being obedient
Why might Social Impact Theory be too simplistic?
Does not take individual differences into account, it stated you are either obedient or not
What was milgrams aim?
To see if behaviour shown by the Nazis during the holocaust was a German trait or human trait
To establish a baseline measure of how far naive pp would go when asked to shock an innocent learner
What was Milgrams sample? And how did he gather his pp?
40 men, who were all American
Volunteer sample, gathered via an advertisement in a newspaper
What type of experiment was milgrams research and at what uni was it conducted
Lab experiment
Yale
Who was Mr Wallace in Milgrams experiment
A stooge who pretended to lose the rigged lottery in order to become the learner
Describe milgrams procedure
- pp introduced to Mr Wallace
- pp took part in rigged lots
- pp always teacher
- pp shown electric apparatus and given a 45volt shock
- shown Mr Wallace strapped up
- taken next door, meet researcher
- told that if the learner got a word pair wrong they had to administer an increasingly intensive shock
- if they went to stop they were given 5 verbal prods
What were milgrams findings?
65% -> 450v
100% -> 300v
pp showed moral strain (shaking and sweating)
Level of generalisability in Milgrams experiment
Low,
Androcentric and only used Americans
However it could be argued Milgram only used Americans because he wanted to see if Americans would mimick behaviour and research has been done (meeus and Raaijmaker) showing that milgrams results are similar in other countries
Level of reliability in Milgrams experiment?
High,
Standardised procedure as set events happened in a set order, such as pp given 45v shock then taken next door to meet the other researcher, easily repeatable, increasing reliability
Do milgrams findings have good applications?
Yes,
As they can be used to explain real life events and why people may commit terrible acts such as those during the holocaust when faced with an authority figure
Is Milgrams experiment valid?
Low,
Done in an artificial setting
However, Some research (Hofling) has been done in a more natural setting and found similar results
Which ethical guidelines, if any, did Milgram break?
Protection from harm -> mentally, some had fits, physically 45v shock
Informed consent
Right to withdraw (arguable)
Deception
Why may it be difficult to criticise milgrams procedure ethically
Very good debrief
If pp aware Social desirability
Met with a board of psychologists before the experiment and they estimated only 1% would go to 150v and they would be psychopaths, so results did surprise everyone
Provided free psychological support for those in the study
Which one was milgrams variation 7
Telephonic instructions
Only 22.5% went to 450v
Which one was milgrams experiment 10
Rundown office block
Only 47.5% went to 450v
Which one was milgrams experiment 13
Ordinary man gives orders
16/20 refused to participate and the remaining 20% went to 450v
What are the factors that impact obedience and dissent
Personality - RWA, compliant, rebellious
Gender - kilham and Mann - females less obedient that makes (40%vs16%), however methodologically flawed, Sheridan and king 13 uni students and puppy, Blass found no difference across 9 studies
Situation - think about SIT factors
Culture - collectivist vs individualistic
What is the definition of obedience
Compliance with commands given by a perceived figure of authority, give an example
Culture and obedience
Shanab -> obedience higher in collectivist Jordan
Meeus and Raaijmaker 83% obedience in Netherlands
However, a study in Australia found only 43%
