situational variables affecting obedience

• what % of people were prepared to give the max shocks in milgrams study

  65
• what did milgram do

  carried out a number of variations on his experiments
• what are the 3 situational variables which affect obedience and defiance

  • uniform
  • location
  • proximity
• what did the authority figure wear in the original experiment

  a uniform
• where did the original study take place

  prestigious yale university
• where did the authority figure stand in the original study

  stand close to the teacher and the ps had no support to disobey
• how does uniform affect obedience and defiance

  if a person is in a situation where an authority figure is wearing a uniform then they are more likely to obey than if there is no uniform
• what did Milgram find about uniform

  • when the experimenter wore a lab coat 65% of ps obey to 450 volts
  • if the authority figure wore plain clothes 20% of ps went up to 450 volts
  • without a uniform obedience was less likely
• what did variant of the experiment did milgram do to test uniform

  the experimenter was called away by a phone call and was taken over by a plain clothed member of the public
• what explanation can you give for the increase in obedience when an authority figure is wearing a lab coat

  there was a lack of perceived legitimacy because without a uniform the authority figure did not appear real and authentic and therefore less genuine and qualified to give order and directions to the ps
• what was found about locations affect on obedience

  when the experiment took place in a run-down office block rather than the respectable location of yale university obedience reduced to 48%
• what explanation can be given for the increase in obedience when the authority figure is in a prestigious location

  there is a lack of perceived legitimacy because it is a run down location the authority figure did not appear real or authentic, the building was of a lower standard and status and therefore the authority figure did not seen as genuinely qualified to be giving the orders
• how does proximity affect obedience

  if the authority figure went out of the room and gave instructions over the phone obedience reduced to 20%
• what explanation can be given for the increase in obedience when the authority figure is in a close proximity to the person

  there is a lack of an agentic state because without the authority figure present there is no one to take responsibility for the teachers actions, the teacher feels more individual responsibility for their actions and they are in an autonomous state there are more defiant
• how did milgram test the affects of proximity

  had the authority figure give orders over the phone
• what study counters milgrams variant of his study to test proximity

  a real life study by Charles Hofling
• what did charles hofling find

  20 out of 21 nurses were prepared to give twice the recommended does of drugs to a patient when given orders by a 'doctor' over the phone
• why does charles hofling's study contradict milgrams findings

  the normal way nurses receive instructions is over the phone
• what is a strength of the influence of situational variables (research support) (PEEL)

  P - there is research support for the influence of situational variables

  E - bickman looked at the effect of authority on obedience a confederate dressed in a traffic warden uniform or plain clothes demanded people picked up litter

  E - people were twice as likely to obey the traffic warden compared to the plain clothes confederate

  L - this supports Milgram's conclusion that a uniform is a factor influencing obedience
• what is a strength of the influence of situational variables (control of variables) (PEEL)

  P - another strength is that milgrams research has control of variables

  E - systematically he altered on variable at a time to see the affects of one variable at a time and establish cause and effect, milgram kept the equipment and other variables the same

  E - he repeated his alter variable study multiple times with a good sample allowing his to confidently establish cause and effect

  L- this suggests his findings are valid and we can be confident about his findings and therefore establish cause and effect
• what is a limitation of the influence of situational variables (internal validity) (PEEL)

  P - a limitation is milgram's variations ma lack internal validity

  E - in the variations ps are even more likely to realize the procedure was faked because of the extra manipulation

  E - in the variation where the experimenter was replaced by a member of the public, this was so contrived ps could work it out and display demand characteristics

  L - so the results may be because the ps saw through the deception and then play acted, becoming more obedient