OBEDIENCE: SITUATIONAL VARIABLES Flashcards
what are the situational variables?
they are the features of the situation and people in it
what are the 3 situational variables?
proximity
uniform
location
what is the situational variable ‘proximity’?
- in the variation of milgrams research where the teacher and learner were in the same room, obedience levels dropped to 40%
- in the variation where the teacher forced the learners hand on the shock plate, the obedience levels dropped to 30%
- when instructions were given over the phone, obedience levels dropped to 20.5%.
what is the situational variable ‘location’?
- when the setting changed to a run down office block from Yale university, obedience levels dropped to 47.5% as the experimenters legitimacy of authority was diminished
what is the situational variable ‘uniform’?
- the experimenter who was wearing a grey lab coat was pulled away and a member of the public took over (confederate), the obedience levels dropped to 20%
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength to the situational variables of obedience?
One strength to the situational variables of obedience is that it has real life application. For example, Milgrams research into obedience and his variations of the studys supports the role of obedience in the real world. This means that this research has allowed us to see the problems of obedience in society, meaning we are then able to reduce future obedience in response to destructive authority figures. Therefore, by having a general awareness of the power of proximity, location and obedience and their influence is useful as it allows us to establish social order and moral behaviours.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to the situational variables of obedience?
One strength to the situational variables of obedience is that it has supporting evidence. For example, Bickmans field experiment looking into the role of uniform and obeying. this is when he had someone in normal clothes ask people to pick up random litter and had someone dressed as a guard ask them to pick up random litter. He found that 92% of people obeyed when the stranger was dressed as a guard but only 49% when dressed as a civilian. Therefore, this supports the idea that people are more likely to obey to someone dressed in uniform as they are seen as higher in society.
AO3: how is ‘can be applied to schools and institutions’ a strength to the situational variables of obedience?
One strength to the situational variables of obedience is that it can be applied within schools and institutions. This is because if we can understand the conditions in which obedience occurs in, we can use this to help us understand how to increase and decrease levels of obedience in individuals. For example, in schools, children are more likely to obey a teacher in uniform when in a classroom compared to if a teacher asked them to do something outside of school in their normal clothes. Therefore, by understanding when individuals are more likely to obey, we can create situations similar to these in places such as schools and prisons to increase the levels of obedience and improve behaviour.
AO3: how is ‘it lacks population validity’ a limitation to the situational variables of obedience?
One limitation to the situational variables of obedience is that it lacks population validity. this means that the findings of the research is unable to be generalised to the rest of the population. For example, Smith and Bond found that as most of the replications of Milgram’s study took place in the USA, meaning they are only representative of western cultures and ignore possible influences within eastern cultures. This therefore means that they can’t fully conclude the findings of the situational variables apply to everyone, meaning they are unable to claim universality and this suggests that Milgram’s research lacks generalisability.
