OBEDIENCE

• who studied obedience

  Milgram
• obedience

  a form of social influence in which a person follows a direct order

  the person issuing the order is a figure of authority

  who has the power to punish when obedient behaviour is not forthcoming
• aim of Milgram study (1963)

  investigate why the German population has followed Hitler'a orders and slaughtered over 10 million Jew, Gypsies and members of other social groups

  investigate whether Germans were more obedient
• Milgram study

  • 40 male pps
  • aged between 20-50 years old
  • ranged from unskilled-skilled
  • offered $4.50
  • pps responded to advert in post
  • saying the study was about memory
  • lab experiment
• who was mr wallace in milgram study

  • confederate who played the learner
  • strapped into chair and wired with electrodes
  • every time he answered incorrectly, the teacher gave him an electric shock
• who was the teacher in milgram study

  • naïve pp who believed setup was real
  • read out questions and when learner was wrong, issued the electric shock
  • he also got to sample what the electric shock felt like
• who was the experimenter in milgram study

  • confederate dressed in lab coat
  • sat in same room as teacher
  • when teacher hesitated to continue, experimenter gave verbal prods to carry on
• what voltage did the shocks begin at in milgram study

  15
• each voltage incremented 15 until in milgram study

  450
• all responses were standardised and pre-recorded in milgram study

  so all pps experienced the same response at each voltage level
• at 300 volts in milgram's study

  the learner pounded on the door

  gave no response to the next question
• at 315 volts in milgram study

  learner pounded on wall again

  no further responses
• if the teacher hesitated in milgram study

  • experimenter used 4 standard prods which were repeated
• the 4 prods by experimenter in milgram study

  1. please continue / please go on
  2. the experiment required for you to carry on
  3. it is absolutely essential that you continue
  4. you have no other choice, you must go on
• findings from milgram study

  100% of pps continued to 300v

  12.5% of pps stopped at 300v

  65% of pps continued until 450v
• qualitative data collected from milgram study

  observations showed signs of extreme tension

  (sweating, trembling, biting lips, 3 had seizures)
• before the milgram study it was predicted

  • 14 psychologist students estimated that less than 3% of pps would carry on to 450v
  • unexpected results
• after the milgram experiment

  • all pps were debriefed
  • reassured their behaviour was normal
  • follow up questionnaires were 89% said they were glad to have taken part
• situational variable

  factors related to external circumstances that are believed to influence the level of obedience

  these factors are not related to characteristics
• proximity

  the physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to

  refers to physical closeness of the teacher and learner in Milgram's study
• how was proximity changed in milgram study

  1. teacher and learner were in the same room
  2. teacher had to force learner's hand on 'electroshock plate' when he refused to answer the question
• affect of proximity on obedience

  1. obedience dropped from 65% to 40% when in the same room
  2. obedience dropped from 65% to 30% when hand was forced on the electroshock plate
• location

  place where the order is issued

  status or prestige associated with the location
• how was location changed in milgram study

  from Yale to a run-down office

  the experimenter had less authority
• affect of location on milgram study

  obedience levels dropped from 65% to 47.5%
• uniform

  people in position of authority often have a specific outfit that is a symbol of their authority

  indicates to the rest who we are meant to obey
• how was uniform changed in milgram study

  • experimenter was called away
  • role was filled by an 'ordinary' member of the public (confederate)
  • wearing ordinary clothes instead of a lab coat
• affect of uniform on obedience levels

  obedience levels decreased from 65% to 20%
• 1. a strength of milgram's study is that the findings have been replicated in other cultures

  • Miranda et al
  • found an obedience rate of 90% amongst men and women Spanish students
• 2. (strength of milrgam study findings are replicated) this suggests that

  milgram's conclusions about obedience are not limited to american men

  but are valid across cultures and can apply to females too
• 3. (strength of milrgam study findings are replicated) however

  • smith and bond
  • make a point that most replications took place in the western world (more developed)
  • these places are similar to the US and so would be premature to say that milgrams findings apply everywhere
• 4. (strength of milrgam study findings are replicated) therefore

  further research must take place for milgram's findings to apply to everyone worldwide
• 1. a limitation of milgram study is it lacks internal validity

  • Orne + Holland
  • believed that pps didn't believe the electric shocks were real
  • as they wouldn't have believed that the level of harm would come to pps in a psychological study
  • argued that this was the reason why most pps followed through until max shocks
• 2. (limit of milgram study lacking internal validity) however, milgram responded to the criticism

  saying that when interviewed after the study, vast majority of pps said they did believe that the shocks were real
• 3. (limit of milgram study lacking internal validity) in addition

  • milgram argued that film footage of the study showed..
  • evidence of the intense stress that the pps faced
  • this would not have happened if they knew the experiment was not real
  • however, orne and holland argued that the pps acted this way to please the experimenter
• 1. a further limitation of milgram study is that it offers an 'alibi' for evil behaviour

  • David Mandel
  • criticised the study and said that the explanation of the research is offensive to survivors of the Holocaust
• 2. (limit of milgram study as 'alibi' for evil behaviour) this is a problem as

  it suggests that the Nazi's were simply obeying orders and were themselves victims of the situational factors

  they should therefore not be accountable for their actions
• 3. (limit of milgram study as 'alibi' for evil behaviour) as a result it could be said the study has real life applications

  • we are able to use this knowledge and prevent this sort of thing happening again
  • many professions are not allowed to plead obedience for a wrong decision
• 4. (limit of milgram study as 'alibi' for evil behaviour) it therefore suggests that

  people are encouraged to question the legitimacy of an authority before they become obedient
• agentic state

  mental state where we feel no person responsibility for our behaviour as we believe that we are acting for an authority figure