Social - Obedience Flashcards
What is OBEDIENCE?
The result of a social influence - acting according to orders from an authority figure
What are the 7 explanations of why people obey?
Legitimate authority Gradual commitment Contractual obligation Alter meaning of situation Agentic shift Buffers Personality factors
What is LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY?
Feeling obligated to follow orders of those in power because we respect their credentials and assume they know what they are doing
What is GRADUAL COMMITMENT?
When people advance further into something so gradually that they find it difficult when to disengage from the procedure because the increase is so small. Often called the FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR EFFECT. It stems from the desire to appear consistent
What is CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION?
When people agree to do something publicly they feel they have to continue afterwards
What is ALTERING THE MEANING OF THE SITUATION?
When people are asked to do something using desirable language. It is called SEMANTIC FRAMING
What is the AGENTIC SHIFT?
When individuals attribute responsibility for their actions to the person in authority, simply following orders and denying all personal responsibility.
What does Milgram’s agency theory state?
The people operate on 2 levels:
1) as AUTONOMOUS individuals (behaving voluntarily and aware of the consequences of their actions)
2) on the AGENTIC LEVEL (being agents to the orders of others and not responsible for their actions)
What are the 2 reasons Milgram stated for people undergoing the AGENTIC SHIFT?
1) the socialisation process (learning the obey from a young age)
2) binding factors
What are the 2 BINDING FACTORS?
1) Fear of appearing rude or arrogant by disrupting the social situation
2) Fear of increasing one’s anxiety levels by challenging the authority figure
What is a BUFFER?
An aspect of a situation that protects people from having to confront the consequences of their actions
What are DISPOSITIONAL factors?
Personality differences between participants, resulting in different levels of obedience
What was the aim of Milgram’s study into obedience?
- To see whether ordinary Americans would obey an unjust order from an authority figure to inflict pain on another person.
- To discover what situational factors lead people to obey
What were the findings from Milgram’s original study into obedience?
- All participants obeyed up to at least 300 volts
- 65% went up to 450 volts
What 3 conclusions were derived from Milgram’s study into obedience?
1) Under certain circumstances people will obey orders that go against their conscience
2) When people are of a lower ‘rank’ in a dominance hierarchy, they become inclined to blind obedience
3) Crimes such as the murder of innocent people are due to SITUATIONAL factors not the DISPOSITIONS of those carrying out the acts
What 6 variations decreased obedience in Milgram’s study?
1) Venue
2) Learner agreed to ‘letting out when requested’
3) Teacher & learner in same room
4) Teacher forcing shock physically
5) Other ‘teachers’ disobeyed authority figure
6) Experimenter gave orders via phone
What factor increased obedience in Milgram’s study?
When the teacher was paired with an assistant who gave the shocks
What were Orne and Holland’s criticisms of Milgram’s study regarding EXPERIMENTAL validity?
They said that participants were ‘going along with the act’ and didn’t actually believe they were shocking the learner; simply pretending in order to please the experimenter
What was Milgram’s response to Orne and Holland’s criticisms regarding EXPERIMENTAL validity?
- He used evidence from post-experimental interviews and questionnaires to show participants believed they were administering real shocks.
- He challenged the criticisms by saying ‘if participants knew about it then why would 35% not cary out the full 450 volts?’
What were Orne and Holland’s criticisms of Milgram’s study regarding ECOLOGICAL validity?
They said that the artificial setting of Milgram’s laboratory experiment cannot be generalised to real life.
What are the 4 ETHICAL ISSUES for Milgram’s study into obedience?
1) RESPECT for participants
2) DECEPTION
3) damage to psychologists’ reputation
4) misapplication of findings (explain Holocaust)
What was Milgram’s response to the criticism of lack of RESPECT?
In the post-experimental questionnaire, 84% of participants were glad they took part, and only 1.3% reported negative feelings.
Psychiatrist interviews 1 year later reported no evidence of emotional harm
What were the results from Hofling et al’s study into obedience?
21 out of 22 nurses obeyed
What was concluded after Hofling et al’s study into obedience?
High levels of obedience can be obtained in real-life situations, supporting the ecological validity of Milgram’s study.
