Outline and evaluate explanations of obedience Flashcards
dispositional factors
Explanations of obedience include dispositional explanations of obedience which suggests an internal explanation for obedience, caused by a person’s personality characteristics.
This includes the authoritarian personality in which people are more likely to obey if they have an authoritarian personality.
This is a specific set of personality characteristics that makes them more hostile and conventional with a strong respect for authority.
Adorno argued that people who experienced strict parenting as a child are more likely to develop this type of personality, which is measured using the F-scale.
situational
Situational explanations suggest an external explanation for obedience, caused by the environment and include uniform in which people are more likely to conform if the authority figure is wearing a uniform.
This is because a uniform is a symbol of authority, which increases the authority figure’s social influence.
Location is also a situational explanation in which people are more likely to obey in high status locations, with high levels of perceived authority (e.g. Yale).
This is because the high status of the setting adds to the authority of the authority figure, increasing obedience.
Proximity of authority figure is also a situational explanation as people are more likely to obey if the authority figure is proximate (close by).
This is because the proximity of the authority figure makes them close enough to exert their authority.
social-psychological
There are also social-psychological explanations which are neither situational nor dispositional and includes the agentic state where people are more likely to obey when they enter the agentic state, seeing themselves as an agent of the authority figure, working on their behalf.
As a result of this, they give up their free will because they believe they are not responsible for their own actions.
The legitimacy of the authority figure is another social-psychological explanation in which people are more likely to obey if the person giving orders has a high level of legitimate authority.
This is because the role of the authority increases their social influence, which people respect because they fear punishment if they don’t obey.
autho strength
A strength of the authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience is that it has convincing research from Elms and Milgram who found that the most obedient participants in Milgram’s original experiment scored higher on the F-scale than those who were less obedient.
This shows that obedience is most likely in people who have an authoritarian personality because their childhood experiences gave them a strong respect for authority, suggesting it is a valid explanation for obedience.
legtimacy +
A strength of legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience is that it can explain real life obedience.
Kelman and Hamilton (1989) have suggested that the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war can be explained by the authority of the US army.
As the army has authority recognised by US law, soldiers, including Lt William Calley, assume their orders are legal, even if ordered to behave in a barbaric fashion.
This suggests that legitimacy of authority is a valid explanation for obedience, as seen in this case.
proximity +
A strength of proximity of the authority figure as an explanation for obedience is that it has convincing research to support it from Milgram who found that only 20.5% participants obeyed orders to give the maximum shock when instructions were given over the phone rather than in person.
this shows that obedience is most likely when the authority figure is close because it gives the sense that he can exert his authority, suggesting proximity of the authority figure is a valid explanation for obedience.
agentic +
A strength of the agentic state as an explanation of obedience is that it has convincing research to support it from Milgram who interviewed participants after his experiment and found they did not feel responsible for their actions because they believed they were working on the experimenter’s behalf.
For example, one participant said to the experimenter, “well you’re responsible”. This shows that obedience is most likely when people enter the agentic state because they feel they are carrying out someone else’s work, suggesting it is a valid explanation for obedience.
uniform +
A strength of uniform as an explanation for obedience is that it has convincing research to support it from Bickman who found that 92% of pedestrians obeyed an order (e.g. to give a stranger money for a parking meter) when the confederate was dressed in a guard’s uniform, compared to only 49% when dressed in a jacket and tie.
This shows that obedience is most likely when the uniform of the authority figure increases his or her social influence, suggesting uniform is a valid explanation for obedience.
location +
A strength of location as an explanation for obedience is that it has convincing research to support it from Milgram who found that only 47.5% of participants obeyed orders to give the maximum shock when carried out in a run-down building, rather than Yale.
This shows that obedience is most likely when orders are given in a prestigious location because the high status of the settings adds to the authority of the authority figure, suggesting location is a valid explanation for obedience.
