Obedience: situational variables

Question 1

what are situational variables

Answer 1

features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour. The alternative is dispositional variables where behaviour is explained by personality.

Question 2

what are the three situational variables

Answer 2

• proximity
• location
• uniform

Question 3

what did Milgram do in the proximity variable

Answer 3

• in baseline the teacher could hear learner but not see them
• in proximity variable T and L were in the same room
• obedience dropped from 65% (original) to 40%
• in touch proximity variation the T had to force L hand onto an electroshock plate, if he refused to place it there himself after giving a wrong answer. Obedience dropped to another 30%
• in remote instruction variation, the experimenter left the room and gave instructions to T by telephone. Obedience dropped to 20.5%. Participants also frequently pretended to give shocks

Question 4

explain the importance of proximity

Answer 4

• decreased proximity allows ppl to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions.
• in baseline study when T and L were physically separated the T was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person and were more obedient

Question 5

explain the location variation

Answer 5

• in run down office block rather than the prestigious yale university setting of baseline study.
• in run down office block obedience fell to 47.5%

Question 6

explain the importance of location

Answer 6

• the prestigious uni gave Milgrams study legitimacy and authority
• participants more obedient in uni bc they perceived the experimenter shared the legitimacy and that obedience was expected
• was still high in office block bc participants still perceived the scientific nature of the procedure

Question 7

what was the uniform variation

Answer 7

• baseline study experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority
• in one variation, the experimenter was called away bc of an inconvenient phone call at the start of the procedure and their role was taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ (a confederate) in everyday clothes rather than a lab coat. Obedience dropped to 20%, the lowest of these variations

Question 8

give an explanation of the uniform variation

Answer 8

• uniforms encourage obedience bc they are widely recognised symbols of authority
• we accept that someone in uniform is entitled to expect obedience bc their authority is legitimate
• someone without uniform has less right to expect our obedience.