Obedience: Situational Variables

Question 1

Proximity

Answer 1

Teacher and learner in same room, obedience fell from 65% to 40%

Touch proximity teacher forced learners hand on plate, 30% obedience

Remote instruction proximity orders from experimenter over phone, 20.5% obedience

Question 2

Location

Answer 2

Experiments are conducted in rundown building, 47.5% obedience

Question 3

Uniform

Answer 3

Member of public (confederate) in every day clothes gave orders, 20% obedience

Experimenter called away because of phone call.

Question 4

Research support

Answer 4

Uniform conveys authority increases obedience (Bickman)

Question 5

Low internal valitidy

Answer 5

Participants knew procedure fake (Orne and Holland)

Participants could realise procedure was fake as of extra experimental manipulation. And play acted

Question 6

Supported by replications

Answer 6

Done in other cultures (although mostly western)

Question 7

High control of variables

Answer 7

Milgram altered one variable at a time.

Question 8

Conclusions provide Obedience alibi

Answer 8

Blaming situational factors ignoring things that happened in the holocaust like racism. (Mandel)