situational variables of obedience

Question 1

Situational variables of milgrams study

Answer 1

• carried out many variations to consider situational variables that might lead to more or less obedience
• features of immediate physical and social environment, that may influence a persons behaviour

Question 2

Proximity variation

Answer 2

• in baseline, teacher could hear the learner but not see him
• in variation, T and L in same room
• obedience rate dropped from 65-40%

Question 3

Touch proximity variation

Answer 3

• teacher had to force the learners hand onto an electroshock plate
• if he refused to put it there himself after a wrong answer
• obedience dropped to another 30%

Question 4

remote instruction variation

Answer 4

• experimenter left the room and gave instructions to teacher via telephone
• obedience reduced to 20.5%
• pp frequently pretended to give shocks

Question 5

proximity explained

Answer 5

• physical distance allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions
• T and L physically seperated= T less aware of the harm they’re causing

Question 6

Location

Answer 6

• conducted in a run- down office block
• rather than prestigious Yale uni
• obedience fell to 47.5%

Question 7

Location explained

Answer 7

• university setting gave the study authority and legitimacy
• more obedient bc they received that the experimenter held the same authority
• obedience was still quite high in the office block
• scientific nature of study was still perceived

Question 8

Uniform

Answer 8

• E called away due to phone call at the start of procedure
• roles of E taken over by a ‘ordinary member of the public’
• wore everyday clothes rather than a lab coat
• obedience dropped to 20% (lowest)

Question 9

Uniform explained

Answer 9

• uniforms encourage obedience bc sign of authority
• some uniform is entitled to expect authority bc its legitimate
• someone not in uniform has less right to expect authority

Question 10

Evaluation strength: research support

Answer 10

• field experiment in new york, Bickman had 3 confederates dressed In 3 different outfits
• suit and tie, milk man and security guard
• stood in streets and asked the public to do tasks
• pick litter up off the floor
• 2x more likely to obey security guard than suit and tie

Question 11

Evaluation strength: cross culture replications

Answer 11

• Dutch psychologists did a more realistic Version of milgrams study
• pp ordered to say stressful things in an interview to someone desperate for a job
• 90% participants obeyed
• when the person giving the ordered wasn’t present, obedience decreased dramatically
• not limited to American men

Question 12

Evaluation COUNTER: cross culture replications

Answer 12

• smith and bond (1998) identified two replications between 1968-1985 that took place in India and jorgia
• two countries diff from the US
• whereas, other countries involved, Spain, Australia and Scotland are culturally similar to the US
• may not be able to conclude findings, apply to all people in all or most cultures

Question 13

Evaluation limitation: low internal validity

Answer 13

• may be aware procedure was faked
• Orne and Holland (1968)
• point out that its more likely due to the extra manipulation of variables
• e.g. variation where E replaced by ‘member of the public’
• milgrams recognized the situation was contrived some pp may have worked out the truth
  -unclear whether findings are the result of obedience or they saw through deception