Factors affecting obedience

• 6 factors affecting obedience


  • Location
  • Proximity
  • Uniform
  • Graduated commitment
  • Agentic State
  • Legitimate Authority
• Factors affecting obedience: Location

  • The place where obedience is asked for can influence whether we obey or not.
  • Universities, military institutions, hospitals, etc can all increase obedience as they are places that we trust
• Factors affecting obedience: Proximity


  This is how close the parties are. For example, if they are in the same room or different roomsOr if it is in person vs online
• Factors affecting obedience: Uniform


  Uniforms affect obedience as they are a symbol of power and authority
• Factors affecting obedience: Graduated commitment

  If something gradually increases it is easier to build up to the more extreme, the 'foot in the door' technique
• Factors affecting obedience: Agentic State


  This is someone else taking responsibility for the outcome Agentic shift - autonomy to letting others be responsible
• Factors affecting obedience: Legitimate Authority


  • People will only make an agentic shift if they truly believe that someone is in charge of a situation
  • Institutions can help create this legitimacy of authority
• Factors affecting obedience: Location - Link to Milgram

  • Milgram's study took place in a prestigious university which could explain the high level of obedience
  • Obedience dropped in a run-down office
• Factors affecting obedience: Proximity - Link to Milgram

  • Obedience dropped to 40% when the teacher and learner were in the same room
  • Dropped a further 30% when the teacher forced the learner's hand onto the shock plate
  • Obedience dropped when orders were given over the phone
• Factors affecting obedience: Uniform - Link to Milgram


  • Bickman - People are more likely to follow orders from someone in uniform compared with those wearing regular clothes
  • Experimenter wore lab coats
• Factors affecting obedience: Graduated commitment - Link to Milgram


  Since the shocks went up gradually from 15 volts which was only a tingle that had been demonstrated to participants it makes it hard to work out where to stop
• Factors affecting obedience: Agentic State - Link to Milgram


  Milgram's participants believed the experimenter was responsible for the health of the learner
• Factors affecting obedience: Legitimate Authority - Link to Milgram


  Milgram - people entered the lab with assumptions that someone was in chargeLess conformity in a run down office building