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Psychology - IN FOCUS Social Influence > Obedience: Situational Explanations > Flashcards

Obedience: Situational Explanations Flashcards

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1
Q

Milgram’s initial interest in obedience was sparked by…

A

the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 for war crimes

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2
Q

Who was Adolf Eichmann?

A

A man who had been in charge of Nazi death camps and trialled for war crimes

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3
Q

Why did the trial of Adolf Eichmann spark Milgram’s initial interest in obedience?

A

He had been in charge of Nazi death camps and his defence was that he was only obeying orders.

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4
Q

Adolf Eichmann argued that he was only obeying orders. This led to Milgram proposing that obedience to destructive authority occurs because…

A

a person does not take responsibility and instead they believe they are active for someone else

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5
Q

What does it mean to be an active agent?

A

Your obedience to destructive authority occurs because you don’t take responsibility and instead believe you are active for someone else

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6
Q

What is an agent?

A

Someone who acts for or in place of another

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7
Q

Agents experience high/low anxiety when they realise what they are doing is wrong

A

high

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8
Q

Agents experiencing high anxiety when they realise what they are doing is wrong can be called…

A

moral strain

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9
Q

Agents feel _________ to disobey

A

powerless

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10
Q

Milgram observed that many of his participants said they wanted to ____

A

stop

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11
Q

Milgram observed that many of his participants said they wanted to stop but…

A

seemed powerless to do so

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12
Q

Milgram observed that many of his participants said they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to do so. What is this state called?

A

Agentic state

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13
Q

Binding factors

A

Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour

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14
Q

In Milgram’s experiment, aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of behaviour had what impact on them?

A

Reduced the ‘moral strain’ they were feeling

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15
Q

Give an example of a strategy that Milgram proposed participants used to reduce ‘moral strain’ they were feeling

A

Any from shifting responsibility to the victim and denying the damage they were doing to the victims

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16
Q

In Milgram’s experiment, how would a participant shift responsibility to the victim?

A

For example by thinking they were foolish to volunteer

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17
Q

Why was it easy for participants in Milgram’s experiment to deny the damage they were doing to the victims?

A

They couldn’t see them

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18
Q

True/False: most of Milgram’s participants resisted giving the shocks at some point

A

True

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19
Q

True/False: Milgram’s participants often asked the experimenter questions about the procedure

A

True

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20
Q

When participants in Milgram’s experiment asked who is responsible if the learner is harmed and the experimenter responded saying they were responsible, what happened?

A

Participants often went through the procedure quickly with no further objections

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21
Q

When participants were told that the experimenter was responsible for any harm caused in Milgram’s experiment, they went through the procedure quickly with no further objections. What does this show?

A

Once participants perceived they were no longer responsible for their own behaviour, they acted more easily as the experimenter’s agent

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22
Q

What is the opposite of the agentic state?

A

Autonomous state

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23
Q

A person in the autonomous state is…

A

free to behave according to their own principles

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24
Q

A person in the autonomous state feels…

A

a sense of responsibility of their own actions

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25
Q

Agentic shift

A

Shift from autonomy to ‘agency’

26
Q

When did Milgram suggest that the agentic shift occurs?

A

When a person perceives someone else as an authority figure

27
Q

In most social groups, when one person is in charge others defer to the…

A

legitimate authority of this person

28
Q

In most social groups, when one person is in charge others defer to the legitimate authority of this person. This is a shift from…

A

autonomy to agency

29
Q

Rank and Jacobson argued that the agentic shift…

A

doesn’t explain many research findings about obedience

30
Q

What did Rank and Jacobson find?

A

Found that 16 out of 18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive drug dose to a patient

31
Q

In Rank and Jacobson’s study, who was the doctor?

A

An obvious authority figure

32
Q

In Rank and Jacobson’s study, almost all nurses remained __________

A

autonomous

33
Q

True/False: In Rank and Jacobson’s study, almost all nurses remained autonomous, unlike many of Milgram’s participants

A

False: Many of Milgram’s participants remained autonomous

34
Q

Rank and Jacobson’s research suggests that, at best…

A

the agentic shift can only account for some situations of obedience

35
Q

Most societies are structured in a hierarchical way, where people in certain positions…

A

hold authority over the rest of us

36
Q

Give 3 examples of people who have authority over us at times

A

Any 3 from parents, teachers, police officers, nightclub bouncers, etc.

37
Q

The authority we wield is legitimate in the sense that…

A

it is agreed by society

38
Q

Most of us accept that authority figures have to/shouldn’t be allowed to exercise social power over others

A

have to

39
Q

Why do most of us accept that authority figures have to be allowed to exercise social power over others?

A

This allows society to function smoothly

40
Q

What is one consequence of legitimate authority figures being allowed to exercise social power over others?

A

Some people are granted the power to power to punish others

41
Q

We generally agree that the ______ and ______ have the power to punish wrongdoers

A

police, courts

42
Q

We are willing to give some of our independence and to hand control of our behaviour to people we trust, to…

A

exercise their authority appropriately

43
Q

We learn acceptance of legitimate authority from what point in our life?

A

Childhood

44
Q

Who do we initially learn acceptance of legitimate authority from?

A

Parents

45
Q

After parents, who do we learn acceptance of legitimate authority from?

A

Teachers and adults generally

46
Q

Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes ___________

A

destructive

47
Q

Name an example of a charismatic and powerful leader who has used their legitimate powers for destructive purposes

A

Any from Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc.

48
Q

Ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangerous is an example of…

A

an authority figure becoming destructive

49
Q

How was destructive authority obvious in Milgram’s study?

A

The experimenter used prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences

50
Q

Legitimacy of authority is a useful explanation to account for ________ differences in obedience

A

cultural

51
Q

Many studies show that different countries differ/are consistent in the degree to which people are obedient to authority

A

differ

52
Q

What did Kilham & Mann find?

A

Only 16% of female Australian participants went up to 450 volts in a Milgram-style study

53
Q

What did Mantell find?

A

85% of German participants went up to 450 volts in a Mantell-style study

54
Q

The legitimacy explanation of obedience shows that, in some cultures, authority is…

A

more likely to be accepted as legitimate

55
Q

The legitimacy explanation of obedience show that authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate in some cultures, leading to authority figures…

A

being more entitled to demand obedience from individuals

56
Q

The differences in obedience between cultures reflects the way that different societies are…

A

structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures

57
Q

One limitation of the legitimacy explanation of authority is that it cannot explain instances of disobedience in a hierarchy where…

A

legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted

58
Q

Name an example of a study where there was disobedience even though legitimacy of authority was clear and accepted

A

Rank & Jacobson’s nurse study

59
Q

Why is Rank & Jacobson’s nurse study an example of disobedience in a hierarchy where the legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted?

A

Most of them were disobedient despite working in a rigidly hierarchical structure

60
Q

True/False: A significant minority of Milgram’s participants disobeyed despite recognising the experimenter’ s scientific authority

A

True

61
Q

The fact that legitimacy of authority cannot explain instances of disobedience in a hierarchy where the legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted suggests…

A

some people may just be more (or less) obedient than others

62
Q

The suggestion that some people may just be more (or less) obedient than others suggests…

A

it is possible that innate tendencies to obey or disobey have a greater influence than the legitimacy of an authority figure

Psychology - IN FOCUS Social Influence (6 decks)

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