Situational variables affecting obedience Flashcards
what is the external explanation of situational variables affecting obedience?
features of an environment are seen as affecting obedience levels
what are the situational variables in the external explanation?
proximity, location & uniforms
what is proximity in relation to affecting obedience?
how aware individuals are of the consequences of their actions in obeying authority figures
how does proximity affect obedience?
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
in the context of war, how does proximity affect obedience?
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
what did Milgram find about proximity affecting obedience?
when teacher and learner were in the same room as each other, obedience declined from 62.5% to 40%
how does the location affect obedience?
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
what did Milgram find in the variation study about location affecting obedience?
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
how can uniforms affect obedience?
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
what did Bickman find about uniform affecting obedience?
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
what is the situational variable in the internal explanation?
the dispositional explanation - the authoritarian personality
what is the dispositional explanation?
the idea that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience
what is the authoritarian personality?
personality type characterised by a belief in absolute obedience, submission to authority & domination of minorities
what did Adorno et al say about the authoritarian personality?
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
where did Adorno see the personality first developing?
early childhood, by hierarchal, authoritarian parenting
