Obedience: Situational Variables

• What are situational variables?

  Features of the environment influencing behavior
• What are the three main situational variables in Milgram's study?

  • Proximity
  • Location
  • Uniform
• How did proximity affect obedience in Milgram's original procedure?

  Teacher could hear but not see Learner
• What was the obedience rate when the Teacher and Learner were in the same room?

  65% → 40%
• What happened to the obedience rate in the touch proximity variation?

  65% → 30%
• What was the obedience rate when instructions were given by telephone?

  65% → 20.5%
• Why does decreased proximity affect obedience?

  It allows psychological distancing from actions
• Why were participants more obedient in a university setting?

  They perceived legitimate authority from the experimenter
• What was the obedience rate in a run-down office block?

  65% → 47.5%
• What happened in the uniform variation of Milgram's study?

  Experimenter was replaced by an ordinary person
• What was the obedience rate when the experimenter was replaced by an ordinary person?

  65% → 20%
• How do uniforms influence obedience?

  They symbolize authority and encourage obedience
• What did Bickman's (1974) study demonstrate about uniforms and obedience?

  • Participants obeyed more with security guard uniform
  • Obedience was twice as likely compared to other outfits
• What did Meeus & Raaijmakers (1986) find regarding obedience in their study?

  90% of participants obeyed stressful orders
• How did Meeus & Raaijmakers replicate Milgram's findings?

  They found decreased obedience without the order-giver present
• What did Smith & Bond (1998) conclude about Milgram's findings across cultures?

  They may not apply to all cultures
• What criticism did Orne & Holland (1968) make about Milgram's study?

  Participants may have known shocks were fake
• What did Milgram acknowledge about the nature of his study's situation?

  It was contrived, affecting participant responses
• What are demand characteristics in the context of Milgram's study?

  Participants may respond based on perceived expectations
• AO3 - What is a strength for Milgram’s Situational Variables?

  Research Support 

  • Bickman (1974) had 3 confederates dress in a jacket and tie, a milkman’s outfit and a security guard’s uniform and they asked passerbys in the street to perform mundane tasks
  • People were twice as likely to obey the confederate dressed as a security guard than in a jacket and tie
  • This supports the view that a situational variable does have an effect on obedience
• AO3 - What is a strength for Milgram’s Situational Variables?

  Reliable

  • Meeus & Raaijmakers (1986) used a more realistic procedure than Milgram’s study in which participants were ordered to say stressful things in an interview to a confederate who was desperate for a job and 90% of participants obeyed
  • The researchers also replicated Milgram’s findings concerning proximity in which when the person giving the orders was not present, obedience decreased dramatically
  • This suggests that Milgram’s findings are not just limited to Americans or men, but are valid across cultures and genders
• AO3 - What is a limitation for Milgram’s Situational Variables?

  Can Not Be Generalised Across All Cultures

  • Smith & Bond (1998) identified just 2 replications between 1968 and 1985 that took place in countries very culturally different to the US
  • Other countries involved are culturally similar to the US
  • Therefore, it may not be appropriate to conclude that Milgram’s findings apply to people in all or most cultures
• AO3 - What is a limitation for Milgram’s Situational Variables?

  Low Internal Validity 

  • Orne & Holland (1968) made a criticism of participants being aware of the shocks being fake in Milgram’s baseline study and they point out it is even more likely in his variations because of the extra manipulation of variables
  • Even Milgram recognised that this situation was so contrived that some participants may have worked out the truth
  • Therefore, in all of Milgram’s studies it is unclear whether the findings are genuinely due to obedience or because thety responded to demand characteristics