Summary
Summary Explanations for obedience (ALL)
- Module
- Social Influence
- Institution
- AQA
Includes situational variables, situational explanations, and dispositional explanations of obedience. and evaluations, in short, note form.
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SOCIAL INFLUENCEEXPLANATIONS FOR OBEDIENCE
SITUATIONAL VARIABLES
Following his study on obedience, Milgram carried out several variations
1. Proximity
in the baseline study, the teacher could hear the learner but not see him. In the variation, the
teacher and learner were in the same room – obedience dropped from 65% to 40%.
Touch proximity variation- teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto an ‘electroshock’ plate if the
learner refused to put it there. Rates dropped to 30%
Remote instruction variation – experimenter left the room and gave instructions over the phone;
obedience fell to 20.5%. The participant sometimes pretended to give shocks
Less proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their
actions. E.g., when the teacher and learner were physically separated, the teacher was less aware of
the harm they were causing so they were more obedient.
2. Uniform
In the baseline, the experimenter wore a grey lab oat as a symbol of his authority. In the variation,
the experimenter’s role was taken over by an ordinary member of the public, in everyday clothes.
Obedience rate fell to 20%.
Uniforms encourage obedience- symbol of authority. Someone in a unform is entitles to expect
obedience because their authority is legitimate
3. Location
conducted a variation in run-down office block rather than in the Yale university. Obedience fell to
47.5%
the university gave Milgram’s study legitimacy and authority, experimenter shared this legitimacy,
and that obedience was expected.
EVALUATIONS
Research support – Bickman carried out a field experiment which 3 confederates dressed in different
outfits (jacket and tie, milkman, and security guard). The confederates individually stood in the
street and asked people to pick up litter. People were twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as
a security guard, then the one in a jacket and tie. Supports the view that unform influences
obedience.
Findings have been replicated in other cultures. Raaijmakers used a more realistic procedure than
Milgram’s study to Dutch participants. They were ordered to say stressful things in an interview to
someone desperate for a job, 90% obeyed. Researchers also replicated the proximity variations and
found similar findings. Therefore, the study is not limited to just Americans or men. But replications
are not very cross-cultural. Smith and bond identified two replications in India and Jordan –
culturally different. Not appropriate to conclude that Milgram’s findings apply to most cultures.
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