Obedience: situational variables

• Proximity variation

  Proximity - teacher and learner were in the same room and the obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40%.

  Touch proximity - the teacher had to force the learner's hand onto a shock plate, the obedience rate dropped to 30%.

  'Remote-instruction' proximity - the experimenter left the room and gave instructions by phone. The obedience rate dropped to 20.5%. The participants also frequently pretended to give shocks or gave weaker ones when they were ordered to.
• Location variation


  Changed location of the obedience study to a run-down building rather than the university lab. Obedience fell to 47.5%. This indicates that the experimenter had less authority in this setting.
• Uniform variation


  Original study - the experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority.

  Variation - The obedience rate dropped to 20%, the lowest of these variations. This suggests that uniform does act as a strong visual authority symbol and a cue to behave in an obedient manner.
• A strength of Milgram's variation study is that he had control of variables.

  Milgram systematically altered one variable at a time to test effects on obedience. Other variables were kept constant as the study was replicated with over 1000 participants. This control gives us more certainty that changes in obedience were caused by the variable manipulated, showing cause and effect relationships.
• Another strength of Milgram's variations is that it has been replicated in other cultures.

  Miranda found over 90% obedience in Spanish students. Milgram's findings are not limited to American males. However Smith and Bond note that most replications have taken place in Western Societies, culturally not that different from the USA. It is premature to conclude that Milgram's findings about proximity, location and uniform apply to people everywhere.
• One limitation of Milgram's variations is that his conclusions provide an 'obedience alibi'.


  Milgram's findings are an 'excuse' for obedience - suggesting that it is the situation not the person who is responsible. Mandel claims this is offensive to Holocaust survivors to suggest that the Nazis simply obeyed orders and were victims of situational factors beyond their control. Milgram's situational perspective is dangerous because it ignores the roles that discrimination, racism, and prejudice played in the Holocaust.