SOCIAL INFLUENCE: obedience- situational variables Flashcards
what are situational variables?
Features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a persons behaviour.
What is the alternative of situation variables?
Dispositional variables where behaviour is explained in terms of personality.
What are the different types of situation variables?
Proximity
Location
Uniform
What is proximity ?
Physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to.
MG study: physical closeness of teacher to victim
what is the effect of proximity in Milgram’s study?
in proximity variation - the teacher and learner were in the same room = obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40%
Decrease proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions. eg. When teacher and Learner physically separated in original study, teacher was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person so they were more obedient.
what is the effect of touch proximity variation?
TOUCH PROXIMITY - teacher had to force the learners hand on electric shock plate
obedience decreased to 30%
what is the effect of remote instruction variation?
REMOTE INSTRUCTION VARIATION - experimenter left the room and gave instructions to the teacher by telephone
obedience decreased to 20.5%
Ps frequently pretended to give shocks
What is location?
The place where order is issued. status or prestige associated w locations affects on obedeince.
What is the effect of location on obedience?
variation - milgram conducted the study in a run down office block
obedience fell to 47.5%
explanation - prestigious university environment gave milgrams study legitimacy and authority. Ps believed that experimenter shared this legitimacy.
however: obedience was still high in office block because Ps perceived the scientific nature of the procedure.
what is uniform?
Authority figure has a specific outfit that is symbolic to their authority.
What is the effect of uniform on obedience?
Uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised as symbols of authority. We accept that someone in uniform is entitled to expect obedience because their authority is legitimate. Some without a uniform has less right to expect our obedience.
what are the STRENGTHS of situational variables?
+ Studies have demonstrated the influence of situation variables on obedience = Leonard Bickman (1974)
3 confederates dressed in 3 outfits:
- milkman
- security guard uniform
- jacket and tie
confederates asked passers by to pick up litter or hand over a coin for parking meter
people were twice as likely to obey the confederate dressed as a security guard. This supports the view that a situational variable (uniform) has a powerful effect on obedience.
+ milgrams findings have been replicated in other cultures.
Meeus and Raaijmakers (1986) replicated milgrams study where dutch participants were ordered to say stressful things to a confederate desperate for a job. Proximity was used as a variable - when person giving orders wasn’t present, obedience decreased.
suggests = milgrams findings about obedience is not limited to Americans but valid across cross cultures and apply to women too.
what are the LIMITATIONS of situational variables?
- replications of milgrams research isn’t cross cultural
Smith and bond (1988) - identified two replications in India and Jordan were culturally different to the US whereas other countries such as Spain , Australia were similar to the US.
therefore it may not be appropriate to conclude Milgram’s findings apply to people in most cultures.
- low internal validity = Ps may have been aware that the procedure was faked.
Orne and Holland (1968) - point out that the extra manipulation of the variables eg replacing the experimenter with an ordinary member of the public was too obvious .
Therefore in all of Milgram’s studies it is unclear whether certain findings sre genuinely due to the operation of obedience or because the Ps responded to demand characteristics. - David Mandel (1998) argues that it is offensive to the survivors of the holocaust that the Nazis were just simply obeying orders. He criticises that situational variables just offers an excuse for evil behaviour.
- Milgrams explanation ignores dispositional factors such as personality, implying the Nazis were victims of situational factors beyond their control.
