Social💭 • Factors Affecting Obedience + Studies

Question 1

What is locus of control?

Answer 1

Locus of control is a person’s belief about whether they have control over the events in their life, or if external forces are in control

Question 2

What is are the two types of locus of control?

Answer 2

Internal LOC or external LOC

Question 3

What is an internal locus of control?

Answer 3

When people take greater responsibilty for their actions as they believe they are in control of their own actions and what happens to them

Question 4

What is an external locus of control?

Answer 4

When people take less responsiblity their actions and believe that what happens to them is goverened by external factors/ ‘chance’

Question 5

Externals are more likely to show ____________

Answer 5

Externals are more likely to show obedience

Question 6

Internals are more likely to show ____________

Answer 6

Internals are more likely to show disobedience

Question 7

Explain Miller’s study (1975) on the effect of locus of control on obedience

Answer 7

• Demonstrated through study where a high or low status experiementor instructed participants to grasp and electric wire.
• Participants previously identifed to be externals displayed increased levels of obedience towards the high status experimentor compared to the low status experimentor
• Paricipants previously identifed to be internals had the same levels of obedience regardless of the status of the experimentor giving orders

Question 8

What is an authoritarian personality?

Answer 8

An authoritarian personality is a personality type that is characterized by unquestioning obedience and respect for authority figures

Question 9

What is believed to catalyse an authoritarain personality from a younger age?

Answer 9

Its theorized that a harsh parenting style can lead children to develop personality traits asociated with authoritarianism

Question 10

What are some traits for authoritarianism in?

Answer 10

• toughness
• destructiveness
• cynicism

Question 11

What is cynicism?

Answer 11

The feeling of distrust that something isnt going to work out well

Question 12

How is authoritarianism measured?

Answer 12

Through the F-scale

Question 13

What is a study than can advocate for the effect an authoritarian personality can have on obediene?

Answer 13

Elms and Milgram (1966)

Question 14

Explain Elms and Milgram’s Study (1966) on authoritarianism and the F-scale

Answer 14

• F-scale used on participants from Milgram’s study
• 20 obedient participants and 20 disobedient participants chosen
• Disobedient participants scored lower on the f-scale
• Obedient participants scored higher on the f-scale and displayed characterisitcs of authoritarianism such as the absence of a father figure
• Inferring obedience is realted to the personality traits/ characterisitcs of authoritarianism - solidifying belief that people with authoritarian personalites are more obedient

Question 15

How is it belived that authoritarianism can be avoided?

Answer 15

Through unconditional love as a child from a parent. Its shown that children brought up in this way scored lower on the F-scale and were more likely to show resistance/ defiance to orders they perceive to be wrong/ destructive unlike authoritarian personalites who obey almost all orders

Question 16

What is the study that advocates for the theory that females are more obedient than males?

Answer 16

Sheridan & Kings (1972): Electricution of puppies

Question 17

What is the study that advocates for the theory that males and females are equally as obedient (gender doesnt have an effect) (+ explain)?

Answer 17

• Milgram’s study, Variation #8: Female Participants
• Procedure identical to original study - just female participants
• Obedience levels remained at 65% - identical to that of the males
• Inferring that gender doesnt have an effect on obedience

Question 18

Explain (+ resuluts of) Sheridan & Kings’ study on the obedience of females compared to males

Answer 18

• Participants ordered to administer real electric shocks to live puppies
• Conducted on men and women
• Saggering 100% of female participants were fully obedient
• Compared to only 54% of the males
• Although many of the women were hysterically sobbing through the study

Question 19

How did the males in Sheridan & Kings’ experiment compare to the males in Milgram’s original experiment?

Answer 19

In Sheridan & Kings’ the males were more defiant when asked to shock a puppy compared to Milgram’s males who were asked to shock a human being

Question 20

What do the two studies on genders effect on obedience having different conclusions infer about genders effect on obedience?

Answer 20

That perhaps social factors/ societal norms come into play when genders feel the need to obey

Question 21

What are 3 situational factors that can contribute to rates of obedience?

Answer 21

• Proximity
• Behaviour of others
• Legitimacy
  (Similar to social impact theorys’ strength and immediacy)

Question 22

Explain ‘proximity’ in terms on its effect on obedience

Answer 22

When the distance between an authority figure (source) and a partcipant (target) is increased, obedience levels reduce - This is displayed in social impact theory by Latené through immediacy

Question 23

Explain the ‘behaviour of others’ in terms on its effect on obedience

Answer 23

Exposure to role models who are disobedient tends to decrease obedience levels in others - a role model of defiance

Question 24

Explain ‘legitimacy’ in terms on its effect on obedience

Answer 24

Reducing the percieved legicimacy/ social status of an authority figure or source by, for example, altering their clothes, can reduce levels of obedience of targets - this also applys to the legitimacy of the venue of an experiment

Question 25

What study can advocate for the effect of legitimacy on obedience? (+ explain)

Answer 25

• Milgram’s study Variation #10: Institutional Context
• Changes legitimacy of experimentor and venue of experiment
• Shows effect on obedience with levels dropping from 65% in original experiment to 45.5% in this variation

Question 26

What study can advocate for the effect of empathy on obedience?

Answer 26

• Milgram’s study Variation #5: Empathetic Variation
• Heart condition of learner
• Voice lines of complaint about heart at 150V
• People either refused to carry on past this point - showing empathy or felt obliged to contiune all the way to 450V

Question 27

What are individualist cultures?

Answer 27

Cultures that value self- reliance an independence = ‘I’

Question 28

What are collectivist cultures?

Answer 28

Cultures that value loyalty, cooperation and interdependence (he dependence of two or more people or things on each other) = ‘we’

Question 29

Give examples of individualist cultures

Answer 29

• USA
• Northern Europe

Question 30

Give examples of collectivist cultures

Answer 30

• China
• Brazil

Question 31

In terms of obedience, what do we expect from individualist cultures?

Answer 31

Due to their valued place on independence we expect individualist cultures to be less obedient

Question 32

In terms of obedience, what do we expect from collectivist cultures?

Answer 32

Due to the obligation and sense of duty in their cultures, we expect collectivist cultures to be more obedient