Social Influence L6 - 9 (Obedience) Flashcards
What is obedience?
Obedience is social influence in such an individual follows a direct order usually due to fig of authority who has power to punish
When was the Milgram study conducted and what was its aim?
- 1963
- Aim was to test the dispositional hypothesis that ‘Germans are different’ and prove Holocaust was due to dispositional factors
What was the procedure of Milgram’s study?
- 40 male participants chosen through a public announcement in a volunteer sample
- Conducted at Yale Uni
- Lots drawn to identify who would be the teacher and learner in the pair. Rigged so participant was always the teacher and learner was confederate ‘Mr Wallace’
- Participant had to see Mr Wallace being attached to electrodes and asked if he has any medical conditions. He responds with ‘I am fine apart from a minor heart condition’
- Participants reads out a pair of words in adjoining room that must be repeated by learner. If no response/incorrect answer, participant must give an electric shock w/ increasing voltage each time
What are the variations of the voltage in the study?
- 15V (slight shock) to 375V (danger: severe shock) to 450V (XXX)
- At 180V, learner says they cannot stand the pain
- At 300V, learner begs to be released
- At 315V onwards, silence
Under what circumstances could the experiment be terminated?
Once all 4 standardised prompts had been used. These are:
- Please continue
- The experiment requires that you continue
- It is absolutely essential that you must continue
- You have no other choice, you must go on
What were the predictions for the study?
- Milgram predicted 2% will shock to max voltage
- 14 psych students predicted 3% will shock to max voltage
What were the results and aftermath of the study?
- All participants (40) shocked up to 300V
- 65% (25) shocked all the way to 450V
- Nervousness and tension was shown esp nervous laughing fits by 35% (14) of participants
- All participants debriefed and sent follow-up questionnaires
What was the conclusion of the study?
Dispositional hypothesis that ‘Germans are different’ is not supported
List the strengths of the study
- Good external validity
- Supporting replication
List the weaknesses of the study
- Low internal validity
- Ethical issues
How does Milgram’s study have good external validity?
- Clear relationship between authority fig + participant displayed
- Hofling et al’s (1966) study showed 21/22 nurses were willing to exceed max dosage (10mg is max, instructed to give 20mg) of made-up drug Astrofen when instructed by a Dr Smith on phone
- Rules of required written authorisation + max dosage broken
What are the criticisms of Holfling et al’s study?
- 11/22 nurses claimed to have not noticed the dosage discrepancy
- Rank and Jacobson (1977) repeated the same experiment but told the nurses to administer 3x Valium. Only 2/18 did so, showing that it was the unknown drug Astrofen that was the reason for the high levels of obedience in the original study
Give the supporting replication of the Milgram study
- French reality show Le Jeu De La Mort repeated it to find that 80% delivered max voltage of 460V to an apparently unconscious man (identical behaviour to og. study)
Why does Milgram’s study have low internal validity?
- Orne and Holland (1968) argued the set-up was not believable so many participants showed demand characteristics
- This was confirmed after Perrie (2013) confirmed on tapes of Milgram’s participants that many expressed doubts as to whether the shocks were real (however Milgram said 70% thought they were real)
What ethical issues were there in Milgram’s study?
Baumrind (1964) was critical of the deception used as it is seen as a betrayal of trust
- Participants weren’t fully informed so could not give their full consent
- Very difficult to withdraw
- Risk of psychological harm
What counterarguments are there for the ethical issues in Milgram’s study?
- Deception was necessary for the most effective experiment
- Withdrawal was difficult but not impossible
- Debriefing was provided with follow-up questionnaires which showed that 84% were glad to have participated and only 1.3% were sorry to have taken part. A year onwards the participants had sustained no psychological harm
What are the situational variables for Milgram’s study?
- Proximity
- Location
- Uniform
How does proximity affect obedience rates and what are these conditions called
Proximity = How close teacher + learner are and how close teacher + experimenter are
- Teacher and learner in same rather than adjoining room –> 65% to 40%
- Touch proximity condition: Teacher has to force learner’s hand onto electroshock plate –> 65% to 30%
- Remote instruction condition: Experimenter left room and gave instructions over phone –> 65% to 20.5%
How did location affect obedience rates?
- Yale Uni –> run down building
- 65% to 47.5%
How did uniform affect obedience rates?
- Grey lab coat replaced by a confederate wearing every day clothing
- 65% to 20%
List the strengths of Milgram’s variations
- Research support
- Cross cultural representations
- Control of variables
List the weaknesses of Milgram’s variations
- Lack of internal validity
- Obedience alibi
What research support is there for Milgram’s variations?
- Bickman (1974) had 3 male researchers give orders like ‘pick up this bag for me’ to 153 randomly selected pedestrians
- Dressed as either milkman, civilian or guard
- 80% most likely to obey the guard compared to 40% obeying the civilian/milkman
What is the cross-cultural replication of Milgram’s variations?
- Miranda et al (1981) replicated the study with Spanish students with the same high obedience rates (90%)
- Shows Milgram’s variations are applicable to females and other cultures (Milgram also repeated the experiment w/ American females and found same results)
What criticism is there of the cross cultural replication of the study?
Bond and Smith (1998) pointed out that both experiments were carried out in developed societies. What about developing societies where the norms are different?
How were variables well controlled in Milgram’s variations?
- Only one variable was altered
- Replicated variations on total of 1000 participants
Why does Milgram’s variations have a lack of internal validity?
- Orne and Holland (1968) criticism of demand characteristics is applicable in uniform variation, as it is possible that participants would have realised when one person was being replaced by someone in everyday clothing
- Is it real obedience or just demand characteristics?
What is the obedience alibi?
- David Mandel (1998) argues situational variables are being used as an excuse for evil behaviour
- How can situational factors be explained as a reason for the Holocaust to a survivor?
