Social Influence -> Explanations For Obedience

Question 1

Obedience

Answer 1

Behaving as instructed to by an authority figure.

Question 2

Milgram (1963) - Procedure

Answer 2

• Volunteer sampling
• 40 participants were met by a confederate
• Mr. Wallace pretended to have a weak heart.
• The participant was then told to punish the learner if they made a mistake by administering an electric shock, increasing the voltage each time the learner made a mistake.
• Voltage rating: starting at 15V -> 450V.
• Mr Wallace screamed, refused to answer and went silent.
• When the participant showed reluctance they were prompted to continue

Question 3

Milgram (1963) - Findings

Answer 3

• 100% of participants gave shocks up to 300 volts
• 65% of participants gave shocks up to 450 volts
• Participants felt a high level of stress

Question 4

Strengths of Milgram (1963)

Answer 4

• Cost-benefit analysis
• 84% were happy to have taken part

Question 5

Weakness of Milgram (1963)

Answer 5

• Deception
• Unrepresentative
• Gender bias
• Cultural bias

Question 6

Proximity

Answer 6

• Same room: Obedience levels fell to 40%
• Absent experimenter variation, the experimenter gave orders by telephone.
• The obedience rate was 21%.

Question 7

Location

Answer 7

• Rundown office by an experimenter wearing casual clothes.
• The obedience rate was 48%.
• Yale University gave them confidence in the integrity of the experimenter.

Question 8

Uniform

Answer 8

• Bickman asked confederates to order passersby to pick some litter off the street or move away from a bus stop
• 90% of people obeyed the guard
• 50% obeyed the civilian

Question 9

Agentic State

Answer 9

• Situational explanation
• Autonomous state into an agentic state
• Authority are usually trustworthy, orders seem reasonable at first before becoming aggressive
• People are psychologically protected from the consequences of their actions.
• Close proximity makes it more likely they will go into the agentic state.

Question 10

Autonomous state

Answer 10

When people are able to make decisions for themselves

Question 11

Strengths of the agentic state

Answer 11

• Participants in Milgram’s experiment were less likely to shock Mr. Wallace when in close proximity - Prevented some participants from going into an agentic state.

Question 12

Weakness of the agentic state

Answer 12

• Mandel reported the case of a Major that was given orders to take a group of Jewish people to the edge of the village and have them shot.
• Members of his battalion were given the chance to say no, few did, and the massacre went ahead. - This occurred despite the victims being in close proximity to the soldiers.

Question 13

Legitimate Authority

Answer 13

• Situational explanation for obedience
• We recognise our own & other people’s position in the social hierarchy.
• Obey those who have a higher position in the hierarchy
• Not obey those who have an equal/lower position in the social hierarchy than we do.
• Visible symbols of authority
• Dependent on a setting/order/system/location

Question 14

Strengths of legitimate authority

Answer 14

• Hoflings nurses
• Unknown drug
• Location is more important than proximity.
• Bickman
• Guard or Civilian
• 90% vs 50%

Question 15

Weaknesses of legitimate authority

Answer 15

• Able to resist the order of authority figures
• 35%

Question 16

Authoritarian Personality

Answer 16

• Dispositional explanation of obedience
• Authoritarian personalities are more likely to obey authority figures
• Servile
• Scapegoating
• Strict/rigid parenting,
• Hostility onto weaker others
• Cannot take out their anger on their parents

Question 17

Strengths of Authoritarian Personality

Answer 17

• High on the F Scale
• Shock themselves

Question 18

Weaknesses of Authoritarian Personality

Answer 18

• Dispositional explanations
• 65%
• Lack of education