Factors Affecting Obedience

• Internal locus of control


  What happens to them is due to their own behaviour and they are in control of their destiny are responsible for their acts
• External locus of control

  What happens to them is due to external factors beyond their control, not taking responsibility for their actions
• Authoritarian personality

  Submissive to authority figures above them and harsh to those below them, Milgram found fully obedient ppts scored higher on the Fascism scale
• How does empathy affect obedience?

  Having more empathy means they are less likely to harm someone when told, however in Burgers study, those with higher empathy protested more but were not less obedient
• How does gender influence obedience?

  Milgrams follow up study of only women achieved the same 65% obedience, but they experienced higher anxiety, in Australia however only 16% of women were obedient compared to 40% of men
• Sheridan and King (1972)

  100% obedience in females compared to 54% in males when giving real electric shocks to a puppy
• How does locus of control influence obedience?

  internals are more likely to be disobedient in the base study than externals although evidence isn't clear cut
• How does culture influence obedience?

  Obedience rates can differ depending on whether you're part of a collectivist or individualistic culture

  -> US has an obedience rate of 61%, whereas in India the obedience rate is 42%