Situational variables

What situational variables have been studied as factors affecting obedience?

Proximity, location, uniform

Which situational factor saw obedience decrease the most?

Uniform

What is meant by proximity in relation to obedience?

The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving an order to

How did Milgram vary proximity to see its impacts upon obedience?

• Teacher & Learner in the same room

• Learner’s hand forced onto electroshock plate

• Instructions given over the telephone

In the proximity variations, what happened to obedience?

(Baseline study at Yale University → 65%)

• Decreased to 40% when in the same room

• Decreased to 30% when hand forced onto electroshock plate

• Decreased to 20.5% when given instructions over telephone

How did Milgram vary location to see its impacts upon obedience?

Conducted the experiment in a run-down building rather than Yale University

What happened to obedience levels in the run-down building variation?

Decreased to 47.5%

How did Milgram use uniform in the original study?

The Experimenter wore a grey lab coat

How did Milgram investigate the effects of uniform in one of his variations of the original study?

The role of the Experimenter was played by an ordinary member of the public in everyday clothes

What happened to obedience in the uniform variation study?

Decreased to 20%

Outline research into the effects of situational variables on obedience (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• Situational variables are external, environmental factors that affect obedience rather than dispositional explanations (e.g. authoritarianism personality). Milgram investigated the effects of proximity, location & uniform on obedience.

• Firstly, proximity refers to how physically close the authority figure is to the participant. In Milgram’s original study (where the teacher & learner were in separate rooms), obedience was 65%. However, when instructions were given over the phone, obedience decreased to 20.5%, with some participants pretending to give shocks or giving weaker ones.

• Secondly, location refers to the place where an order is issued. When the experiment was moved from Yale University to a run-down building, obedience decreased to 47.5%, suggesting the less prestigious setting reduced the experimenter’s legitimacy of authority.

• Finally, uniform refers to a specific outfit that is a symbol of a person’s position of authority. In the original study, the experimenter wore a grey lab coat, but when replaced by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ in everyday clothes, obedience decreased to 20%, showing reduced legitimacy of authority.

Outline research into the effects of situational variables (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (Bickman)

• Point: One strength of Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience is there is empirical evidence to support of the influence of uniform.

• Evidence: For example, Bickman’s New York field experiment found people were twice more likely to follow a security guard’s orders than a businessman or milkman when asked to pick litter up off the street.

• Explain: This is increases the validity of Milgram’s findings by showing that uniform acts as a situational variable that increases a person’s legitimacy of authority & obedience in real-world settings.

• Link: As such, this supports Milgram’s conclusion that uniform is an important situational variable in influencing obedience.

Outline research into the effects of situational variables (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Orne & Holland)

• Point: One limitation of Milgram’s research into situational variables affecting obedience is that it may suffer from demand characteristics.

• Evidence: For example, Orne & Holland argued the use of a ‘random member of the public’ as the experimenter may have made the aim of the study more obvious to participants.

• Explain: Because the procedure was highly artificial & contrived, participants may have adjusted their behaviour accordingly (e.g. social desirability bias), rather than responding naturally to the situational variables being tested.

• Link: Therefore, this reduces the internal validity of Milgram’s study, as it is unclear whether the results genuinely reflect obedience to authority.

Outline research into the effects of situational variables (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Nazis)

• Point: One limitation of research into situational variables affecting obedience is that they can provide an excuse for people to act in evil ways.

• Evidence: For example, in relation to the Holocaust, close monitoring by the Nazi guards (i.e. proximity) may have caused the Nazi soldiers to be in an agentic state, leading them to blindly follow orders from authority figures.

• Explain: This suggests that situational variables can shift responsibility away from individuals, allowing people to attribute harmful actions to external pressures rather than personal choice.

• Link: Overall, situational variables may reduce emphasis on personal accountability, as they imply behaviour is largely determined by external, environmental factors.