Who proposed Agentic State Theory, what is it and where did this theory originate from?
- Milgram proposed this after Adolf Eichmann’s trial for war crimes in 1961 where he stated he was only obeying orders
- Agentic State Theory = The individual acts as an agent, which is someone who acts on behalf of another
What is Agentic shift?
The shift from an autonomic state to an agentic state
Explain the 2 ways of acting in social situations:
- Autonomic state –> Awareness of consequences of their actions as they are acting as independent individuals
- Agentic state –> Carrying out orders with little personal responsibility
When did Milgram suggest this occurs?
Milgram (1974) suggested this occurs when the other person is considered a figure of authority due to their position in the social hierarchy
What causes the individual to remain in the agentic state?
Binding factors = Aspects of the situation that allow the damaging effects of their behaviour to be ignored, reducing the ‘moral strain’ and shifting responsibility to the victim/authority fig eg. Milgram’s study, where participants knew it was wrong but felt the responsibility lied w/ authority fig
List a strength of the Agentic State Theory and explain
- Research support:
–> Blass and Schmitt (2001) showed film of Milgram’s study to students and asked who was responsible for harming Mr Wallace.
–> Experimenter was blamed rather than participant due to social hierarchy - Hofling et al’s study
List weaknesses of the Agentic State Theory:
- Does not explain why there were participants who did not obey in studies
- Research evidence that disproves Agentic State as an explanation of Nazi behaviour
What is the research evidence that disproves Agentic State Theory?
- Mandel (1998) stated that despite not being given direct orders to shoot civilians, men in German Battalion 101 did this in Poland
- They could have done other duties if they wished but why did they choose to shoot?
Why does legitimate authority exist?
Society is mainly structured in a hierarchy where people in certain positions hold authority, which is considered legitimate
What is one consequence of legitimate authority and why could it be a problem?
- Some are granted the power to punish
- Could become destructive eg. Milgram’s study
What is one symbol of authority and which two studies shows this?
- Uniform
- Milgram’s situational variables
- Bickman’s study
List the strengths of legitimate authority as an explanation for obedience:
- Explains how legitimate authority can lead to real-life war crimes
- Explains cultural differences in obedience
How has legitimate authority lead to real-life war crimes in the past?
- Kelman and Hamilton (1998) argued My Lai massacre was due to hierarchy in US army
- My Lai massacre was when 504 civilians were killed and women were gang-raped in 1968 during the Vietnam War
- Only 1 soldier was found guilty, w/ defence that he was only doing his duty to follow orders
Which studies explain the cultural differences in obedience using Milgram’s study?
- Mantell (1971) found 85% did so in Germany
- Kilham and Mann (1974) found 16% shocked to full voltage in Australia
- Shows that different cultures have different upbringings in terms of authority
What is the weakness of legitimate authority and give one example of this
- Not all legitimate authority figs should be obeyed eg. Harold Shipman was a doctor (trusted + justified fig) but killed over 200 patients w/out suspicion due to legitimate authority
Give one dispositional explanation for obedience and who was this proposed by
- Authoritarian personality, which means they are more likely to obey authority figs
- Proposed by Adorno (1950)
What are some traits people with the authoritarian personality possess?
- Servile towards those of higher status, hostile towards those of lower status
- Conformist + conventional
- Inflexible in beliefs (dogmatic)
What did Adorno suggest as the reason people develop these personalities and what is the result of this?
- Extremely harsh discipline from parents, usually involving physical punishment
- Submissive to authority figs due to not being able to take out their anger on parents
- Hostile to weaker others as they feel safe knowing they cannot be attacked
What did Adorno create, why and what did it include?
- F questionnaire (fascism scale)
- To measure authoritarian personalities
- Had to agree w/ statements like rules are there to follow, not change
Who and how many of them did Adorno test and what did he find?
- 2000 middle-class white Americans
- Found a relationship between scoring high + authoritarian personalities
What is the strength of the authoritarian personality and list examples
- Research support
–> Elms + Milgram (1966)
–> Miller (1975)
–> Altemeyer (1981)
What was the Elms and Milgram study (1966)?
- Follow-up study of Milgram participants 2 months after experiment
- Selection of 20 obedient participants (shocked up to 450V) + 20 disobedient ones
- Each participant completed MMPI scale (personality test) + F scale
- Several open-ended questions asked about relationship w/ parents + attitude towards experimenter and learner
What were the results of Elms and Milgram (1966)?
- MMPI scale –> little difference between obedient and disobedient participants
- F scale –> obedient participants had higher score
- Open-ended questions –> obedient participants reported being less close to parents and were likely to perceive the experimenter as admirable
What were the findings of Miller (1975)?
Individuals who scored high on F scale were more likely to obey an order to hold some electrical wiring
What were the findings of Altemeyer (1981)?
Individuals who scored high on F scale were more likely to shock themselves again when asked to due to mistake in a learning task
List the weaknesses of authoritarian personality:
- Limited explanation
- Methodological problems
- Lacks temporal validity
Why is the authoritarian personality a limited explanation for obedience?
- Doesn’t explain why maj of pop in Germany are obedient - Mantell (1971) - as not everyone can have an authoritarian personality, esp in Nazi Germany
- This is better explained by Social Identity Theory, as Germans identified w/ anti-Semitic Nazi state
What methodological issues does the F scale have?
- Each item is worded in the same direction so it is easy to get a high score
- Closed questions so there is no room for explanation of thoughts
- Interviewer bias, as Adorno knew F scale score when interviewing the participants about childhood experiences
In what way does the F scale lack temporal validity?
Some statements on the questionnaire such as ‘homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be severely punished’ are extremely out of date (questionnaire from 1950s)
