Obedience: Situational Variables

What are situational variables of obedience?

External factors that influence obedience.

What situational variable is proximity?

How physically close the authority figure or victim is.

How did proximity affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Obedience decreased when proximity increased.

What happened when the teacher and learner were in the same room?

Obedience dropped to 40%.

What happened when the teacher had to force the learner’s hand?

Obedience dropped to 30%.

Why does increased proximity reduce obedience?

It increases empathy and guilt

What situational variable is location?

The setting where the study takes place.

How did locations affect obedience in Milgram’s study?

Obedience decreased in a run-down office and increased in a university setting

What were the obedience rates for location?

Yale = 65%, run-down office = 47.5%.

Why does location affect obedience?

Prestigious settings increase legitimacy of authority.

What situational variable is uniform?

The clothing worn by the authority figure.

How did uniform affect obedience?

Obedience decreased when authority wore ordinary clothes and increased when authority wore uniform

What happened when the experimenter wore everyday clothes?

Obedience dropped to 20%.

Why does uniform increase obedience?

It signals authority and power.

What conclusion can be drawn about situational variables?

Obedience is strongly influenced by context.

What do situational variables suggest about obedience?

It is not due to personality alone.

What strength of Milgram’s research is standardisation?

All participants received the same procedure and prods.

Why does standardisation increase validity?

Reduces researcher bias and increases reliability.

What real-world explanation uses situational variables?

The agentic state.

What is the agentic state?

When people see themselves as agents carrying out orders.

Why does the agentic state increase obedience?

Responsibility is shifted to authority.

What real-life example supports situational explanations?

The Holocaust.

Why does the Holocaust support situational explanations?

People obeyed authority due to powerful situational pressures.

Name 1 strength

• Supporting Evidence

Bideman, 2x more likely to trust security guard than confederate

Name 2 limitations

• Low Internal Validity

Orne + Holland believed reactions where fake, demand characteristics

• Dangerous Perspective

justifies genocide