Obedience

how many participants in Milgram’s study?

40

what did the psychiatrists, college students and colleagues predict for how long the participants would go before refusing to continue?

predicted that very few would go beyond 150V and only 1 in 1000 would administer the full 450V

How many continued to the maximum shock level?

26/40 participants continued 65%

How many participants went to 300V?

All participants

How many stopped after 300V?

only 5 (12.5%)

What qualitative data did Milgram collect?

observations that showed signs of extreme tension e.g. sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their fingernails into their hands. 3 had full blown uncontrollable seizures

Variations for Milgrams’s study

• touch proximity variation

• different location variation

• experimenter-absent variation

• teacher’s discretion variation

• proximity variation

• two peer rebel variation

Changes in touch proximity variation

teacher was required to force the learner’s hand onto the shock plate

Teacher’s discretion variation

the level of shock delivered to the learner was left to the participants discretion

Different location variation

the experimenter was conducted in a run-down office block in the town centre, rather than the prestigious Yale University lab

Proximity variation

The teacher and learner were seated in the same room. As a result, the teacher was able to see the reactions of the learner

Experimenter-absent variation

After giving instructions the experimenter left the room and gave subsequent orders over the telephone

Two peer rebel variations

three participants (two confederates and one real participant) shared the task of teaching the learner. At a certain point in the experiment the two bogus teachers refused to carry on

What did the variations do to conformity

Reduced them

Points for Evaluation for Milgram’s study

Research support

Alternative interpretation of findings

Research support- role of uniform situational variables

Cross-cultural replication

Puppy study shows support for original findings

Socially sensitive

Social Hierarchies

Societies are structured in a hierarchical way- people in higher positions in the hierarchy have authority over those below them in the hierarchy. This authority is legitimate because it is agreed by society —> allows society to function effectively

Legitimacy of Authority

An individual’s authority is justified by the position they hold in the social hierarchy, i.e. someone above you in the hierarchy has legitimate authority over you; you have legitimate authority over those below them

Agentic state

A mental state where we feel no responsibility for our actions- we believe we are the agents of the authority figure. frees people from demands not their conscience, they obey destructive authority

Autonomous State

In autonomous state we are free to behave as we choose, according to out own principles- we feel responsible for our own actions

Agentic shift

Cognitive shift from autonomous to agentic state. occurs when we’re given an order to someone higher in social hierarchy i.e. someone with legitimate authority

Binding factors

Aspects of social situations that make disobedience difficult or aspects that allow one to minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour i.e. factors which keep people in the agentic state

Dispositional explanation

Suggest obedient behaviour is due to internal traits such as personality, rather than situational/ external factors

Authoritarian personality

Personality type defined by Adorno as being especially susceptible to obeying authority. Submissive to authority and dismissive of those of lower status

Psychodynamic explanation of authoritarian personality

Harsh parenting

• strict/ rigid discipline

• expectation of absolute loyalty

• impossible high standards

• severe criticism of perceived failings

Conditional love

• love is dependent on how they behave

Creates resentment and hostility in the child- cannot express this resentment to parents, repression, displacement onto inferiors- scapegoating