Situational variables affecting obedience

Question 1

what is the external explanation of situational variables affecting obedience?

Answer 1

features of an environment are seen as affecting obedience levels

Question 2

what are the situational variables in the external explanation?

Answer 2

proximity, location & uniforms

Question 3

what is proximity in relation to affecting obedience?

Answer 3

how aware individuals are of the consequences of their actions in obeying authority figures

Question 4

how does proximity affect obedience?

Answer 4

when the physical distance between the teacher and the learner in Milgram’s study was made closer, pp’s were less able to divorce themselves from the consequences of their actions & so obedience was lower

Question 5

in the context of war, how does proximity affect obedience?

Answer 5

obeying an order to press a button that kills thousands in a different country is easier than obeying an order to shoot a person standing next to you because it is easier to see the consequences of your actions

Question 6

what did Milgram find about proximity affecting obedience?

Answer 6

when teacher and learner were in the same room as each other, obedience declined from 62.5% to 40%

Question 7

how does the location affect obedience?

Answer 7

location is relevant to the amount of perceived legitimate authority a person giving orders is seen to have - obedience often highest in institutionalised settings where obedience to authority figures is instilled into members

Question 8

what did Milgram find in the variation study about location affecting obedience?

Answer 8

in an office block in a run-down part of town he found obedience dropped from 62.5% to 47.5% suggesting the change from Yale university reduced the perceived legitimacy of the authority figure

Question 9

how can uniforms affect obedience?

Answer 9

wearing uniforms can give a perception of added legitimacy to authority figures when delivering orders, increasing obedience - eg Milgram’s study, the confed wore a lab coat

Question 10

what did Bickman find about uniform affecting obedience?

Answer 10

when ordering people in New York to pick up rubbish, loan coin to stranger or move away from bus stop, 19% would obey his research assistant when in civilian clothes, 14% as a milkman & 38% as a security guard

Question 11

what is the situational variable in the internal explanation?

Answer 11

the dispositional explanation - the authoritarian personality

Question 12

what is the dispositional explanation?

Answer 12

the idea that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience

Question 13

what is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 13

personality type characterised by a belief in absolute obedience, submission to authority & domination of minorities

Question 14

what did Adorno et al say about the authoritarian personality?

Answer 14

saw people of this type as having insecurities that led them to be hostile to non-conventional people and having a belief in a need for power & toughness leading them to be highly obedient

Question 15

where did Adorno see the personality first developing?

Answer 15

early childhood, by hierarchal, authoritarian parenting

Question 16

what is Adorno’s f-scale?

Answer 16

questionnaire with 30 questions assessing 9 personality dimensions

Question 17

what did Elms & Milgram find that supports the F-scale?

Answer 17

pp’s in Milgram’s study who were highly obedient were significantly more authoritarian on the F-scale than disobedient pp’s

Question 18

give evaluations of the F-scale

Answer 18

authoritarian individuals don’t always score highly on all dimensions
politically biased as individuals with an authoritarian personality are seen as only existing on the conservative, right wing of political views