A01 variations of Milgrams original study; proximity location and uniform

What are the different situational variables in milgram study

Proximity to the victim

Location of the study

Uniform

Presence of allies

How did milgram change the experiment when considering the variable “proximity of the victim”

Moved the learner in same room so ppt could see the shocks being given to leaner

• reduced obedience to 40% from 65%

• Can see consequence of actions

Further step and physically ppt shocked the learner

• touch condition and obedience dropped to 30%

• Made the consequences even clearer

suggests the consequences of your actions being more known makes people obey less to authority

• changed the proximity of the researcher from the same room into a different room and giving instructions over the phone

• Obedience dropped to 20.5%

How did milgram change the experiment in LOCATION OF STUDY

Instead of Yale university he did it in a down town office

Yale uni is a prestigious uni in US and so there was a legitimacy of authority

Original ppt said they wouldn’t have obeyed if experiment wasn’t in Yale uni

• obedience level to reach 450v reduced to 47.5% which was not a significant difference

How did uniform affect

Original experiment the researcher was in a lab coat

In downtown variation the researcher wore a cheap suit and looked less like an authority

What is a study to use when talking about uniform

Bickman (1974)

19% obeyed civilian clothes

14% milkman

38% security guard uniform

What did milgram find in presence of allies

When an ally was given the obedience levels dropped to 10%

Easier to disobey an authority when someone is on your side

Shows importance in social support

An example is trade union where low level workers work together to go against an injustice done to them by their authority