Obedience » Culture and Obedience

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

How culture influences obedience levels
Cross-cultural variations in obedience research
Key studies examining cultural differences in obedience
Collectivist vs individualist cultural dimensions
How to evaluate cultural explanations of obedience

Culture and Obedience: How Society Shapes Our Compliance

When we look at why people obey authority, culture plays a massive role. Different societies have different expectations about following rules and respecting authority figures. This session explores how our cultural background influences how likely we are to obey orders - even when those orders might conflict with our personal values.

Key Definitions:

Culture: The shared beliefs, values, customs and behaviours of a particular society or group.
Collectivist culture: Societies that prioritise group harmony and loyalty to the community over individual needs.
Individualist culture: Societies that value personal independence, self-reliance and individual achievement.
Cultural norms: The unwritten rules that guide behaviour in a particular cultural group.

🌎 Collectivist Cultures

In collectivist cultures like Japan, China and many parts of Africa, people typically:

Value group harmony above individual desires
Show greater respect for authority figures
Feel stronger pressure to conform
May show higher levels of obedience
Consider disobedience more shameful

👤 Individualist Cultures

In individualist cultures like the UK, USA and Australia, people typically:

Value personal freedom and independence
Are more likely to question authority
Feel less pressure to conform to group expectations
May show lower levels of obedience
Often celebrate those who "stand up" to authority

Cross-Cultural Variations in Obedience Research

Psychologists have conducted obedience studies in different countries to see if culture affects how people respond to authority. The results show some fascinating patterns!

Milgram Across Cultures

Stanley Milgram's famous obedience experiments have been replicated in various countries with some interesting differences in results:

🇺🇸 USA (Milgram, 1963)

65% of participants continued to the maximum 450-volt shock in the original study.

🇩🇪 Germany (Mantell, 1971)

85% of participants went to maximum voltage - higher than the US sample.

🇯🇵 Jordan (Shanab & Yahya, 1978)

62% of male students and 100% of female students administered all shocks.

Case Study Focus: Smith & Bond's Meta-Analysis

Smith and Bond (1998) reviewed 17 studies from 8 countries that replicated Milgram's work. They found that obedience rates were generally higher in collectivist cultures than in individualist ones. For example, participants in South Korea and Taiwan showed higher obedience rates than those in the USA and UK. This supports the idea that cultural values influence how we respond to authority figures.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Geert Hofstede developed a framework that helps explain cultural differences in obedience. His research identified several dimensions along which cultures differ, with two being particularly relevant to obedience:

📈 Power Distance

This measures how much inequality people in a society accept between those with power and those without. Countries with high power distance (like Malaysia, Philippines and Mexico) tend to show more respect for authority and higher obedience. Countries with low power distance (like Denmark, New Zealand and Ireland) are more likely to question authority.

👥 Individualism vs Collectivism

This measures whether people's self-image is defined as "I" (individualist) or "we" (collectivist). Collectivist societies (like Guatemala, Ecuador and Indonesia) typically show higher obedience to authority than individualist ones (like USA, Australia and UK).

Why Culture Affects Obedience

There are several reasons why people from different cultures might respond differently to authority:

Socialisation: From childhood, we learn what's expected in our culture. In some societies, children are taught to question and challenge, while in others, they learn to respect and obey elders without question.
Social consequences: In collectivist cultures, disobedience might lead to being ostracised from the community - a severe punishment in societies where group belonging is crucial.
Religious and historical factors: Some cultures have religious traditions that emphasise obedience to authority, while others have histories of revolution against authority.
Education systems: Some education systems encourage critical thinking and questioning, while others focus on memorisation and accepting information from teachers.

Real-World Example: The Rwanda Genocide

The 1994 Rwanda genocide provides a tragic example of how cultural factors can influence mass obedience. Rwanda had a strong culture of obedience to authority, with a history of citizens following government directives without question. When Hutu leaders ordered the killing of Tutsis, many ordinary citizens complied, partly due to cultural norms around obedience. This example shows the extreme and devastating consequences that can occur when cultural obedience is exploited by those in power.

Evaluating Cultural Explanations of Obedience

✅ Strengths

Research support: Cross-cultural studies consistently show differences in obedience levels that align with collectivist-individualist distinctions.
Real-world application: Helps explain why some societies might be more vulnerable to authoritarian leadership.
Comprehensive: Considers how multiple aspects of culture (family structure, education, religion) work together to influence obedience.

❌ Limitations

Oversimplification: Categorising entire countries as "collectivist" or "individualist" ignores significant within-culture variations.
Methodological issues: Many cross-cultural studies use different procedures, making direct comparisons difficult.
Cultural bias: Western researchers may interpret findings through their own cultural lens.
Changing cultures: Globalisation means cultures are becoming more mixed, blurring traditional distinctions.

Cultural Change and Obedience

Cultures aren't static - they evolve over time. Research suggests that obedience to authority has generally decreased in Western societies since Milgram's original studies in the 1960s. This may reflect cultural shifts towards greater individualism, increased emphasis on human rights and greater awareness of historical abuses of authority.

A 2009 replication of Milgram's study by Jerry Burger found significantly lower obedience rates than the original study, suggesting that cultural attitudes toward authority in the US had changed over time.

Key Takeaways

Culture significantly influences how people respond to authority figures.
Collectivist cultures generally show higher levels of obedience than individualist cultures.
Hofstede's cultural dimensions, particularly power distance and individualism-collectivism, help explain cross-cultural differences in obedience.
Cultural explanations provide valuable insights but shouldn't be oversimplified - there's significant variation within cultures too.
Cultures change over time, potentially affecting obedience levels within societies.

Exam Tip

When discussing culture and obedience in your exam, make sure to:

Define collectivist and individualist cultures clearly
Use specific examples from research studies
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of cultural explanations
Consider how cultural factors interact with other influences on obedience (like personality or situation)

🧠 Test Your Knowledge!