obedience: culture affecting obedience

Question 1

What did Milgram’s research start interest in?

Answer 1

Started interest in different cultures, to see if other cultures would be as obedient as his ppts had been.

Question 2

What was Milgram’s aim and what did he find out within culture?

Answer 2

He wanted to see whether people in the US would obey in a way similar to those in Germany during WW2. He found that his ppts were more obedient than expected, so he did not find that ‘Germans were different’.

Question 3

What is meant by nurture?

Answer 3

The culture/environment in which we are brought up in. Our up-bringing.

Question 4

What is meant by nature within obedience?

Answer 4

Nature of humans to over those in authority.

Question 5

What was concluded about human nature and obedience?

Answer 5

It was concluded that it was human nature to obey in certain situations; our nature is to obey and the situation affects the level of obedience.

Question 6

How many dimensions did Hofstede identify and what are they used for?

Answer 6

2011. Hofstede identified 6 dimensions which allow the comparison between countries with regard to their cultural values.

Question 7

What 2 dimensions are significant within obedience?

Answer 7

Individualism-collectivism
Power distance index (PDI)

Question 8

What is meant by individualism-collectivism?

Answer 8

Individualist cultures value person autonomy and self-reliance whereas collectivist cultures value loyalty to the group, interdependence and cooperation in pursuit of group goals.
Individualism is about ‘I’ whereas collectivism is about ‘we’

Question 9

What does individualism-collectivism say about obedience?

Answer 9

People from individualist cultures such as US and Northern Europe may be less obedient due to the value placed on self determination and independence compared with those from collectivist cultures such as China and Brazil where obligation and sense of duty may override the desire to rebel.

Question 10

What is meant by power distance index?

Answer 10

It refers to how accepting people are of hierarchical order and inequality in society.

Question 11

What does Hofstede state about PDI and culture?

Answer 11

In high PDI cultures “subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat” (Hofstede, 2017)

Question 12

Whose work has been replicated in different cultures and what does it suggest?

Answer 12

Milgram’s. And it is suggested hat if obedience is in our nature then we would expect to find obedience universally

Question 13

What do collectivists cultures believe?

Answer 13

That cooperation and compliance is important for stability of the group

Question 14

What do individualistic cultures believe?

Answer 14

They believe to behave independently and resist conformity.

Question 15

What are non western cultures and why?

Answer 15

They are collectivists and are more obedient due to the tradition and the respect given to families compared to individualistic cultures who emphasise on the ‘I’

Question 16

Countries that Milgram’s work has been replicated and the obedience percentage

Answer 16

Italy 85%
Spain 50%
South Africa 87.5%
Jordan 73%
Austria 80%
Australia 28%
UK 50%

Question 17

What do the statistics tell us?

Answer 17

That there were some differences in obedience levels, obedience is found across cultures suggested that it is universal and possibly an evolved trait that supports survival. However, cultural influences and differences in procedures are not explicit in the results.

Question 18

Supporting evidence: Schurz

Answer 18

He carried out a study in Austria and obtained 80% baseline obedience. Ppts were asked to give bursts of ultrasound rather than electric shocks to a learner. Bursts were still painful and could damage the skin.

Question 19

Supporting evidence: Blass

Answer 19

Reviewed studies carried out in the US elsewhere and found an average obedience level. US = 60.94% and other countries = 65.94% indicating that although differences are found in experiments the averages are very similar. It was concluded that people have a powerful tendency to obey authority and this may be ‘one of the universals of social behaviour’

Question 20

Weaknesses of culture affecting obedience

Answer 20

Same procedures were not carried out across all cultures therefore it is difficult to tell whether animals differences are down to culture or differences in the actual experiments
Obedience research in other countries all have different procedures, so can’t be sure if culture has had an effect on obedience
Looking at findings from other studies showing high levels of obedience, despite the differences in procedure, it seems unlikely that culture has an effect on obedience.