Situational Factors affecting obedience to authority figures

Question 1

Situational factors affecting obedience

Answer 1

Proximity of victim
Proximity of authority figure
Authority figure
Legitimacy of context
Personal responsibility
Support of others

Question 2

Proximity of victim

Answer 2

When the victim is closer, obedience levels drop
In a variation of the study, obedience fell to 40% when Mr Wallace was in the room and 30% when they had to hold his hand to the shock plate

Question 3

Proximity of authority figure

Answer 3

When the authority figure is far away, obedience levels drop
When Mr Williams (experimenter) gave instructions over the phone, obedience fell to 20.5%

Question 4

Authority figure

Answer 4

When the authority figure looks less legitimate, obedience levels drop.
In the original experiment, Mr Williams was wearing a lab coat. When he was replaced with an ordinary member of public, obedience fell to 20%

Question 5

Legitimacy of context

Answer 5

When the experiment was done in a less legitimate/ prestigious location, obedience levels dropped
The original study was done at Yale. When it was replicated in a rundown office block, obedience fell to 47%

Question 6

Personal responsibility

Answer 6

When participants have less personal responsibility for the shock, obedience levels increased
When participants worked with someone else who gave the shock, obedience rose to 90%

Question 7

Support of others

Answer 7

When participants see another participant disobeying, obedience levels drop
When Milgram placed 2 confederates to the study, and they refused to continue at 150 and 210 volts, only 10% continued to 450 volts. They offered social support for the participants.