When a person has the power or right to give us orders
Define obedience
when a person follows the direct orders of a figure of authority
Situational Variables That Affect Obedience
proximity of authority figure
proximity of victim
location
uniforms
explanations of obedience
legitimacy of authority
agency theory
authoritarian personality
legitimacy of authority [milgram]
Because we grow up in social hierarchies, we learn from a young age to obey people who are higher up in the social hierarchy and see them as legitimate. caused by situational variables
Define moral strain
When someone feels they need to obey the authority figure, but they don’t want to be responsible for the horrible consequences.
agency theory [milgram]
People obey the orders of a legitimate authority figure.
When people obey orders, they make an agentic shift from the autonomous state to the agentic state.
based on situational variables
Define Agentic state
when an individual has moral strain so the make themselves an agent to the authority figure, not taking responsibility for their actions
Define autonomous state
when an individual takes responsibility for their actions and holds themselves accountable
Define social hierarchy
When one person in a social group has authority over the other members creating an unequal power structure
criticism of agency theory
Agency theory ignores the personal characteristics that might make a person more likely to obey. [ individual/dispositional variables]
Authoritarian personality [ardono]
makes them strict, aggressive, and overly respectful of authority.
punish those of lower status
caused by overstrict parenting
obey due to personality traits, individual variables
F-scale [support for authoritarian personality]
high score = authoritarian personality
personality questionnaire
criticism of Adorno’s authoritarian personality theory
Not everyone who obeys orders has an authoritarian personality.
Milgram study [findings]
65% obeyed till 450V
100% obeyed till 300V
Participants responded with signs of distress, like swearing, sweating and even seizures.
Milgrams study
The aims of Milgram’s experiments were to see if there’s something different about Germans that makes them obey, or if anyone can be made to obey.
To investigate these aims, he got participants to administer shocks of increasing voltage under the orders of an experimenter.
conducted in prestigious yale university
Changes milgram made to test effect of situational variables on obedience
when milgram changed location to a run down building obedience fell to 47.5%
removing authority figure from room to change proximity made obedience fall to 23%
changing uniform, obedience fell to 20%
the confederate was in the same room as the participant obedience fell to 40%
milgrams study [ evaluation]
strength ; Laboratory = more control over extraneous variables
weakness ; demand characteristics didn't believe it was real
weakness ; lack of ecological validity not representative to real life
weakness ; lack population validity, Results might not generalise, androcentric bias
miligram unethical
psychological harm
deception ; He didn’t tell them that the learner was a confederate pretending to be shocked. He told them it was a study of learning but it was really a study of obedience
no informed content
given debrief
no right to withdraw
Evaluation of Legitimacy of Authority [strength & support]
Milgram’s findings that participants are more likely to obey in a respected building like a University
Milgram’s findings that participants were more likely to obey when the authority figure wore a uniform
Evaluation of Agency Theory
Participants experienced moral strain by showing signs of distress when following the destructive orders.
Participants were more likely to obey if they were further away from the victim.
Participants were more likely to obey when the researcher took responsibility for their actions.
Authoritarian Personality: Evaluation
Milgram’s finding that some people are more likely to obey than others.
the participants’ level of obedience was correlated with their score on the F-scale.
Not all obedience can be explained by having an authoritarian personality.
The theory ignores situational variables that affect obedience.
Resistance to Social Influence
when an individual withstands pressure to conform and obey.
Define Social Support
This is a situational explanation of resistance to social influence. when a person feels like they will have support when they resist, and other people will go along with them.
Locus of Control
the amount to which a person thinks they have control over events in their life
thinks they don’t have control over events in their life, they have an external locus of control
thinks they have control over events in their lives they have an internal locus of control
People with an internal locus of control are more likely to resist social influence
Evidence of Locus of Control
Locus of control can be measured through a personality questionnaire developed by Rotter.
Shute’s study showed that people with an internal locus of control conform less in situations that produce normative social influence.
What are two factors that can increase resistance to social influence?