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psychology: social influence > OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY > Flashcards

OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY Flashcards

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1
Q

Define obedience

A
  • form of social influence
  • individual follows order from an authoritative figure
  • direct form of social influence
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2
Q

Outline Milgrim’s aim for his experiment

A
  • wanted to investigate whether Germans were more obedient (due to WW2)
  • interested in social influence and how far people were willing to obey
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3
Q

Outline Milgrim’s procedure

A
  • 40 male volunteers to take part in experiment at Yale University
  • told that the experiment was on punishment and it’s effect on learning
  • ppt labelled as “teacher” and Mr Wallace (confederate) labelled as “learner”
  • teacher instructed to give electric shocks to learner every time they got a wrong answer
  • each shock increased in voltage
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4
Q

what were the findings of Milgrim’s baseline study?

A
  • 65% continued to the highest level of 450 volts
  • ppts showed extreme signs of tension (e.g. sweating)
  • 3 men had uncontrollable seizures
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5
Q

what was Milgrim’s conclusion for his baseline study?

A
  • Germans were not different
  • Americans just as willing to follow destructive orders
  • claimed that certain factors would encourage obedience
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6
Q

state what is meant by “debrief” and it’s significance on Milgrim’s study

A
  • process of informing ppts about the purpose of the experiment and about any deception that may have been used
  • Milgrim argued that his thorough debriefing protected ppts from harm
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7
Q

how does the ppts lack of right to withdraw make Milgrim’s study unethical?

A
  • ppts found it hard to leave, due to orders from the experimenter
  • some did disobey and leave
  • however, their right to leave should be clearly indicated before the procedure
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8
Q

how does the ppts lack of informed consent make Milgrim’s study unethical?

A
  • ppts did not know what was involved in the experiment
  • could be argued that fully informed consent is not needed, as psychological studies require ppts to be unaware of what is really happening, so that they do not show demand characteristics
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9
Q

how did the deception towards ppts make Milgrim’s study unethical?

A
  • ppts deceived into believing Mr Wallace was a genuine ppt
  • however, deceptions were necessary for procedure to be realistic
  • if consequences too severe, study would be unjustified
  • Milgrim argued that his debrief protected his ppts
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10
Q

how did the psychological
and physical harm caused to ppts make Milgrim’s study unethical?

A
  • many experienced anxiety
  • 3 had seizures
  • Milgrim argued that this increased the validity, as ppts believed it was real
  • said he protected ppts through his debrief
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11
Q

how did the consistency/replicability of Milgrim’s study act as a strength?

A
  • standardised procedure allowed for the same delivery for every ppt
  • experiment can be the same regardless of who is conducting it
  • allows it to be repeated, essential for testing reliability
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12
Q

how did the control of variables in Milgrim’s study act as a strength?

A
  • standardised procedure helped control extraneous variables
  • rigid procedure, ensuring ppts behaviour was influenced by the IV
  • increases the internal validity
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13
Q

how did the comparability of the results for Milgrim’s study act as a strength?

A
  • due to the standardised procedure, differences in treatment of ppts was minimised
  • allowed Milgrim to generalise findings across ppts
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14
Q

outline Hofling et al’s study

A
  • field experiment in 22 hospitals
  • nurses called by “Dr Smith”, asked to administer an overdose of a drug to a patient
  • 21/22 of nurses gave the medication, as it was “given by a doctor”
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15
Q

how did Hofling et al’s study support Milgrim’s findings?

A
  • showed that obedience is apparent in real life settings
  • nurses obeyed authority figures, like Milgrim’s ppts
  • enhances ecological validity of findings, due to natural setting
  • therefore makes results more applicable to real life
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16
Q

explain how Milgrim’s lack of internal validity acts as a limitation

A
  • Orne and Holland argued that ppts only obeyed, as they guessed it was a set up
  • weakness, as it suggests that Milgrim did not test what he intended to
17
Q

explain how Milgrim’s high external validity acts as a strength

A
  • he argued that the environment reflected authority and power in society
  • aligns with findings from Hofling et al’s study
  • suggests that obedience does occur wherever an authoritative figure is present
18
Q

explain how supporting research for Milgrim’s findings act as a strength

A
  • TV documentary deceived ppts into believing they were in a game show
  • were instead giving shocks to confederates
  • strength, as behaviour was identical to Milgrim’s findings
19
Q

how were obedience rates affected when Milgrim changed the location to “seedy offices”

A

dropped from 65% to 47.5%

20
Q

how were obedience rates affected during the proximity condition of Milgrim’s study?

A

dropped from 65% to 40%

21
Q

how were obedience rates affected during the touch proximity condition of Milgrim’s study?

A

dropped from 65% to 30%

22
Q

how were obedience rates affected when experimenter was replaced by a “member of the public”

A

dropped from 65% to 20%

23
Q

how were obedience rates affected when teacher was given 2 other “teachers” encouraging the ppt against shocking

A

dropped from 65% to 10%

24
Q

how were obedience rates affected during the remote instruction condition of Milgrim’s experiment

A

dropped from 65% to 20.5%

24
Q

what are the situational variables investigated by Milgrim

A
  • proximity
  • location
  • uniform
25
Q

why were obedience rates affected during the “proximity” condition?

A
  • if teacher was in the same room, they would be able to see the learners face, allowing for them to feel more sympathy
26
Q

why were obedience rates affected during the “touch proximity” condition?

A
  • physically forcing the learner created an increased sense of personal involvement
27
Q

why were obedience rates affected during the “remote instruction” condition?

A
  • person of authority outside of the room
  • easier to disobey
28
Q

why were obedience rates affected during the location change of Milgrim’s experiment

A
  • in Yale, there was a prestigious reputation
  • location itself acted as authority
  • run-down location became less trustworthy
29
Q

why were obedience rates affected when experimenter was not in uniform (Milgrim)

A
  • clothes change the way a person is perceived
  • uniforms create more professionality, therefore increasing their authority
30
Q

outline Bickman’s study on uniform’s affect on obedience

A
  • 3 men: pedestrian, milkman uniform, guard uniform
  • gave orders to pedestrians
  • guard obeyed the most, then milkman, then pedestrian
  • showed that uniforms provided more authority
31
Q

how did Bushman’s study support Milgrim’s uniform theory

A

found that obedience rates increased when the person giving orders was wearing uniform

32
Q

how did the lack of external validity in Milgrim’s study act as a limitation

A
  • laboratory creates artificial environment
  • reduces ecological validity
  • findings cannot be generalised
33
Q

how can Milgrim’s creation of an “obedience alibi” be seen as problematic?

A
  • Mandel argued that his findings for external factors and their affects offered excuses for evil
  • Milgrim’s explanations ignored roles of dispositional factors
  • could suggest that Nazi’s were victims of situational factors
34
Q

what is meant by a “social-psychological factor”

A
  • focuses on influence of other people on an individuals behaviour
  • Milgrim argued that obedience is caused by the social hierarchy
35
Q

state what is meant by “agentic state”

A
  • when a person does not take responsibility for obeying destructive orders
  • person becomes an “agent”, acting on behalf of another
  • feel moral strain, but powerless to obey
36
Q

state what is meant by an “autonomous state”

A
  • when a person feels responsibility for their own actions
37
Q
  • state what is meant by the “agentic shift”
  • why did Milgrim say this occurs?
A
  • when a person goes from autonomy to agency
  • Milgrim stated that it occurs due to somebody viewing another as being higher than them in the social hierarchy
38
Q
A

psychology: social influence (2 decks)

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