Obedience: Situational Variables Flashcards
What was the initial baseline score at the baseline study at Yale university? (percentage of fully obedient participants)
65%
How was the proximity variation different to the normal study?
In the original study the teacher and learner where in adjoining rooms, so the teacher could hear the learner but not see him. In the proximity variation, they were in the same room.
What were the results for the proximity variation?
Obedience fell from 65% (original) to 40%
How was the location variation different to the normal study?
In the original study the experiment was carried out in a prestigious university department and in the location variation it was carried out in a run-down building rather than the prestigious university.
What were the results for the location variation?
Obedience fell from 65% (original) to 47.5%
What were the results for the authority figure and teacher proximity variation?
Obedience fell from 65% (original) to 20.5%
What are situational variables?
Features of an environment that affect the degree to which individuals yield to group pressures.
How was the authority figure and teacher proximity variation different to the normal study?
In the original study the authority figure is in the same room as the teacher whilst in the variation the authority figure gave the teacher instructions through the telephone instead.
How was the authority figure appearance variation different to the normal study?
Obedience fell from 65% (original) to 20%
What were the results for the authority figure appearance variation?
In the original study the authority figure wears a traditional lab coat whilst in the variation the authority figure was called away on the phone and replaced with an ‘ordinary member of the public’ (confederate) in everyday clothes.
What were the results for the social support variation?
Obedience fell from 65% (original) to 10%
How was the social support variation different to the normal study?
In the original study there was one single teahcer reading word-pairs giving the punishment whilst in the variation there were two other confederate teachers who acted as dissenters.
How was the peer shocks variation different to the normal study?
In the normal study the single teacher reads the word-pairs and gives punishments whilst in the variation there would be another confederate who actually presses the button to shock them.
AO3 - Research support.
Bickman (1974) had three confederates dress in different outfits in New York City; a jacket and tie, a milkman and security guard. They asked people to pick up litter and found people were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard than one in a jacket and tie. This supports the conclusion that uniform conveys authority and produces obedience.
Did Bickman (1974) support or criticise Milgram’s conclusion?
He supported the idea that uniform conveys authority and demands obedience as people were twice as likely to obey a security guard uniform than a jacket and tie.
