Obedience: situational variables Flashcards
what are situational variables
features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour
proximity variation
The physical distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to.
In this variation, teacher and learner were in the same room. Obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40%. In the variation where teacher had to force learner’s hand onto plate obedience dropped to 30%. When experimenter delivered instructions to teacher by telephone, obedience dropped to 20.5%.
proximity explanation
when teacher and learner in same room, the participants felt a higher moral responsibility for their actions and the consequences.
location variation
Milgram conducted a variation in a run-down office block rather than in Yale university. In this location, obedience fell to 47.5%.
location explanation
prestigious university environment gave Milgram’s study authority. Participants were more obedient in yale because they believed the experimenter shared this legitimacy and that obedience was expected.
uniform variation
In this variation, the role of the experimenter was taken by what looked like an ‘ordinary member of the public’ in everyday clothes. The obedience rate dropped to 20%.
uniform explanation
uniforms encourage obedience because they are recognised symbols of authority. Someone without a uniform has less right to expect our obedience.
Evaluation of situational variables (brief)
strength - research support, Bickman
strength - replicated in other cultures, Dutch
weakness - socially sensitive
strengths of situational variables
research support from other studies of situational variables on obedience. In a field experiment in New York, Bickman had three confederates dress in different outfits. The confederates asked passers-by to perform tasks like picking up litter. People were twice as likely to obey confederate dressed as security guard than the one dressed in jacket and tie. Therefore, this supports Milgram’s view that a situational variable, such as uniform, does have a powerful effect on obedience.
Milgram’s findings have been replicated in other cultures. Dutch participants were ordered to say stressful things in an interview to someone desperate for a job. 90% of participants obeyed. The researchers also replicated Milgram’s proximity findings as when the person giving orders wasn’t present, obedience drastically decreased. Therefore, this suggests that Milgram’s findings aren’t just limited to American’s or men, but are valid across cultures and apply to women too.
weaknesses of situational variables
Milgram’s findings support a situational explanation for obedience which could be seen as socially sensitive. But this explanation has been criticised by Mandel who argues that it offers an excuse for evil behaviour. In his view, it is offensive to survivors of the Holocaust to suggest that the Nazi’s were simply obeying orders. Milgram’s explanation also ignores the role of dispositional factors, such as personality. Thus implying that the Nazi’s were victims of situational factors beyond their control.
