Social Influence: Obedience Flashcards
Explain the features of Milgram’s experiment on obedience to authority
- Method: Lab experiment -> took place at Yale uni.
- ppts were introduced to confederate.
-> witnessed the confederate being strapped to chair connected to shock generator -> ppts thought it was real. - switches range from 15 volts to 450 volts (labelled XXX).
- When the learner answered the word-pair question incorrectly, the ppt administers increasing voltage of shock.
- if the ppt hesitated, the experimenter told them to continue.
- Results: 65% administered 450 volts and none stopped before administering 300 volts.
-> ppts showed obvious obvious signs of stress. - Conclusion: Ordinary people can obey orders to hurt, even going against + conscience.
Evaluate Milgram’s electric shock experiment
(+) Internal validity -> ppts stressed reactions showed that the experiment felt real.
(+) lab experiment -> control of variables, establish cause and effect.
(-) Ethics: deceived of true purpose -> unable to give informed consent -> were prompted to continue when they wanted to stop.
- Signs of stress during experiment -> weren’t protected.
-> (+) however, were extensively debriefed and 84% said they were happy to have taken part.
(-) possible that ppts were just going with the experimenter’s expectations (showing demand characteristics).
(-) ecological validity -> unlikely encounter this situation in real life.
List and explain the situational factors in Milgram’s variations
- Presence of allies: with 3 teachers (1 participant + 2 confederates) real participant less likely to obey if other 2 refused.
- Proximity of victim: obedience dropped to 40% with the learner in the same room -> down to 30% when the participant had to put the learner’s hand on the shock plate.
- Proximity of authority: when orders were given by phone -> obedience dropped to 23%.
- Location: When moved to set of run-down offices, obedience fell to 48%.
-> authority of experimenter seemed less legit. - Uniform: when wearing a lab coat, the observer was seen as having more legit authority than when wearing regular clothes -> obedience increased.
What is Milgram’s agency theory (agent state)
- Agent state: when people act on behalf of an external authority (doing as they are told).
-> opposite of the agent state = behaving autonomously -> not following orders and acting of your own accord. - When we feel we are acting out the wishes of another person (being their agent) we feel less responsible for our actions.
What is the agent shift (Milgram)
- people start off behaving autonomously (thinking for themselves), but then become obedient.
-> known as an agent shift.
-> Milgram’s ppts originally is an autonomous state -> but started obeying orders and underwent the agent shift -> entering the agent shift. - autonomous state -> (agentic shift) -> agent state.
What were Milgram’s ‘binding factors’ that kept ppts in the agent state
- Pressure of surroundings -> took place at Yale -> made experimenter look like a legitimate authority figure.
- Insistence of the authority figure -> ppts were told to continue.
Evaluate Milgram’s Agency Theory
(+) lots of experimental evidence -> Milgram’s ppts often claimed they wouldn’t have gone as far by themselves -> were obeying orders.
(-) Doesn’t explain why some exhibit independent behaviour more than others (resist more) -> Individual differences.
What is legitimacy of authority
- Legit authority comes from having defined social role which people respect -> it implies knowledge or comes with legal power.
- People like parents, police, doctors etc are legit authorities as they have the right to tell us what to do.
-> we’re more likely to obey them. - Milgram re-ran study in run-down offices -> obedience rates lowered.
-> experimenter’s authority was higher in uni situation because of the status of the uni.
Explain Hickman’s experiment on the legitimacy of authority
- Field experiment -> researchers dressed up in guard uniform, a milkman, or just in smart clothes.
-> people more likely to obey person in a guard’s uniform.
-> seemed to be the most legit authority.
What is Adorno’s authoritarian personality
- Authoritarian personality is a dispositional explanation of obedience.
- Adorno et al -> over-strict parenting results in a child being socialised to obey unquestioningly.
-> also argued that strict parenting leads to prejudice. - Child feels constrained -> creates aggression.
- Child is afraid they’ll be disciplined if aggression is expressed to parents.
-> Instead they are hostile to those they see as inferior, e.g. minorities.
What are the traits of Adorno’s authoritarian personality
- Agression to perceived lower status, blind obedience, being conformist and having rigid moral standards.
What is the F scale (authoritarian personality)
- Measures how strongly people express authoritarian traits.
-> Tried finding characteristics of individuals which could explain persecution of Jews and minority groups by Nazis in 1930s + 40s.
Evaluate the F scale (authoritarian personality)
(+) Elms + Milgram -> participants who scored higher on the F scale (had more authoritarian traits) were willing to administer bigger shocks in Milgram’s experiment -> positive correlation.
-> (-) However does not mean strict upbringing or authoritarian traits CAUSES ppl to be obedient -> does not result in CAUSATION.
(-) Situational factors such as proximity and location could have a bigger influence.
(-) does not explain how whole societies become obedient -> not everyone has this personality type.
