Social influence - Situational variables affecting obedience

Question 1

What was Milgram’s study to test obedience?

Answer 1

• Milgram conducted a study to test obedience in response to the holocaust
• 40 male 20-50 year old volunteers were gathered via an advert in a newspaper for a study on ‘Memory’
• Participants were given a role of teacher and introduced to confederates “Professor” in a lab coat and a “Learner”
• The learner was strapped to a chair in another room and had electrodes attached
• The participants were told to deliver electric shocks, becoming more intense (15-450volts) when the learner answered incorrectly
• At 300volts the “Learner” made noise and refused to go on, after 315volts the “Learner made no more noise, indicating unconsciousness or death
• If the participant/teacher resisted, the professor would encourage them to continue by saying that they would not be responsible as it is the researcher’s experiment

Question 2

What were the results/findings from Milgram’s study to test obedience?

Answer 2

• Participants were distressed but still obeyed the “Professor”
• 100% of the participants shocked the “Learner” until 300volts
• 12.5% stopped at 300volts
• 65% of the participants shocked the “Learner” for the full 450volts

Question 3

What did Milgram research in the follow-up obedience studies?

Answer 3

-Milgram researched the effect of: Location, proximity and uniform to see how obedience levels were effected by these variables

Question 4

How does proximity to “Learner” affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Answer 4

• Proximity was researched in a follow-up study which altered the variables slightly to test how proximity to the learner affects obedience
• If the learner is in the same room, obedience dropped to 40%
• If the teacher had to hold the learners hand on a shock plate then obedience dropped to 30%

Question 5

How does the location of the experiment affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Answer 5

• Location was researched in a follow-up study which altered the variables slightly to test how the location of the experiment affects obedience
• At an office block in a run-down area, obedience levels dropped to 47.6% due to a lack of legitimacy of authority

Question 6

How does the uniform that professor is wearing affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Answer 6

• The affect of the professors uniform was researched in a follow-up study which altered the variables slightly to test the affect on the learners obedience
• The professor was replaced with a confederate in normal clothes, obedience then dropped to 20% due to a lack of legitimacy of authority

Question 7

What is an disadvantage of Milgram’s studies?

Answer 7

• Milgram’s studies and variations are criticised for causing distress
• This can bring up ethical concerns about the mental and physical health of the participants during the study

Question 8

What is an disadvantage of Milgram’s studies?

Answer 8

• It could be seen that Milgram’s studies lack ecological validity and they suffer from mundane realism
• There is also a possibility that the participants guessed that the shocks were not real so they played along rather than displaying authentic, natural behaviour

Question 9

How does Hofling’s study with real nurses support Milgram’s findings?

Answer 9

• Hofling conducted a study with 21/22 real nurses
• Hofling found that the nurses obeyed “Dr Smith’s” phone call order to give double the maximum dose of an unfamiliar drug
• This was a field study on a familiar task therefore the experiment had high ecological validity and mundane realism

Question 10

How did Sheridan and King’s study support Milgram’s study?

Answer 10

• Sheridan and King conducted a study in which participants gave real shocks to a puppy while seeing the puppy suffer behind a one-way mirror
• 54% of males and 100% of females gave the full 450volts shock
• As the participants could actually see that a real shock was being inflicted, it avoided them guessing that the shocks were not real.
• This meant that it prevented the participants from playing along rather than displaying authentic, natural behaviour

Question 11

How does Bickman’s study support Milgram’s theory that people display obedience to an authority figure?

Answer 11

• Bickman demonstrated obedience to authority in the real world using a field study
• Bickman found that 39% of the public would pick up litter if asked by a confederate dressed as a security guard, but only 14% of the public would obey if the confederate was dressed as a milkman