situational variables

• momentum of compliance?


  experiments start off with small and trivial questions so Ps have no anxiety, which at the start commit Ps to experiment and feel duty bound to continue (similar to increasing shock level).
• proximity?

  closer the authority figure= higher obedience levels, but closer the victim= lower obedience levels. Since learner is in different room and couldn't be seen obedience rose to 100%, rather than if they had to see the learner or put the shock administrator on their hand

  • proximity acts as a buffer.
• status?

  obedience was strongest when:

  • in a prestigious Yale University rather than a rundown office building.
  • instructions given by someone with legitimate high status rather than an ordinary man.
• personal responsibility?

  obedience strongest when it was felt someone else had responsibility.

  • variation where Ps had to sign a contract stating responsibility, obedience dropped to 40%.