Milgram and Adorno

• What was Milgram's aim ?


  Milgram wanted to see if German soldiers involved in the war had naturally 'evil' personalities, or if they simply found themselves in a situation where they felt they had to follow Authority . He set up a situation in which following orders would make people feel uncomfortable to demonstrate how powerful an Authorities figure can be, even if it involved Harming another person
• Milgram's procedure


  They believed they were randomly assigned the role of either teacher or learner however these were fixed so that they were always the teacher. The 'learner' (confederate) was strapped into a chair with electrodes in the next room . the teacher then had to ask the learner a series of questions to which the learner deliberately got wrong. each time the answer was wrong the teacher had to shock the learner getting progressively worse each time. The shocks ranged from 15 V to 450V

  The learner could be heard to cry out and beg to stop
• What would happen if the participant in Milgram's study wanted to stop ?


  then the researcher would encourage the participant to continue by saying 4 prods

  • Please continue
  • This experiment requires you to continue
  • It is absolutely essential that you continue
  • You have no other choice but to continue
• What were the results of Milgrams study

  Quantitative findings :

  • 100% of participants administered electric shocks up to 300 volts
  • 65% of participants went all the way up to 450 volts which they believed were fatal

  Qualitative findings :

  • participants showed extreme signs of stress
  • Many were seen to tremble, sweat , shake, and dig their fingernails into their hands
  • three had seizures
  • The participants felt 'moral strain' but were powerless to disobey
• Obedience 


  where someone acts in response to a direct order from a figure of authority
• What is an agentic state?


  The agentic state is a mental state in which the individual sees themselves as acting as the agent of an authority figure
• What happens in an agentic state 


  In the agentic state, the individual doesn't feel guilt or responsibility for their behaviour, as they believe responsibility for their actions lies with the authority figure
• what is the autonomous state ?

  the autonomous state occurs when the individuals act according to their principles and feel responsible for their actions. it is the opposite of the agentic state
• What is an agentic shift ?


  An Agentic shift is movement from an autonomous state to an agentic state happens in the presence of an authority figure
• How is legitimacy of authority communicated 


  Through visible symbols such as uniforms as well as settings like a court room
• Legitimacy of Authority

  Through socialisation, people learn their position within the social hierarchy . individuals understand their position relative to those people who are above and below them.

  Most people generally accept that legitimacy of authority is needed for society to function properly
• Proximity

  Distance between two things

  Milgram increased the distance between the participant and the authority figure by having the authority provide instructions via telephone instead of being in the same room

  Obedience rates dropped to 21%

  Milgram argued that due to the increase proximity participants were less likely to remain in the agentic state and more likely to return to an autonomous state
• Location

  Milgram origonally held his experiment at Yale University. when replicated at a run-down office block the obedience rates dropped to 47.5%. As Yale is a high status university, the status of the location increased the scientists legitimacy of authority by making them seem more genuine. The low-status location reduced the legitimacy of authority and the level of obedience
• Uniform

  Milgram's original experimenter wore a grey lab coat. in one variation the researcher in the lab coat received a phone call, made an excuse to leave , and was replaced by another confederate dressed in regular clothes ; this new experimenter had reduced legitimacy of authority explaining the drop in obedience rates to 20%
• Advantages of explanations for obedience

  Milgram argues that his participants act with extreme obedience due to being in an agentic state; as when questioned the experimenter accepts responsibility for any harm to the learner. the scientist as indicated by the uniform , has legitimate authority in the environment. The manipulation of these variables supports Milgram's conclusions . obedience dropped significantly when he replaced the experimenter with one in casual clothes; obedience also dropped significantly in the proximity leading to a return to the autonomous state from the agentic state
• Disadvantages of explanations for obedience

  However Milgram's research support for the agentic state and legitimacy of authority has been criticised for multiple methodical flaws . the task using as a shock generator lacks mundane realism. Additionally the study lacks ecological validity as the environment of Yale was not normal for participants. Orne & Holland claim the task was so unusual that the paprtcipants acted to demand characteristics

  Another issue is the gender bias of Milgram's work as his male only sample are not general to the society
• negative explanations for obedience 


  In Milgram's study a significant proportion of 35% resisted the authority figure; this level of resistance cant be explained by situational factors of agentic state and legitimacy of authority alone, as each participant had precicely the same experience. however Adorno's dispositional 'Authoritarian personality' theory acknowledges that the willingness to obey an authority figure can vary from person to person , offering an explanation to why there are extreme variation in Milgram's participants
• Advantages of Milgram's experiment 


  Milgram's use of standardised procedures, such as pre-recordings of the participant responses and clear scripts for the experimenter to follow, led to a high level of control, ensuring each participant had precisely the same experience. those clear instructions also enabled replications by Milgram and other researchers. The results found in Milgram's original experiment have been shown by Blass to be reliable
• Disadvantages to Milgram's study 


  Milgram's origional experiment and later variations have been criticised for multiple methodological flaws. The task lacks mundane realism as it is not realistic to daily activities. Additionally the study lacks ecological validity as the Yale University environment was not normal for participants. Orne & Holland claim the task was so unusual that the participants figured out they were not actually shocking the other person and acted to demand characteristics. Another criticism was Milgram's gender bias by having an all male sample
• Evaluation of Milgram's study 


  Disadvantage - Milgram's research methods are considered highly unethical ; his participants suffered emotional distress during the study. it was difficult for them to withdraw and they were decieved about the type of study they were in so they were unable to give informed consent

  Argue against the disadvantage- It can be argued that these decisions were necessary for Milgram to conduct his research, the temporary harm may have been worth it as it lead to greater understandings of obedience
• Hoffling's experiment


  22 real nurses were called by an unfamiliar voice claiming to be Dr Smith; Dr Smith ordered the nurses to give twice the daily dose of an unfamiliar drug to a patient, An obviously dangerous order. Unknown to the nurse it was actually a placebo . 21 out of the 22 nurses completed this order suggesting even in a situation with ecological validity and a task with Mundane realism, people are highly obedient to those they feel have legitimacy of authority
• Bickman's study

  A field experiment in the ecologically valid environment of the streets of New York. An experimenter approached passers-by in either a guards uniform, milkman's uniform or no uniform and asked them to complete a task . When asked to pay for a parking meter, the obedience rates was 89% when dressed as a guard and only 33% with no uniform . this study supports Milgram's theory that uniforms are a visible symbol of authority , increasing the legitimacy of authority of the person in the uniform
• Sheridan and King


  Avoided the possibility of demand characteristics or gender bias by ordering 13 males and 13 female participants to deliver real electric shocks to a puppy by electrifying the puppy's cage, causing it to run, yelp, and howl. At more intense shock levels , the puppy responded more strongly. Despite many participants showing extreme emotional reactions , such as crying , 54% of male and 100% of the female participants delivered maximum shocks to the puppies
• What did Adorno suggest ?


  We are all capable of extreme obedience in the right situation. Adorno argued high levels of obedient behavior were dispositional due to a set of internal traits , a personality type called the authoritarian personality
• Adorno also suggested that people with an authoritarian personality had their obedient personalities shaped early in life by strict authoritarian parenting with harsh physical punishments. linking these ideas to Freud's work Adorno suggested that the anger they felt towards their parent was displaced onto others
• how does something act with an authoritarian personality 


  • high respect for people with higher social status
  • Hostile to people they see as having low status
  • Fixed stereotypes about groups of people
  • Conformists with conventional beliefs and behaviours
  • Views on morality are dogmatic having very clear ideas about right and wrong
• Adornos study

  Adorno stufied the Authoritarian personality with a questionnair Called the F-scale. people who scored highly had fixed stereotypes , identified with “strong “ people, disliked ”weak “ people and were inflexible with ideas of right and wrong
• Questions on the F-scale measured 9 factors like Authoritarian submission and “power & toughness “
• what question shows Authoritarian submission

  Q1 obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn
• what question shows power & toughness

  Q20 people Can be divided into two classes the weak and the strong
• Advantage for the authoritarian personality

  I’m Milgram‘s study a significant proportion 35% resisted the authority figure this can’t be explained by situational factors alone as each participant had precisely the same experienc. however Adornos theory acknowledges that the willingness to obey an authority figure can vary from person to person offering an explanation as to why there are extreme variations in Milgram’s participants
• Advantage 2 for explanations of authoritarian figure 


  Elms and Milgram twenty obedient males who had given the highest levels of shock in Milgram d study and twenty defiant males who had refused were give the F scale . The obedient males scored significantly higher , suggesting they had authoritarian personalities they also tended to dehumanise or hold more negative attitudes towards the learner and see the experimenter as someone knowledgeable and trustworthy
• Disadvantages for the authoritarian personality 


  Adornos theory of a link between an abusive childhood the development of an authoritarian personality and obedience can only be studied using correlation. However alternate situational explanation of obedience such as the agent of state and legitimacy of authority are backed up by significant experimental research. this research by Milgram Bickman Hofling and others show the majority of people have the capacity to be highly obedient
• Disadvantages for the authoritarian personality 


  The F-scale has been criticised as a measurement of an authoritarian personality ; one reason is due to acquiescence bias ; people tend to agree to questions the F-scale was written in a way that agreeing to all the questions would artificially inflate their score on the authoritarianism scale leading to inaccurate measurement. Additionally Adorno was a left wing thinker and some questions are argues to be biased against People with a left wing political view
• What studies did people not obey

  Asch's 25% did not obey

  Milgram 35% did not deliver the 450v shock

  Rank and Jackson 16 out of 18 nurses did not administer the drug
• What is a locus of control


  A locus of control refers to a persons perception of control over their own behaviour
• People with high Internal control believe ...

  That they contol their own destiny

  Their behavour is caused by their own decisions and efforts

  They are able to resist social influenece
• People with High External Locus of control believe ...


  Others control their destiny

  Behaviour caused by fate, luck or other external circumstances

  Unable to resist socian influence
• People who have high Internal locus of control are more able to resist social influence ( they are less likely to conform or obely ) This is because they take responsibilty for their actions and believe they are in control so they can change things and other people
• Research into locus of contol

  Holland repeated Milgrams baseline study and measured wheter participants were Internals or Externals

  He found that 37% of Intenals did not continue to the 450 V shock level whereas only 23% of externals did the same thing

  Suppoting that Internals show the greatest level of resistance

  
  

  Spector found that those with high Intenal locus of control were more persuasive and goal-orientated which suggests they would be better leaders than those with high External locus of control