Obedience - Situational Variables
Proximity
In the proximity variations, obedience levels fell to 40% when both teacher
and learner was sat in the same room.
In another proximity variation, the teacher was required to force the
learners hand onto a shock plate, obedience fell to 30%.
When the experimenter left and gave further orders over the phone,
obedience fell to 21%.
Location
The original study was conducted in a psychology laboratory at Yale
University. Many of the participants commented on how the location of the
study gave them confidence in the integrity of the people involved.
Milgram then moved his study to a run-down office with no obvious
connections with Yale.
Obedience rates dropped slightly but not significantly, with 48% of
participants delivering the 450 maximum shock.
Uniform
Bushman (1988)
Carried out a study where a female researcher, dressed either in a police
style uniform, as a business executive or as a bigger.
They stopped people in the street and told them to give change to the
female researcher for an expired parking ticket.
When she was in uniform, 72% of the people obeyed, whereas obedience
Proximity
In the proximity variations, obedience levels fell to 40% when both teacher
and learner was sat in the same room.
In another proximity variation, the teacher was required to force the
learners hand onto a shock plate, obedience fell to 30%.
When the experimenter left and gave further orders over the phone,
obedience fell to 21%.
Location
The original study was conducted in a psychology laboratory at Yale
University. Many of the participants commented on how the location of the
study gave them confidence in the integrity of the people involved.
Milgram then moved his study to a run-down office with no obvious
connections with Yale.
Obedience rates dropped slightly but not significantly, with 48% of
participants delivering the 450 maximum shock.
Uniform
Bushman (1988)
Carried out a study where a female researcher, dressed either in a police
style uniform, as a business executive or as a bigger.
They stopped people in the street and told them to give change to the
female researcher for an expired parking ticket.
When she was in uniform, 72% of the people obeyed, whereas obedience
