Obedience situational variables

• What were the three variables Milgram investigated?

  Proximity

  Location

  Uniform
• What is proximity?

  Physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they give an order to, also refers to the closeness of T and L
• When T and L were in the same room what happened to obedience levels?

  Dropped from 65% to 40%
• What happens in the touch proximity?

  The T has to put the L hand on the electroshock plate if they refuse
• What happened to rate of obedience in the touch proximity variation?

  Obedience dropped to 30%
• What happens in the remote instruction proximity?

  The E leaves the room and gives T instructions via the telephone
• What happens to rate of obedience in the remote instruction proximity?

  Drops to 20.5%
• What does decreased proximity allow?

  People to psychologically distance themself from consequences of there actions
• What is the location variation?

  Done a variation in a run down office block rather than prestigious Yale university
• What was the rate of obedience in the location variation?

  Seopped to 47.5%
• What did the university provide the study with?

  Legitimacy and authority
• What is the uniform variation for obedience?

  In the baseline procedure the E had a grey lab coat on and in the variation the E was called away for an inconvenient phone call and the role was taken over by the ‘ordinary member of public’ in everyday clothes (confederate)
• What happened to the rate of obedience in the uniform variation?

  Fell to 20%
• What did the uniforms encourage?Why?

  Obedience as their widely recognized symbols of authority