Obedience

• Obedience


  A type of social influence where somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority. The person who receives the order may also respond in a way that they would have not done without the order.
• Milgram's Procedure


  1. Milgram placed an advert in a newspaper seeking volunteers for an experiment researching memory on learning and they were paid $4.50

  2. After drawing lots, which were rigged, the real participant was assigned the role of the 'teacher' and the learner was always a confederate

  3. The teacher's job was to administrate a learning task and deliver 'electric shocks' to the learner (in another room) if the learner got a question wrong

  4. The shocks began at 15 volts and increased in increments of 15 volts to a maximum of 450 volts

  5. The experimenter used prompts if the 'teacher refused (this tested the obedience to authority)
• Proximity


  How near or far (close) the participant (teacher) is to the victim (learner) or experimenter (authority figure)
• Location


  The original experiment was conducted in a prestigious university (Yale University). When the location was changed to a 'seedy office' in a run-down part of town obedience fell from 65% at Yale University to 48% in the 'seedy office'.
• Uniform


  The wearing of uniforms can give a perception of added legitimate authority to the individual delivering the orders. When the experimenter in the lab coat was called away and replaced by an 'ordinary member of the public' who wore everyday clothes, obedience dropped to 20%.
• Agentic State


  People may move from being in a state where they take personal responsibility for their actions (an autonomous state) to a state where they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure (agentic state). When an individual is in the agentic state they lose sense of personal responsibility and see themselves as carrying out the wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure.
• Legitimacy of Authority Figure


  Obedient individuals accept the power and status of authority figures e.g. parents, teachers and police officers, and see them as being in charge. The authority they have is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society. We accept people's credentials and believe they know what they are doing.
• Milgram's research could be argued to be prone to demand characteristics


  Participants may have changed their natural behaviour to help the researcher, for example by giving the electric shocks as they believed this is how they were supposed to act in the experiment, rather than because they were being obedient to the authority figure
• Participants were paid for taking part in the research
• Hofling's research


  Supported Milgram's findings, without the impact of demand characteristics as the participants were unaware that they were being studied
• Hofling conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward who were ordered by an unknown doctor to give a dangerous dose of a drug to patients via a telephone, 21 out of the 22 nurses gave the medication even though they knew not to take orders over the phone
• Orne and Holland argued that the participants did not believe they were giving true shocks to the learner


  However, from a post research survey, Milgram's participants 75% said they believed they were real
• Perry (2012) traced as many original participants as she could and claimed the true figure which believed they were real was only 50%
• Legitimacy of authority


  An explanation of obedience to authority
• Milgram's research into obedience has gender bias, as it only uses male participants
• Some research suggests females may be more obedient because of their gender roles may dictate that they be more submissive


  This is demonstrated in Sheridan and King's similar study whereby participants had to give a real shock to a puppy when it responded to a command incorrectly, and 54% of Males and 100% of females obeyed up to an apparent 450 volts
• Research to support legitimacy of authority as an explanation of obedience to authority


  1. Participants were shown a film of Milgram's study and asked to identify who they felt was responsible for the harm inflicted on the learner

  2. It was found that the participants blamed the experimenter rather than the 'teacher'
• Milgram's research has ethical issues such as deception, informed consent, protection, debriefing, and withdrawal
• However, it could be argued that the findings from the research into obedience outweigh the ethical issues


  Moreover, many of Milgram's participants said that they were glad that they took part in the research as they learned a lot about themselves
• Participants blaming the experimenter rather than the 'teacher'


  Suggests that the legitimacy of authority explains obedience
• Bickman's research found that participants were twice as likely to follow the instructions of a confederate wearing a security guard uniform compared to a milkman or business man outfit
• Further research to support the explanations for obedience to authority

  Conducted by Hofling. He conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward who were ordered by an unknown doctor to give a dangerous dose of a drug to patients via the telephone. 21/22 nurses gave the medication even though they knew not to take orders over a phone
• Milgram's sample was used in the research on situational variables affecting obedience
• Hofling's research


  Supports the legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience
• The research into situational factors affecting obedience is sample bias, as the participants were all aged between 20 and 50
• Hofling's research


  Could also support the agentic state as an explanation for obedience
• Younger participants may be more likely to obey due to obeying teachers and parents from an early age


  This further weakens the external validity of research into situational factors affecting obedience
• Research to contradict the agentic state as an explanation for obedience to authority


  1. Mandel (1998) described one incident involving German Nazi Soldiers where men obeyed the orders to shoot civilians in a small town in Poland

  2. They were told beforehand that they could be given other duties instead
• An alternative explanation for obedience is dispositional factors (internal factors) e.g. The Authoritarian Personality
• Mandel's research


  Supports the agentic state as an explanation of obedience
• Mandel (1998) criticised Milgram's research, arguing that the mass killing of Jews in the holocaust was conducted in close proximity, and that the presence of a uniform offers an excuse or 'alibi' for evil behaviour
• Due to these findings, it could be argued that there are alternative explanations for obedience
• Authoritarian Personality


  An alternative explanation for obedience (dispositional/internal factors)
• Legitimacy of authority as an explanation of obedience


  • It can account for cultural differences in obedience
  • In some cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate
  • This affects how different societies are structured and children are raised to perceive authority figures
• Cross-cultural replications of Milgram's studies


  • Australia 16% went to 450v
  • Germany 85% went to 450v
• Cross-cultural differences in obedience


  Increase the external validity of the explanation of obedience
• Dispositional Explanation for Obedience

  Authoritarian Personality
• inflexible outlook
• Authoritarian Personality


  • Higher status may be respectful
• Authoritarian Personality


  An internal explanation for obedience, as the focus is on the idea that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience