Psychology - Obedience

• Obedience is a form of social pressure but unlike conformity, it normally involves a direct command or instruction. Obedience often is the result of an authority figure telling you what to do.
• Obedience is changing our behavior to follow the demands of an authority figure. We do this to avoid punishment or unpleasant consequences.
• Effects of society:

  • Percival's legitimate authority.
  • automonous vs agentic state.
  • socialisation.
• Perceived legitimate authority:

  many parts of society are structured as hierarchies meaning that people in lower ranks or status are expected to obey those in higher positions.
• Autonomous vs agentic state:

  Milgram believed that one of the reasons we obey those whom we perceive to be legitimate authority figures is due to the mental state in which we find ourselves.
• when we are in an autonomous state of mind we can act based on our wishes. However, at times of stress and conflict, there is a tendency to look for the person in charge and follow their orders.

  When people are under moral strain they relinquish their moral responsibility and act based on the authority figure commands. At this point they leave behind their autonomous state and enter into agentic state
• Autonomous state = seeing yourself as being in power

  Agentic state = seeing another person as having power
• Socialization - one of the reasons that people find themselves entering into the agentic state is because society has taught us to respect and obey authority figures.
• Parenting: it is one of the biggest influences on a child's socialization, with its parents. The way we are raised has a massive influence on how likely we are to obey as we grow up and when we are adults.
• Two different types of parenting:

  • democratic - allow their children to think for themselves + make rational choices. Rules are not absolute.
  • authoritarian - teach their children being obedient and having respect for authority is top priotrity.
• Milgram study (1963)

  he believed orders can result in a clash between a person's morals and the social situation, and he wanted to discover through his experiment if there was something uniquely obedient about nazi solders and concentration camp guards during the second world war.
• Milgram study (1963)

  he devised an experiment in which participants were asked to deliver increasing levels of electric shocks on the demand of an experimenter - although the shocks would be fake
• Milgram study (1963)

  there is a teacher and a learner. the learner is strapped to a chair with electric shock plates. The learner answers questions, if any incorrect answers the teacher must give an electric shock. For each incorrect answer, the voltage must be increased from 15 to 450 volts. The experimenter encourages the teacher to continue.
• Milgram study (1963)

  Results - 65% of teachers continued to 450 volts.

  Milgram believed nazi soldiers were no different