Factors Affecting Obedience

Situational factor: Authority figure – A01

• Situational factors influence obedience

• Presence of a destructive authority figure increases obedience

• Milgram Variation 13 tested legitimacy of authority

• Experimenter left room

• Ordinary man (confederate) gave orders

• No lab coat / no official authority

• Obedience rate = 20%

• Original study obedience = 65%

• Shows obedience decreases without legitimate authority

Situational factor: Authority figure – A03

• Supports agentic state theory

• Ordinary man seen as less legitimate authority

• Participants less likely to enter agentic state

• Less belief that authority would take responsibility

• Limitation: not everyone enters agentic state

• Original study: 35% disobeyed despite legitimate authority

• Suggests agentic state not universal

• Participants may have realised it was an experiment

• Reduces ecological validity

Culture and obedience – A01

• Culture influences obedience

• Distinction between individualist and collectivist cultures

• Individualist cultures:

  • Independence

  • Autonomy

  • Personal fulfilment

• Collectivist cultures:

  • Duty

  • Group needs over individual

  • Family / tribe / work

• Western cultures = individualist

• Eastern cultures = collectivist

• Collectivist cultures believed to be more obedient

Culture and obedience – A03

• Blass analysed 8 non-US Milgram replications

• Average obedience (non-US) = 66%

• Average obedience (US) = 61%

• Very similar obedience rates

• Some variation within and across cultures

• Blass suggests obedience is universal behaviour

• Culture may not strongly affect obedience

• Challenges collectivist vs individualist explanation

Gender and obedience – A01

• Gender may affect obedience

• Milgram Experiment 8 included women

• Obedience rate same as men (65%)

• Women showed higher anxiety levels

• Burger (2010) partial replication

• Women slightly more obedient

• Difference not statistically significant

• Suggests no clear gender difference

Gender and obedience – A03

• Sheridan & King (1972) used real shocks to puppies

• All 13 female participants delivered maximum shocks

• Fewer men delivered maximum shocks

• Suggests possible gender differences

• Gilligan: differences in moral orientation

• Men = justice orientation

• Women = care orientation

• Moral reasoning may affect obedience

• Findings are inconsistent

• More research needed

Overall conclusion – Obedience

• Obedience influenced by:

  • Authority

  • Culture

  • Gender

• Authority has strongest effect

• Obedience drops without legitimate authority

• Culture shows minimal differences

• Gender differences inconsistent

• Obedience mainly influenced by situational factors