Social Influence - Situational Factors and Explanations for Obedience to Authority

Question 1

Situational factor

Answer 1

A feature of the environment which unintentionally affects the individual’s behaviour

Question 2

Opposite of a situational factor

Answer 2

A dispositional factor (personality trait)

Question 3

Why did Milgrim carry out multiple variations to his Shock Experiment?

Answer 3

In order to try and consider which situational variables would impact obedience

Question 4

What situational variables were studied following Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 4

Uniform
Proximity
Location

Question 5

What situational factors did Milgrim study?

Answer 5

Proximity and location

Question 6

Who studied the impact of uniform in obedience?

Answer 6

Bickman

Question 7

Aim of Bickman’s study

Answer 7

To see whether obedience was affected by situational variables in a real-life setting

Question 8

What research method did Bickman use?

Answer 8

Field experiment

Question 9

Participants of Bickman’s study

Answer 9

153 randomly occurring participants in New York City

Question 10

What uniform changes were made in Bickman’s study?

Answer 10

Experimenter dressed as a security guard, a milkman and in ordinary clothing

Question 11

What three instructions did Bickman’s ask the members of public in his study?

Answer 11

“Pick up this bag for me”
“This man is over parked at the metre - give him a dime”
“Don’t you know you have to stand on the other side of this pole? It says no standing”

Question 12

What percentage of participants in Bickman’s study obeyed the orders of the security guard?

Answer 12

76%

Question 13

What percentage of participants in Bickman’s study obeyed the orders of the milkman?

Answer 13

47%

Question 14

What percentage of participants in Brickman’s study obeyed the orders of the person in ordinary clothing?

Answer 14

30%

Question 15

Conclusion of Bickman’s study into the impact of uniform on obedience?

Answer 15

People are more likely to obey people who are perceived as having legitimate authority over others

Question 16

What is believed about the impact of uniform on obedience?

Answer 16

The way in which an individual is dressed will cause others to act differently

Question 17

What was the experimenter wearing in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment?

Answer 17

A lab coat - very official

Question 18

What did obedience drop to when the experimenter of Milgrim’s Shock Experiment was replaced by an experimenter in casual clothes?

Answer 18

65% to 20%

Question 19

Proximity in Milgrim’s shock experiment

Answer 19

How physically close the teacher was to the learner/experimenter

Question 20

Obedience rate when the teacher and learner were in the same room (teacher could see consequence)

Answer 20

45%

Question 21

3 ways in which proximity was tested in Milgrim’s Shock Experiment

Answer 21

Teacher and learner in same room
Teacher forcing learner’s hand onto the electric shock plate if they refused to answer a question
Experimenter left the room and gave commands over the phone

Question 22

When was the obedience rate 30% (proximity)?

Answer 22

When the teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto the electric shock plate

Question 23

Obedience rate when the experimenter left the room and gave instructions via the phone

Answer 23

20.5%

Question 24

The closer the teacher was to the authority figure, the more…

Answer 24

Intimidated they were and compelled to obey their orders

Question 25

What did Milgrim want to find out about the location?

Answer 25

How the individual’s setting would influence their obedience

Question 26

Where was the original shock experiment set up?

Answer 26

Set up in Yale University (very prestigious)

Question 27

Where was the location changed to on Milgrim’s follow up study where impact of location was tested?

Answer 27

Location changed from Yale University to a run-down abandoned building in New York City

Question 28

Obedience rate when location was changed

Answer 28

47.5%