1.5 obedience: situational variables 🧡

Situational variables = features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a persons behaviour

Milgram carried out a large number of variations to consider the situational variables. He investigated proximity, uniform and location

Proximity

  • baseline study — the teacher could hear the learner but not see him

  • proximity variation — the teacher and learner were in the same room. Obedience rate dropped from 65% to 40%

  • Touch proximity variation — the teacher had to force the learners hand onto an electroshock plate. Obedience dropped to 30%

  • Remote instruction variation — the experimenter left the room and gave instructions by telephone. Obedience dropped to 20.5% and they frequently pretended to give shocks

  • Explanation — decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves from the consequences of their actions

Uniform

  • Baseline study — the experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of authority

  • Variation — experimenter was called away and had his role taken over by an ‘ordinary member of the public’ (a confederate) who was wearing everyday clothes. Obedience dropped to 20%

  • Explanation — uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised symbols of authority, so we accept their authority as legitimate and obey

Location

  • Baseline study — conducted the study at Yale university

  • Variation — conducted the study in a run down office block. Obedience dropped to 47.5%

  • Explanation — the prestigious university gave Milgrams study legitimacy and authority, so assume the experimenter shared this legitimacy. Participants were still obedient because they perceived the ‘scientific’ nature of the procedure

Evaluation

Research support

  • Bickman had 3 confederate dress in different outfits. A jacket and tie, a milkman and a security guard

  • They asked passers by to perform certain tasks

  • Found people were 2x more likely to obey the security guard than the suit and tie

Cross cultural replications

  • Meeus ordered Dutch participants to say stressful things in an interview to someone (a confederate)

  • Found 90% of participants obeyed

  • When the person giving the orders was not present, obedience decreased further (showing proximity)

  • however, Bond and Smith would argue it lacks cross cultural validity. As most replications are done in countries that are culturally similar to the US

The danger of the situational perspective

  • Mandel argues that this offers an excuse for evil behaviour, suggesting that people are victims of situational pressures beyond their control

  • Simply implying that Nazis were ‘simply obeying orders’