Situational Variables Affecting Obedience Flashcards
What was the purpose of Milgram’s study?
To observe whether people would obey a figure of authority when told to harm another person.
Outline the procedure of Milgram’s study.
-40 American men were selected through volunteer sampling and were paid to participate.
-ps and confederate first met each other and were then assigned to a role of either ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’ - this was thought to be randomly assigned however, the roles were fixed so that the participant would always be the teacher.
-pp in a separate room to the confederate had to ask them a series of questions and issue the confederate with a shock each time they answered incorrectly.
-Shocks grew progressively worse with each incorrect answer - the shocks ranged from 15V to 450V.
- A ‘scientist’ was also present in the room with the participant and used the same 4 prods each time they refused to administer shocks.
What were the findings of Milgram’s study?
All participants delivered shocks up to 300V.
12.5 percent stopped at 300V.
65 percent continued to 450V.
What is one limitation of Milgram’s study?
- Low in internal validity.
Orne and Holland: believed that participants behaved the way they did due to not believing the shocks were real.
Perry: listened to the tapes from the observation and reported that only half of the participants genuinely believed they were issuing real shocks. Therefore, participants may have been responding to demand characteristics, trying to fulfil the aim of the study.
What are two strengths of Milgram’s study?
- Research support.
Hofling et al: conducted a study in a hospital in which nurses were telephoned by an unknown doctor and instructed to administer twice the recommended dosage of a drug to a patient.
21 out of 22 of the nurses obeyed. - Replicability - reliability
French documentary: replicated Milgram’s findings.
Pps put on gameshow and made to believe that they were new contestants for a pilot episode for a new show.
Pps were paid to give shocks, that were actually fake, to other participants who were actually actors.
80 percent of pps delivered the maximum shock of 460V.
How did proximity affect obedience in Milgram’s study?
(Situational variables)
62.5 percent of pps obeyed the experimenter when they were in the same room, this reduced to 40 percent when they were in separate rooms.
Obedience dropped to a further 30 percent in the touch proximity condition where the teacher had to force the learner’s hands down on the shock plate.
How did location affect obedience in Milgram’s study?
(Situational variables)
Milgram’s study was initially conducted in a psychology lab at Yale. When the study was moved to a run down office, obedience dropped slightly where 48 percent of pps issued the maximum voltage.
How did uniform affect obedience in Milgram’s study?
(Situational variables)
Participants obeyed more when the experimenter wore a lab coat. A person is more likely to obey someone wearing a uniform as it gives
them a higher status and a greater sense of legitimacy. It was found that obedience was much higher when the experimenter wore a lab coat as opposed to normal clothes.
What is one strength of the situational variables affecting obedience?
- Research support.
Bickman: conducted a field experiment in New York City - he had 3 confederates dressed in different outfits. One confederate wore a milkman’s outfit, one wore a jacket and a tie and one wore a security guard’s outfit. The confederates individually stood in the street and asked members of the public to do tasks such as picking up litter. The researcher found that people were twice as likely to obey the confederate dressed as the security guard than the confederate dressed in a jacket and tie.
What is are two limitations of the situational variables of obedience?
- Contradictory findings
Hofling: 21/22 obeyed doctor issue over phone.
Shows legitimacy of authority may be a better explanation - Alternative theories.
Adorno: authoritarian personality.
Shows dispositional factors may be more important.
