SOCIAL INFLUENCES: Obedience

Question 1

Define: obedience

Answer 1

following the commands of someone with authority, or the rules and laws of our society

Question 2

How does obedience differ from compliance

Answer 2

Compliance does not necessarily involve an authority figure

Question 3

Do leaders have extra power to make group members obey?

Answer 3

Yes

Question 4

What are the 3 factors affecting obedience?

Answer 4

Social proximity
Legitimacy of the authority figure
Group pressure

Question 5

Define: social proximity

Answer 5

the physical closeness between two or more people

Question 6

What did Milgrim conclude about social proximity’s effect on obedience?

Answer 6

The closer the learner is to the teacher, the more likely they are to refuse to obey - dropped to 20%

Question 7

Social proximity: what happened when Milgrim’s experiment participants gave instructions over the phone?

Answer 7

Some defied authority and decreased the intensity of the shocks

Question 8

Real life application of social proximity?

Answer 8

Easier to obey if the victim is distant or not visible

eg. blind obedience by Nazi soldiers

Question 9

Legitimacy of authority figures’ impact on obedience?

Answer 9

More likely to obey them if they are perceived as legitimate and of having power (dropped to 20% with normal people)

Question 10

Real life application of legitimacy of the authority figure?

Answer 10

Those with authority have signs/symbols of it eg. uniforms - this makes others less likely to resist obedience

Question 11

Describe group pressure in relation to obedience?

Answer 11

More likely to obey if there is less group support for resisting the authority figure
eg. when confederate teachers disobeyed, obedience dropped and vice versa