Situational variables

What are situational variables?

Features of the immediate physical & social environment which may influence a persons behaviour

Alternative = dispositional variables -> behaviour explained in terms of personality

What are the 3 situational variables Milgram investigated?

• Proximity

• Location

• Uniform

What is proximity?

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

What was the proximity variation and how did it affect obedience?

Originally teacher could hear learner but not see them

Variation -> teacher & learner in same room

Obedience rate dropped from 65 % to 40%.

What was the touch proximity variation and how did it affect obedience?

Teacher had to force learners hand onto electroshock plate if learner refused to

Obedience = 30%

What was the remote instruction variation and how did it affect obedience?

Experimenter left room & gave instructions to teacher by telephone

Obedience reduced -> 25%

participants frequently pretended to give shocks

Why did proximity affect obedience?

Decreased proximity → allows people to psychologically distance themselves from consequences of their actions

eg. when teacher & learner separate = teacher less aware of harm they were causing

What is location?

• place where order is issued → obedience influenced by status/ prestige

How did Milgram vary location & what happened to obedience?

conducted variation in run down office block rather than Yale university

Obedience fell to 47.5%

Why did location affect obedience?

Prestigious uni environment gave study legitimacy & authority

Participants perceived experimenter as sharing legitimacy & obeyed

Obedience still high in office block - > scientific nature of procedure

Why is uniform important?

People in positions of authority have specific outfit symbolic of their authority

Indicates they are entitled to our obedience

What happened in a uniform based variation?

• Lab coat = symbol of authority

• when experimenter replaced by ordinary person in everyday clothes → obedience fell to 20%

Why did uniforms encourage obedience?

• Widely recognised symbols of authority

• we accept people in uniform are entitled to obedience -> authority legitimate

What is research support of situational variables?

Other studies demonstrate & support their influence on obedience

• Bickman: Field experiment in New York found people twice more likely to obey a security guard wearing a uniform than one in everyday clothes.

What is a strength of Milgrams situational variables study?

• Findings replicated in other cultures & apply to women

• Meeus & Raaijmakers: Dutch participants → 90% obeyed in a more realistic study -> saying stressful thing to someone desperate for job

• Also replicated proximity findings: obedience decreased when authority figure was absent.

What is the counterpoint to Milgrams study being cross cultural?

• Smith & Bond: Found only 2 replications in culturally different countries (India & Jordan).

• Most other replications were in cultures similar to the US -> similar ideas about authority

• Milgram’s findings may not generalise to all cultures

What is a limitation of Milgrams situational variables study?

Low internal validity

• May have been aware that procedure was faked

• Orne and Holland: ESPECIALLY in variables when new variables tested eg. experimenter replaced by ordinary person

• Participants may have worked out the truth and played along →demand characteristics

• Unclear whether Milgram measured genuine obedience or responses to deception

What is the danger of situational perspective (situational explanation of obedience)?

Mandel - offers an excuse for evil behaviour

Offensive to survivors of holocaust to suggest Nazi only obeying orders

Also ignores dispositional factors eg. personality implying Nazi's are victims of situational factors beyond their control