Obedience: Situational Variables Flashcards
After Milgram conducted his first study on obedience, he carried out a large number of what?
variations
Why did Milgram carry out a large number of variations?
In order to consider the situational variables that might lead to more or less obedience
True/False: In Milgram’s baseline study, the Teacher could hear and see the learner
False: The Teacher could hear the learner but not see him
What was the proximity variation of Milgram’s study?
The teacher and learner were in the same room
In Milgram’s proximity variation, the obedience rate increased/decreased
decreased
In Milgram’s proximity variation, the obedience rate dropped from 65% to __%
40
What was Milgram’s touch proximity variation?
The teacher had to force the Learner’s hand onto an ‘electroshock plate’ if he refused to place it there himsefl after giving a wrong answer
What was the effect on the obedience rate in Milgram’s touch proximity variation?
It dropped further to 30%
What was Milgram’s remote instruction variation?
The Experimenter left the room and gave instructions to the Teacher by telephone
What was the effect on the obedience rate in Milgram’s remote instruction variation?
Obedience reduced to 20.5% and participants also frequently pretended to give shocks
True/False: In Milgram’s remote instruction variation, participants frequently pretended to give shocks
True
Decreased proximity in Milgram’s experiment allowed people to…
psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions
When the Teacher and Learner in Milgram’s baseline study were physically separated, the Teacher…
was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person so they were more obedient
What did Milgram do in his location variation?
Conducted a variation in a run-down office block rather than in the previous Yale University setting of the baseline study
Where did Milgram’s baseline study occur?
Yale University
In Milgram’s location variation, obedience fell to __._%
47.5
In Milgram’s location variation, why did obedience fall to 47.5%?
The previous university environment gave Milgram’s study legitimacy and authority
In Milgram’s experiment, why were participants more obedient in the Yale University setting?
They perceived that the Experimenter and study had legitimacy and authority, and that obedience was expected
True/False: In Milgram’s location variation, obedience was still quite high in the office block because the participants perceived the ‘scientific’ nature of the procedure
True
In Milgram’s baseline study, the Experimenter wore…
a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority
What happened in Milgram’s uniform variation?
The Experimenter was called away because of an inconvenient telephone call at the start of the procedure. The role of the Experimenter was taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ (a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat
In Milgram’s uniform variation, why did the original Experimenter leave?
Was called away because of an inconvenient phone call at the start of the procedure
In Milgram’s uniform variation, who took over the role of the Experimenter?
An ‘ordinary member of the public’ (a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat
In Milgram’s uniform variation, the obedience rate dropped to __%, the lowest of these variations
20
Which of Milgram’s variations led to the lowest obedience rate? What was the obedience rate of this variation?
Uniform, 20%
Why do uniforms encourage obedience?
They are widely recognised symbols of authority
Why do we accept that someone in a uniform is entitled to expect obedience?
Their authority is legitimate (i.e. it is granted by society)
Someone without a uniform has less/more right to expect our obedience
less
What were Milgram’s three situational variables?
Proximity, location and uniform
One strength/weakness of Milgram’s experiment is that other studies have demonstrated the influence of situational variables on obedience
strength
What type of experiment was Bickman’s obedience study in New York City?
Field
Where did Bickman carry out his obedience study?
New York City
In Bickman’s obedience study, what was different about his three confederates?
They dressed in different outfits
What were the three outfits worn in Bickman’s obedience study?
A jacket and a tie, a milkman’s outfit and a security guard’s uniform
What did the confederates in Bickman’s obedience study do?
Individually stand in the street and ask passers by to perform tasks such as picking up litter or handing over a coin for the parking meter
In Bickman’s obedience study, confederates individually stood in the street and asked passers by to…
perform tasks such as picking up litter or handing over a coin for the parking meter
Give an example of a task that confederates asked passers by to perform in Bickman’s obedience study
Picking up litter or handing over a coin for the parking meter
What were Bickman’s findings from his obedience study?
People were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard than one dressed in a jacket and tie
In Bickman’s obedience study, people were _x as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard than the one in…
2x, a jacket and tie
Bickman’s findings from his obedience study support/oppose the view that a situational variable, such as uniform…
support, does have a powerful effect on obedience
True/False: One strength of Milgram’s research is that his findings have been replicated in other cultures
True
What did Meeus and Raaijmakers do?
Used a more realistic procedure than Milgram’s to stodu obedience in Dutch participants
What did Meeus and Raaijmakers order participants to do in their study of obedience?
Say stressful things in an interview to someone (a confederate) desperate for a job
True/False: In Meeus and Raaijmakers’ study, the people desperate for a job were randomly selected from the street
False, they were confederates
Meeus and Raaijmakers found that __% of participants obeyed and said stressful things to a confederate desperate for a job
90%
What did Meeus and Raaijmakers find regarding proximity?
When the person giving the orders was not present, obedience decreased dramatically
What does Meeus and Raaijmakers’ study suggest about the generalisability of Milgram’s findings?
Milgram’s findings are not just limited to Americans or men, but are valid across cultures and apply to women too
Replications of Milgram’s research are/are not very cross-cultural
are not
Smith and Bond identified ___ replications between 1968 and 85 that took place where?
two, India and Jordan
What is the significance of replications of Milgram’s experiment being conducted in India and Jordan?
They are both culturally quite different from the US
What’s the problem with replications of Milgram’s experiment being conducted in countries such as Spain, Australia and Scotland?
They are culturally quite similar to the US, e.g. they have similar notions about the role of authority
The lack of cross-cultural replications of Milgram’s experiment suggests that…
it may not be appropriate to conclude that Milgram’s findings (including those about proximity, location and uniform) apply to people in all or most cultures
What was Orne and Holland’s criticism of Milgram’s baseline study?
They suggested that participants may have been aware the procedure was faked
Orne and Holland pointed out that participants in Milgram’s experiment were more/less likely to have been aware that the procedure was faked in his variations
more
Why did Orne and Holland suggest that participants were more likely to have been aware that Migram’s procedure was faked in the variations compared to the baseline study?
Extra manipulation of variables
In the variation where the experimenter is replaced by a ‘member of the public’, even Milgram recognised that…
this situation was so contrived that some participants may have worked out the truth
In all of Milgram’s studies it is unclear whether the findings are genuinely due to the operation of obedience or because the participants…
saw through the deception and just ‘play-acted’ and responded to demand characteristics
If Milgram’s participants were aware of the deception going on and just ‘play-acted’, what did they do?
Respond to demand characteristics
Milgram’s research findings support/oppose a situational explanation of obedience
support
What was Mandel’s criticism of Milgram’s perspective?
He argued that it offers an excuse or ‘alibi’ for evil behaviour
Why did Mandel argue that Milgram’s perspective offers an excuse of ‘alibi’ for evil behaviour?
In his view, it is offensive to survivors of the Holocaust to suggest that the Nazis were simply obeying orders
True/False: Milgram’s explanation for obedience ignores the role of dispositional factors
True
True/False: personality is a situational variable in Milgram’s experiment
False: dispositional factor
Mandel argued that Milgram’s conclusions implied that Nazis were…
victims of situational factors beyond their control
