Obedience

• What is obedience ?

  Behaviour changes because of one other person

  Behaviour change is a fear of punishment

  Behaviour changes with someone in authority
• What are dispositional factors ?

  Things that affect obedience rates that are to do with the personality of the individual
• what is an autonomous state ?

  an individual has free will, control and acts according to their own wishes individuals are seen personally responsible for their actions
• what is an agentic state ?

  on individual obeys an order because the individual hands over the responsibility for the outcome of the action to the authority figure

  the individual is acting as an agent for the authority figure therefore doesn’t feel responsible
• What was the aim of Milgram's 1963 study into obedience?

  To test if the Germans were different
• What was the main focus of Milgram's study regarding authority figures?

  Whether individuals would obey orders against their morals
• How many American males participated in Milgram's study?

  40 American males
• What age range did the participants in Milgram's study fall into?

  20-50 years old
• Where was Milgram's study conducted?

  Yale University Psychology Department
• Who was the confederate experimenter in Milgram's study?


  A biology teacher in a grey lab coat
• What role did Mr. Wallace play in the experiment?


  He was always the learner
• What were the participants told the experiment was about? Milgram

  The effects of punishment on learning
• What type of punishment was used in Milgram's study?

  Electric shocks
• What was the maximum voltage participants could administer? Milgram

  450 volts
• What shock did the real participant receive to ensure authenticity?

  45 volts
• What task did participants perform in the study? Milgam

  Paired-associate word tasks
• What happened at 150 volts during the experiment?

  The learner began to protest and demand release
• How did the learner's protests escalate at 300 volts?

  The learner refused to answer more questions
• What was the obedience rate found in Milgram's study?

  65%
• What percentage of participants continued to 300 volts?

  100%
• What conclusion was drawn regarding the "Germans are different" hypothesis?

  The hypothesis is clearly false
• What do the results of Milgram's study suggest about obedience in society?

  Obeying authority is normal in hierarchically organized society
• What were ethical considerations ignored in Milgrams (1963) study ?

  Psychological harm

  Deception/informed consent

  Right to withdraw
• what are the methodological criticisms of Milgrams study ?

  Androcentrism

  cultural bias

  historical validity

  internal validity

  external validity
• what is internal validity ?

  the degree to which findings are attributable to the effect of the IV and the DV

  Milgrams study would lack internal validity if participants didn’t believe the shocks were real
• what is external validity ?

  are the results generalisable beyond the experimental setting
• What is androcentrism in relation to milgrams study ?


  as only males tool part the results cannot be applied to females
• what did Sheridan & king research show ?

  54% of males and 100% of females obeyed up to 450 volts when shocking a puppy
• what is cultural bias in relation to milgrams study ?

  milgram only used American participants meaning that his results may not generalise to other cultures
• what did Meeus & Raijimakers (1986) study suggest ?

  found the highest recorded obedience level with the milgram paradigm of 90% in Spanish participants

  Kilham & Mann(1974) found that the lowest cultural obedience rate of 28% among australians

  thus supporting the ides that different cultures have different obedience rates
• what is historical validity in reLatino to milgrams study ?

  been suggested that the high rate of obedience found n milgram study was a product of American culture being very authoritarian and obedient in the early 1960s and thus dosent reflect todays culture
• What was the aim of Hofling et al (1966) study?

  To see if nurses would obey risky orders
• What was the procedure used in Hofling et al (1966) study?

  A confederate doctor instructed nurses by phone
• How many nurses participated in Hofling et al (1966) study?

  22 nurses
• What drug were the nurses instructed to administer?

  20 mg of astrofen
• What was the maximum daily dose stated on the drug label?

  10 mg
• What hospital rule was violated in the study?

  Doctors must sign authorizations before medication
• What percentage of nurses obeyed the doctor's orders?

  95.4%
• What did the control group of nurses say they would do?

  They wouldn't obey without authorization
• What conclusion was drawn from Hofling et al (1966) study?

  Doctor authority influenced nurses more than rules