Obedience Key Concepts

Question 0

Define: authority

Answer 0

A level of status or power

Question 1

Define: Obedience

Answer 1

Following orders or commands from people in authority.

Question 2

Define: defiance

Answer 2

Resisting orders or commands from people in authority. Deciding not to go along with an instruction, this is resistance. You know it’s not right to follow the order, so you don’t!
(Being ‘your own person’ not being ‘a puppet on strings’ and jumping at commands.)

Question 3

Define: Denial of responsibility

Answer 3

Blaming actions on a higher authority rather than accepting the blame yourself. They explain and defend their behaviour as carrying out orders from higher authority. Milgram says when we are taking orders we feel less responsible, being in the agentic state. (Persons agent).

Question 4

Define: setting

Answer 4

The physical environment in which something takes place.

Question 5

Define: culture

Answer 5

A way of life made up of a set of rules, standards and expectations.

Question 6

Define: Consensus

Answer 6

When everybody agrees on something.

Question 7

Define: dispositional factors

Answer 7

Factors associated with an individual’s personality.

Question 8

Define: authoritarian personality

Answer 8

A personality type which is prone to obedience.