Cultural Factors (Obedience)

• Most obedience research is conducted in west industrialised nations, can't draw universal conclusions of human nature, culture is either individualistic (prioritise independence) or collectivist (prioritise group interdependence)
• Power Distance Index (PDI): Relationship between those in power and those without, high scores; unequal distribution, high obedience and collectivism, low scores; equal distribution, low obedience and individualism
• Blass (1999): Relationship between culture or power inequality and obedience is minimal; the Milgram replication in India (77% PDI) had 42.5% obedience, contradicting PDI relationship
• Hamilton and Sanders (1995): Participants from US, Japan, and Russia given scenarios where crime was either individual’s idea or order of a superior, cultural differences emerged: US ones attributed more personal responsibility to individuals acting criminally under order than the Japanese or Russian ones; obedience may be deduced as more important in Japanese and Russian culture than US