Obedience: Situational variables (Milgram)

Obedience is due to the pressures of the situation

Proximity

• Obedience dropped to 40% when teacher and learner in same room

• Up to 30% in touch proximity condition

• Decreased proximity allows psychological distance from consequences

Location (prestige of setting)

• Obedience decreased to 47.5% when study moved to rundown office block

• Obedience was higher at Yale because of legitimacy of authority

Uniform

• Obedience decreased to 20% when ‘member of the public’ was the experimenter compared to lab coat man

• A uniform communicates authors and professionalism

Lack of internal validity ☹

• Some of Milgram’s procedures contrived so not genuine obedience (Orne and Holland) e.g. replaced by member of the public

• Demain characteristic could play a part

Cross cultural replications 🙂

• Miranda found obedience rate of over 90% amongst Spanish students

• Supports that Milgrams findings are not limited to American males

• However Smith and Bond most replications take part in western societies so not internationally applicable