PAPER 1 - SOCIAL INFLUENCE - obedience Flashcards
what is obedience?
when an individual complies with a direct order from a figure of perceived authority
- person responds in a way they wouldn’t without the order
who was selected for Milgram’s study?
40 male volunteers
what were the participants told milgram’s study was about?
role of punishment in learning
what happened when the accomplice answered the questions wrong?
participant was instructed to give a shock, researcher encouraged him if participant hesitated
what were the findings from Milgram’s study?
65% gave shocks to 450 volts
all participants went up to 300 volts
12.5% stopped at 300V
what were Milgram’s findings from the interviews after the study?
74% participants learned something of personal importance
84% were glad to participate
1 regretted taking part
what conclusions can be made from Milgram’s research?
we have strong tendency to obey authority figures, even against better judgement (even if it inflicts harm on others)
how does Milgram’s study lack internal validity?
located in Yale University - questioned whether they would let harm come to participants
Orne & Holland questioned it as they believed there was lack of experimental realism - caused demand characteristics which is how they got results
they didn’t think participants would actually believe in shocks/ investigation
what arguments are there defending Milgram’s research and indicating internal validity?
high experimental realism - severe reactions from participants indicate that it felt real
lack of demand characteristics - Milgram disguised the aim with believable alternative aim
didn’t obey questioningly - conflicted participants showing concern
how does Milgram’s research lack external validity?
lacks ecological validity due to lack of mundane realism - lab/artificial study, not asked to administer shocks in everyday life
Yale University - may not be able to generalise to other settings
lack of population validity - all male participants so cant generalise results
what arguments are there for defending Milgram’s research suggesting that there is external validity?
replication in rundown office still produced obedience - lower than uni setting
field experiment (e.g Hofling & nurses) still demonstrated high levels of obedience and authority in natural setting where harm could be inflicted - possibly does have ecological validity
what ethical issues are there for Milgram’s research?
- participants were deceived about what research was about
- lack of informed consent
- loss of self-esteem as a result of their willingness to deliver electric shocks
- failure to protect participants
- caused high stress/seizures
what are the situational variables that affect obedience?
- proximity
- location
- uniform
what was the affect of proximity on obedience?
teacher & learner in same room - 40% obedience
teacher presses learners hand on shock plate - 30% obedience
remote authority (phone) - 21%
what was the effect of location on obedience?
original study - 65% obedience
run down office - 48% obedience
what was the study by Bickman on uniform?
- 153 randomly selected pedestrians
- experimenter was dressed in 1 of 3 ways - jacket & tie, milkman uniform, guard uniform
- gave 1 of 3 orders
what are the findings of Bickmans study and what do they tell us about the effect of uniform on obedience?
92% complied when given order by experimenter in guard uniform
49% complied in ordinary clothes
- more likely to conform if shown perceived legitimate authority
what was the study by Bushman on uniform?
- similar to Bickman, female dressed in either casual or smart clothes asked for a small amount of change for parking meter
- when uniformed 70% complied, 58% when in ordinary clothes
what are the 3 explanations of obedience?
- agentic state
- legitimacy of authority
- authoritarian personality (dispositional)
which study supports legitimacy of authority?
Hofling et al - nurse study
- a confederate “Dr Smith” instructed the nurse by telephone to give a patient a dose but they would be breaking basic rules if they did so
- a real doctor nearby observed the nurses
- 21/22 nurses complied unhesitatingly
what is the autonomous state?
individual is aware of the consequences of their actions and choose to voluntarily behave in particular ways - take responsibility for their behaviour
what is the agentic state?
individual sees themselves as an agent of another and carried out their orders without accepting personal responsibility for their actions, they see those giving the orders responsible, not themselves
what is the agentic shift?
the switch from operating as an autonomous individual to acting as an agent for another person, happens when there is perception of legitimate authority
what evidence is there for agentic state?
- Milgram’s experiment, participants had serious reservations about administering the electric shocks
- when participants were told the experimenter would take full responsibility, they continued to obey
