obidence Flashcards
what is obedience
Obedience is where you will follow the orders of someone you perceive to be of a higher authority that yourself.
What is the key case study of obedience
Milgrams study
Aims of milgrams study
Hilgram set out to find whether Germany people were more obobedience than every other nation, or whether it was the situation they were in
What is the procedure of milgrams study
Participants volunteered for a study of memory and learning. They were taken to yale university. They were greeted by the experimenter who was wearing a grey lab coat. Introduced to mr Wallace who was the stooge. One was the teacher one was the learner. Mr Wallace was always the learner. Experimenter explains that they have to shock mr wallace as different voltages. Started out at 15v and shocked all the way up to 450v which is fatal. Teacher instructed to give shocks all the way up to 450v. At 325v mr Wallace was instructed to stop responding.
Findings of milgrams study
Obedience rate as 65%, showing 65% shocked all the way up to 450v. All participants shocked up to 300v. The experimenter would prod them by saying things like ‘we need you to continue’ ‘you have no other choice, carry on’
Conclusion to milgrams study
It was concluded that the germans were no different to everyone else. It was the situation they were in which led them to follow nazi orders.
Pros and cons of milgrams study
Pros:
Milgram pioneered the first study to look at obedience and it is one of the most famous studies which provokes shocking information.
Participants took the study seriously as they showed signs of stress. In post study interviews, participants said that theh weren’t pretending.
Cons:
Unethical- got very stressed and anxious. They were also deceived as they thought it was a test about memory.
Controversial- giving the nazi party an excuse as to why they did what they did. Reducing peoples experiments
What is bickmans field experiment
Tested the ecological validity of milgrams work by putting it in a realistic setting. 3 male experimenters gave orders to 153 randomly selected pedestrians in Brooklyn. Experimenter was dressed in either a milkman uniform, guard uniform, or a police officer. Made people pick up bags, told them to pick up money, or telling people not to stand in certain places.
Evaluation of bickman
Cons:
. Ethic issues as they didnt tell people they were involved so made it impossible for people to give informed consent
. Lack of realism- people have learnt to distrust experiments as they know the true study may be hidden
. Individual differences- influence of gender. Woman would be more susceptible to social influence than men.
Pro:
. Test of legitimate authority- aviation accident. Studied data from the US national transportation safety board.
. Explains real life obedience- positive consequence of obedience to legitimate authority. No longer feel that their own moral values are relevant to their conduct. As a consequence, when directed by a legitimate authority figure to engage in immoral actions, people are unwilling to do so.
Dispositional explanation of obedience- the authoritarian personality
Theodor adorno- thought it was important to understand racial prejudice stemmed from childhood. Adorno studied mainly white students with middle class backgrounds. Interviewed them on political views and early childhood experiences. Used projective tests, neutral stimuli such as pictures that could be used. People brought up with strict parents how got physical punishments are more likely to be obedient. Adorno developed the f scale that measures the authoritarian personality.
Evaluation of adorno
Cons:
. Although the f scale has some research support, supposedly authoritarian individuals do not always score highly on all the dimensions as the theory would predict.
. F scale from response bias as the scale is worded in a confirming direction. Therefore if individuals agree with items they are rated as authoritarian.
. Theory has political bias, as individuals with an authoritarian personality are seen as only existing on the conservative right wing political viewpoints.
What is the agentic state
The agentic state is when people believe they arent responsible for their actions, they believe they are the agent for others and carry out their actions.
Reason for entering the agentic state
People may enter the agentic state to protect and maintain their self image. They are no longer responsible for their actions so it isnt relevant.
What keeps people in the agentic state
Social etiquette keeps people in the agentic state.
