Obedience - Social psychology Flashcards
What is obedience?
A type of social influence whereby someone acts in response to direct order from a perceived figure in authority
What is destructive obedience?
Destructive obedience is compliance with orders that result in negative consequences
What is autonomous and agentic state in the Agency theory?
Autonomous state is where we behave independently
Agentic state is where we carry out orders from a person we believe is an authoritative figure
What is agentic shift in the Agency theory?
The transformation from autonomous state to agentic state
What is moral strain?
Where people experience symptoms of anxiety when obeying orders to result in harm
What supports the Agency theory?
The Agency Theory is supported by the 1963 study of obedience. However, Gina Perry said participants questioned the reality of the shocks.
What are uses of the Agency theory?
It was applied in a variety of military strategies devised to ensure soldiers follow orders without question reducing moral strain
What evidence is against the Agency Theory?
Agentic shift isn’t inevitable
This is proven in a separate study with nurses who failed to obey orders of doctors for an overdose of the drug Valium
What was the aim of Milgram’s baseline study of obedience?
To understand the behaviour of Germans who followed orders to kill 10,000,000 Jews during the Holocaust
What was the procedure for Milgram’s baseline study of obedience?
-40 men were recruited, aged 20-50, Americans
-Offered £4.50 for participation
-Students would be asked a question, if they answered wrong the participant would shock the student ; the student answered questions wrong on purpose
-The more questions wrong, the higher the intensity of the shock
-Shock between 15V - 450V
-Verbal prods were used such as “Please continue”
What were the findings of Milgram’s baseline study of obedience?
-65% administrated to pull the 450V shock
-100% administrated to pull the 300V shock
-Participants were sweating, trembling and dug their fingernails into their own flesh out of anxiety
What was the evaluation of Milgram’s baseline study of obedience?
-Standardised procedure made every participant have the same experience which makes it more reliable and replicable. However, Gina Perry argues sometimes 20 prods were given.
-a weakness is that people may have only obeyed because they didn’t think the shock was real / demand characteristics
-Milgram’s findings are used in pilot training. Tarnow describes how his first officers fail to monitor and challenge errors made by the captain which could prevent 20% of all plane crashes
-The study raised ethical issues ; Perry argued some participants left the lab believing the learner was killed. This is deception.
What was the conclusion of Milgram’s baseline study of obedience?
-Ordinary Americans are obedient to legitimate authority
What was experiment 7 of Milgram’s variational studies?
Telephonic instructions
-The experimenter gave orders to the teacher over the telephone. 22.5% of participants were fully obedient.
-Participants found it easier to resist authority in this passive way
-The physical presence of the authority figure is a situational factor that increases obedience
evaluation
-A strength is that subsequent research has replicated this finding. demonstrating external validity
What was experiment 10 of Milgram’s variational studies?
Rundown office block
-The study took place in a rundown office block instead of the prestigious Yale University. 47.5% of participants were obedient.
-This shows setting is a situational factor that affects obedience
evaluation
-A strength is Milgram collected qualitative and quantitative data between participants and experimenter. Modilgilani and Rochat conducted a re-analysis in which the earlier in the procedure the participant challenged the experimenter, the more likely they were to be fully defiant. This allowed Modigilani and Rochat to gain an insight into different types of resistance and used their findings to explain “Ordinariness of goodness”
