Obedience:

• What does PUL stand for?


  P- proximity

  U- uniform

  L- location
• What effect does proximity have on Milgram's experiment?

  • Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions
  • E.g. when the teacher and the learner were physically separated the teacher was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person so they were more obedient
• Proximity changes:

  • Proximity variation- the teacher and learner are in the same room: obedience dropped from 65% to 40%
  • Touch proximity variation- (teacher forces learners' hands onto electric shock plate if he refused to place it there): Obedience dropped from 65% to 30%
  • Remote instruction variation- experimenter left the room and gave instructions to teacher by the telephone: Obedience dropped from 65% to 20.5%, participants also frequently pretended to give electric shocks
• What effect does uniform have on Milgram's experiment?

  • Uniform variation- experimenter called away via a telephone call at the start of the procedure. Experimenter then played by a 'member of the public' (a confederate) in everyday clothes. Obedience drops to 20%, lowest of all variations
• Uniformity changes:

  • Uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised symbols of authority
  • We accept that someone in uniform is entitled to expect obedience because their authority is legitimate
• What effect does location have on Milgram's experiement?

  • The prestigious university environment gave Milgram's study legitimacy and authority. Participants were more obedient in this location because they perceived that the experimenter shared this legitimacy and that obedience was expected
  • However, obedience was still quite high in the office block because the participants perceived the scientific nature of the procedure.
• Location changes:

  • Location variation- Milgram conducted a variation in a run-down office block rather than Yale university. Obedience fell to 47.5%
• What does SEAL stand for?


  S - situational

  E - explanations

  A - agentic shift

  L - legitimate authority
• What is an Agentic state?

  • Psychological state where individuals act as agents for a higher authority.
  • A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, i.e as their agent
  • This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure
• Who was Adolf Eichmann?

  • Adolf Eichmann was a high-ranking Nazi official who played a key role in organizing the Holocaust.
  • Milgram's interest in obedience was sparked by the trial of adolf Eichmann in 1961
  • Eichmann defended himself by saying he was following orders
• What is an autonomous state?

  • The opposite of being in an agentic state is being in an autonomous state
  • A person in an autonomous state is free to behave according to their own principles and feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions
  • you might say 'i don't want to do this anymore'
• What is an agentic shift?

  The shift from autonomy to agency
• What does autonomy refer to in the context of agentic shift?

  Being free to behave according to individual principles and feeling responsible for actions
• What does agency refer to in the context of agentic shift?

  Feeling as if one is acting for an authority figure
• According to Milgram, when does an agentic shift occur?

  When a person perceives someone else as an authority figure
• Why does an authority figure have greater power in a social hierarchy?

  Because they have a higher position in the hierarchy
• How do individuals typically respond to an authority figure in a social group?

  • They defer to the legitimate authority of the person in charge
  • They shift from autonomy to agency
• What happens in most social groups when one person is in charge?

  Others defer to the legitimate authority of this person
• What is the relationship between autonomy and agency in the context of social groups?

  Individuals shift from autonomy to agency when deferring to authority
• What are binding factors?

  • Milgram observed that many of his participants said that they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to do so. He wondered why they remained in an agentic state
  • Binding factors provide an explanation- aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reducing the 'moral strain' they are feeling
  • Milgram proposed several strategies that the individual uses, such as shifting the responsibility to the victim (e.g. he was foolish to volunteer) or deny the damage they were doing to the victims
• What is legitimacy of authority?

  • An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
  • This authority is justified (legitimated) by the individuals position of power within a social hierarchy
  • Most of us accept authority figures as it allows society to run smoothly
  • We are willing to give up some of our independence and to hand control of our behaviour over to people we trust to exercise their authority appropriately
  • We learn acceptance of authority in childhood
• What is destructive Authority?

  • charismatic and powerful leaders can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes, ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangerous
  • Destructive authority was obvious in Milgram's study when the experimenter used prods to order participants in
• What is a strength of Milgram's study? (peel paragraph)

  P- A strength the results and conclusions of Milgram's variations is that other studies have demonstrated the influence of situational variables on obedience

  E- Bickman had three confederates dress in different outfits

  E- Confederates are twice as likely to obey the assistant dressed as a security guard than the people dressed in black tie

  L- This supports the view that a situational variable, such as uniform, does have a powerful affect on obedience
• What is an authoritarian personality?

  A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors.
• Who was Adorno et Al?

  Frankfurt School theorists.
• Authoritarian personality: 


  Adorno et al believed Authoritarian personality forms in childhood due to harsh parenting:

  • strict discipline
  • expectations of loyalty
  • impossibly high standards
  • severe criticism of perceived failings
  • conditional love
• What was Adorno et al's procedure?

  • Developed several measurement scales, including F-scale to test Fascism
  • 2,000 middle class, white Americans tested
• What were Adorno et al's findings?

  People who scored highly on the F-scale test:

  • Identified with 'strong' people and were generally contemptuous of the weak
  • They were conscious of status and showed extreme respect, deference and servility to those of higher status- basis of obedience
  • Had a certain cognitive style in which there was no 'fuziness' between categories of people
  • Had fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups
  • positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.