O: situational variables

• Uncertainty of obedience vs. demand characteristics

  The results may be due to participants seeing through the deception, raising uncertainty about the true level of obedience
• Limitation: Lack of internal validity


  Participants may have realized that the procedure was fake, limiting the internal validity of the study
• Strength: Cross-cultural replications


  The findings have been replicated in other cultures, for example, Spanish students showed a 90% obedience rate
• Strength: Research support

  A field experiment in NYC showed higher obedience to a security guard, providing research support
• Effect of uniform on obedience rates

  The obedience rate dropped to 20% (the lowest of the variations) when the experimenter dressed in everyday clothes instead of a lab coat
• Effect of location on obedience rates

  The obedience rates fell to 47.5% when the study was conducted in a run-down building instead of a prestigious university, due to the experimenter having less authority
• Effect of proximity on obedience rate

  The obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40% when the teacher and learner were placed in the same room
• Uniform


  The clothing worn by the experimenter
• Location


  The setting where the study is conducted
• Proximity


  Physical closeness between the teacher and the learner
• Situational variables


  Factors that influence obedience in participants