Situational Variables In Obedience Flashcards
who identified the situational variables in obedience
Milgram
what are situational variables
factors that influence the level of obidience shown
what are the 3 situational variables identified
proximity
uniform
location
what is proximity as a situational variable
the closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to
what are the 3 types of proximity
proximity variation, touch variation and remote instruction variation
how is proximity variation shown in Milgram’s study
the teacher and learner were in the same room rather than adjoining rooms
how is touch proximity variation shown in Milgram’s study
the teacher would force the learners hand on the electric shock plate if he refused to answer
how is remote instruction variation shown in Milgram’s study
the experimenter left the room and gave the instructions to the teacher by telephone
what was the baseline study obedience rate
65%
what did the obedience rate drop to for proximity variation
40%
what did the obedience rate drop to for touch variation
30%
what did the obedience rate drop to for remote instruction variation
20.5%
what is location as a situational variable
the place where an order is issued
how is location shown as a variable in Milgram’s study
located in a run-down office downtown rather than a prestigious uni (Yale)
what did the obedience rate drop to for location
47.5%
what is uniform as a situational variable
the people in position of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority
how is uniform shown as a variable in Milgram’s study
role of experimenter was carried out by an ordinary public member rather than one wearing a grey lab coat
what did the obedience rate drop to for uniform
20%
What are the strengths of the research on the situational variables
.research support
.cultural replication
.has control variables
What are the limitations of the research on the situational variables
.may lack internal validity
.cultural replication was taken place in western society
.provides an obedience alibi (its an excuse for obedience)
describe cultural variation as a strength of situational variable research
There was a Spanish study on obedience which was a replication to migrams study and she found 90% obedience rate
describe cultural variation as a strength of situational variable research (counterpoint)
it was noted that most replications have taken place in western societies in Spain which isn’t culturally that different from the USA which means that it is premature to conclude that Milgram’s findings about the situational variables apply to people everywhere
describe control variables as a strength of situational variable research
milgram systematically altered one variable at a time whilst keeping the rest constant as the study was replicated many times and this gave us more certainty that the changes were due to the variables
describe the limitation of the research on situational variables being an ‘obedience alibi’
his findings are an ‘excuse’ for obidience as he suggests it’s the situation rather than the person responsible. Mandel claims this as being offensive to holocaust survivors to suggest that the nazis simply obeyed orders and were victims of situational factors beyond their control
