Situational And Dispositional Variables Effecting Obedience

Question 1

What are the 3 situational variables effecting obedience (external variables)

Answer 1

• location
• proximity of learner
• uniform

Question 2

Location of obedience

Answer 2

Obedience at Yale- 65%
Obedience in run down office- 48% from 65%
- the more professional the surrounding the higher obedience because the place is more associated with people in higher authority

Question 3

Proximity of the learner on obedience

Answer 3

-Same room- 40% from 65%
-force hand on plate 30% from 65%
-experimenter left room- 23%
-on the phone - 21%
>shows it’s not about proximity of learner to teacher but the teacher to researcher (the authority figure)

Question 4

Uniform on obedience and a study to support it

Answer 4

Normal clothes- 20% from 65%
Lab coat reflects someone of authority when in normal clothes there is not the effect of legitimacy of authority.

Study- bickmans 
People were asked by either a milkman, security guard or Normal clothes person to pick up a piece of litter, stand on the wrong side of the bus stop or pay for someone’s parking.
Security guard- 76% obeyed 
Milkman- 47% obeyed  
Ordinary clothes- 30% obeyed 
- High ecological validity

Question 5

Dispositional explanation for obedience (internal factors)

Answer 5

Dispositional- explanations for individuals behaviour caused by personality.

The authoritarian personality
Collection of traits and characteristics that make someone more likely to obey.
- obedient and subservient to those of higher status
- blind obedience to authority and blind respect to power
-look down on those they perceive to be below them.
-inflexible with their outlook and hyper aware of social hierarchy

• formed in childhood due to strict harsh parenting, with sever criticism and high standards think this level of obedience is the norm.

Question 6

Outline adornos F-scale and the finding

Answer 6

• created a questionair called the f-scale to measure people’s submission to authority.
• measure conventionalism- never questioning the status quo and preoccupation with power if they’re hyper aware of hierarchy.

Findings- people who scored high had characteristics of authoritarian personality and looked down on people they considered weak and up to those of power and were very aware of their own status.

Question 7

Elms and milgrams study and evaluation

Answer 7

Gave 20 obedient and 20 disobedient people from milgrams study the f-scale questionnaire.
And they were interviews about the relationship with their parents
- obedient people all scored highly and were less close to their fathers
-highlights relationship between high levels of obedience and the authoritarian personality.

Limited explanation for obedience cause all the German solders wouldn’t have the same personality.

• self report can lead to socially acceptable answers
• retrospective data affect on memory may not be accurate
• correlational no cause and effect