Obedience

• What is obedience?


  Complying with the orders of an authority figure
• What is blind obedience?


  Complying with the orders of an authority figure without question
• When was Milgram’s study conducted?


  1963
• What was Milgram’s full name?

  Stanley Milgram
• What was the aim of Milgram’s study?


  To see at what point individuals would refuse to obey an order of acting in an inhumane way to another individual
• Who and how many did the sample consist of in Milgram’s study?

  • 40 male volunteers
  • Range of backgrounds
• How did Milgram recruit participants?

  Newspaper advertisements offerering $4.50 for participation of a ‘memory and learning’ study?
• Who was the confederate/learner in Milgrams’s study?


  Mr Wallace
• Who was the experimenter in Milgrams’s study?

  Mr Williams
• What role did the real pps play in Milgram’s study?


  The teacher
• What did the experimenter do to ensure the teacher continued?

  • Gave them verbal prods
  • “Please continue, the experimenter requires you to continue”
• What did the learner do throughout Milgram’s study?


  • Gave deliberate wrong answers
  • As shocks became higher his screams became more dramatic
• What did many participants show signs of during Milgram’s study?


  • Extreme tension
  • Sweating
  • Stuttering
• What 3 things does a person in power have?

  • Power
  • Status
  • Power to punish
• What percentage of pps went to the maximum voltage in Milgram’s study?

  65%
• What was the maximum voltage in Milgram’s study?

  450V
• What did the learner do at 180V in Milgram’s study?


  • Complained about his weak heart
• What did the learner do at 315V in Milgram’s study?


  He produced silence
• What percentage of pps did Milgram’s colleagues think would obey?


  0.01%
• What made Milgram interested in studying obedience?

  • WW2
  • How the Nazi’s obeyed Hitler
• What term is used to describe the person who has the power?

  Authority figure
• 100% of pps went up to which voltage in Milgram’s study?

  300V
• What was the minimum voltage given in Milgram’s study?


  15V
• What were the situational factors affecting obedience in Milgram’s study?


  • Proximity of the victim
  • Proximity of the authority figure
  • Authority figure
  • Legitimacy of the context
  • Personal responsibility
  • Support of others
• Did obedience levels go up or down when Mr Wallace was in the same room as the pps?(proximity of the victim)


  • Went down - Pps may feel more responsible for their actions
  • 40% obeyed
• Did obedience levels go up or down when Mr Williams gave instructions through the phone?

  (Proximity of the authority figure)


  • Went down - Less likely to listen to someone who is not infront of you
  • 20.5% obeyed
• Did obedience levels go up or down when Mr Williams was replaced by an ordinary member of the public? (Authority figure)


  • Went down - Ordinary member of the public doesn't have authority
  • 20% obeyed
• Did obedience levels go up or down when Milgram’s study was replicated in a down town office block? (Legitimacy of context)

  • Went down - Situation didn't look as professional
  • 47.5% obeyed
• Did obedience levels go up or down in Milgram’s study when the pps had someone else to give the shocks instead? (Personal responsibility)

  • Went up - They feel less responsible as they’re not the one giving the shock
  • 90% obeyed
• Did obedience levels go up or down in Milgram’s study when there were 2 confederates with the real pps? (Support of others)

  • Went down - Less likely to obey when someone else doesn’t
  • 10% obeyed
• In Milgram’s study when 2 confederates were placed alongside the real pps, at what voltage did they refuse to continue?

  • 150V
  • 240V
• In another variation of Milgram’s study, what was the teacher asked to do?

  • He was asked to force Mr Wallace’s hand onto a shock plate
  • 30% obeyed
• What personality factor affected obedience in Milgram’s study?


  Authoritarian personality
• Is someone with the authoritarian personality more or less likely to obey?


  • More likely to obey
• Who suggested the authoritarian personality and why?

  • Adorno et al
  • 1950
  • Attempted to explain the level of anti semitism and racism demonstrated by the Nazi’s
• What characteristics does the authoritarian personality display?

  • Tendency to be especially obedient to authority
  • Extreme respect and submissiveness for authority
  • Dislike lower classes
  • Traditional attitudes towards sex, race and gender
  • Mistrust of the modern world
  • Belief that everything is either right or wrong, no ‘grey area’
  • Views society as ‘going to the dogs’
  • Believes that they need a strong powerful leader to enforce traditional values
• In Milgram’s study, what percentage of pps obeyed when the experimenter wore normal clothes?

  20%
• What does a dissenting ally give the pps?


  Confidence to disobey orders
• What are the ways to prevent blind obedience?


  • Familiarity of the situation
  • Distance
  • Education
  • Social support
• What percentage of pps didn’t obey in Milgram’s study?


  35%