Social Influence - Obedience to Authority

Question 1

Obedience

Answer 1

The extent to which we obey orders of demands of an authority figure

Question 2

In what trials was obedience used as a reason for wrongdoings?

Answer 2

The Nuremberg Trials

Question 3

Who stated that they were ‘just obeying orders’ at the Nuremberg Trials? What did they do?

Answer 3

Eichmann - head of the Nazi’s Gestapo Department for Jewish Affairs during WW2, responsible for death camps

Question 4

Famous study into obedience

Answer 4

Milgrim’s shock experiment

Question 5

When was Milgrim’s Shock Experiment conducted?

Answer 5

1961

Question 6

Two aims of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 6

To investigate whether the Nazis were different to others when it came to obeying authority
To investigate whether ordinary people would obey an authority figure even if it caused harm to somebody

Question 7

How did Milgrim gather participants for Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 7

Advertised to the American public as a study of memory, offering to pay participants $4 per hour

Question 8

Sampling method of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 8

Volunteer sampling

Question 9

Sample of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 9

40 all-male participants within age range of 20-50 with job status’ ranging from unskilled to professional

Question 10

What were participants told before the start of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 10

They were told that they were randomly assigned to the roles of teacher and learner, however this was rigged as the learner was a confederate

Question 11

What did the experimenter wear in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 11

A lab coat (sign of authority)

Question 12

What was the teacher participants told to do in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 12

Told to ask the learner (who they couldn’t see) a number of questions and told to give the learner a shock every time they got a question wrong and every time they answers a wrong question, the voltage would increase

Question 13

Volt range of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 13

15 to 450

Question 14

What did the learner (confederate) do at 300 volts?

Answer 14

They begged the teacher to release them from the experiment

Question 15

What happened if an answer wasn’t given by the learner in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 15

The experimenter told the teacher that no answer equals a wrong answer

Question 16

What percentage of participants went up to 300 volts in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 16

100%

Question 17

What percentage of participants stopped at 300 volts in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 17

12.5%

Question 18

What percentage of participants carried on to the highest voltage in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 18

65%

Question 19

What did the participants show during the entirety of the experiment in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 19

Signs of extreme tension such as sweating, trembling and even seizures (3 participants)

Question 20

Following Milgrim’s Shock Experiment, what happened to the participants?

Answer 20

They were debriefed and told their behaviours were completely normal

Question 21

According to a follow-up questionnaire, what percentage of participants said they were happy to of participated in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 21

84%

Question 22

Conclusion of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 22

The Nazis were no different to others when it came to obeying to authority

Question 23

What carried out supporting research for Milgrim’s Shock Experiment in 1966?

Answer 23

Hofling et al

Question 24

Aim of Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience

Answer 24

To examine how nurses complied to orders of medical doctors when the instructions broke hospital rules

Question 25

What did the doctor instruct the nurses to do in Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 25

The doctor instructed nurses over a phone to administer a made-up drug to a patient, a dose of 20mg (well above daily dose)

Question 26

Who was the doctor in Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 26

A confederate given a name unknown to the nurses

Question 27

Are medical orders allowed to be given over the phone in a hospital?

Answer 27

No

Question 28

How many nurses were in Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 28

22

Question 29

How many nurses obeyed in Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 29

21/22 (95%)

Question 30

Who carried out research in 1977 with the aim of finding evidence to contradict Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 30

Rank and Jacobson

Question 31

What was changed in Rank and Jacobson’s study from Hofling et al’s experiment into obedience?

Answer 31

Doctor they knew was giving the orders over the phone
The drug was a real drug called Valium
Nurses had opportunity to discuss order with another nurse

Question 32

How many nurses were in Rank and Jacobson’s study?

Answer 32

18

Question 33

How many nurses obeyed the orders in Rank and Jacobson’s study?

Answer 33

2/18 (11%)

Question 34

Three causes for obedience

Answer 34

The agentic state
The autonomous state
Legitimacy of authority

Question 35

According to the Agentic State, why did the Nazi soldiers participate in destructive obedience?

Answer 35

Because they didn’t take responsibility for their actions

Question 36

According to the Agentic State, what would obeyers experience when making their choices to obey?

Answer 36

Moral stain (great anxiety)

Question 37

Beliefs of people during Agentic State

Answer 37

They know they are doing is wrong but are powerless to obey

Question 38

The autonomous state

Answer 38

Individuals are independent or free (opposite of Agentic state)

Question 39

How do individuals behave during autonomous state?

Answer 39

According to their own principles so they are responsible for their own actions

Question 40

When does the autonomous state occur?

Answer 40

When someone perceived another as a figure of authority due to their position in the socjal hierarchy

Question 41

Why do certain people hold authority over us?

Answer 41

Because society is structured hierarchically

Question 42

Legitimacy of authority

Answer 42

Authoritative figured are allowed to exert their power over us because itallows society to function normally

Question 43

How do we give up our independence to authoritative figures in society?

Answer 43

By allowing these people to punish wrongdoers, causing destructive authority