Social Influence:
Situational variables affecting obedience:
Key Study (Milgram):
aim - what affects obedience
procedure:
40 participants at a time took part in it, each varying some aspect of the situation
they were told it was a study on how punishments affect learning
there were two confederates: an experimenter and a 47 year old man who was
introduce as another volunteer participant
the two participants were ‘randomly assigned’ a role, with the old man being the
learner, and the participant being the teacher
they were put in separate rooms and the ‘teacher’ had a switch that was connected to
the old man which was to transmit shocks (punishment) when he got an answer wrong
every wrong answer, the shock was increased in 15 volt increments, starting at 15
volts
the learner gave mainly wrong answers and received his fake shocks in silence until
they reached 300 volts
at 300 volts, he pounded on the wall and then gave no response to the next question
he repeated this and from then on, he said and did nothing
if the teacher asked to stop at any point, the experimenter would repeatedly say ‘it is
absolutely essential that you continue’ and ‘you have no other choice, you must go
on’
findings:
65% of participants continued to the maximum shock level of 450 volts
all participants went up to 300 volts with only five stopping there which is when the
learner first objected
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience:
1. Proximity
when both teacher and learner were in close proximity in the same room, obedience
levels fell to 40%
this was because the teacher could see and experience the learners pain directly
in an extreme variation, the teacher was required to force the learner’s hand onto the
shock plate
here the obedience rate dropped to an even further 30%
the proximity of the experimenter also affected obedience
if the experimenter was further away, obedience rate dropped and if close, rates rose
1. Location
Situational variables affecting obedience:
Key Study (Milgram):
aim - what affects obedience
procedure:
40 participants at a time took part in it, each varying some aspect of the situation
they were told it was a study on how punishments affect learning
there were two confederates: an experimenter and a 47 year old man who was
introduce as another volunteer participant
the two participants were ‘randomly assigned’ a role, with the old man being the
learner, and the participant being the teacher
they were put in separate rooms and the ‘teacher’ had a switch that was connected to
the old man which was to transmit shocks (punishment) when he got an answer wrong
every wrong answer, the shock was increased in 15 volt increments, starting at 15
volts
the learner gave mainly wrong answers and received his fake shocks in silence until
they reached 300 volts
at 300 volts, he pounded on the wall and then gave no response to the next question
he repeated this and from then on, he said and did nothing
if the teacher asked to stop at any point, the experimenter would repeatedly say ‘it is
absolutely essential that you continue’ and ‘you have no other choice, you must go
on’
findings:
65% of participants continued to the maximum shock level of 450 volts
all participants went up to 300 volts with only five stopping there which is when the
learner first objected
Situational Factors Affecting Obedience:
1. Proximity
when both teacher and learner were in close proximity in the same room, obedience
levels fell to 40%
this was because the teacher could see and experience the learners pain directly
in an extreme variation, the teacher was required to force the learner’s hand onto the
shock plate
here the obedience rate dropped to an even further 30%
the proximity of the experimenter also affected obedience
if the experimenter was further away, obedience rate dropped and if close, rates rose
1. Location
