Obedience » Review and Practice - Obedience

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Review key studies on obedience including Milgram's experiments
Understand factors affecting obedience (situational and dispositional)
Analyse explanations for obedience
Apply knowledge to real-world scenarios
Practice exam-style questions on obedience

Review of Obedience

Obedience is a form of social influence where someone follows direct orders from an authority figure. Unlike conformity, which involves changing behaviour to fit in with a group, obedience involves following commands from someone with perceived authority.

Key Definitions:

Obedience: Following direct orders or commands from someone in a position of authority.
Authority figure: Someone perceived to have legitimate power or control in a situation.
Agentic state: When a person sees themselves as an agent carrying out another person's wishes rather than being responsible for their actions.

Milgram's Obedience Study (1963)

Stanley Milgram conducted his famous obedience experiments at Yale University to understand why ordinary people might commit atrocities if ordered to do so by authority figures.

Milgram's Experiment: Key Details

Aim: To investigate how far people would go in obeying an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.

Method: 40 male participants were told they were taking part in a study on learning and memory. They were assigned the role of 'teacher' and had to administer electric shocks to a 'learner' (who was actually an actor) when they gave incorrect answers. The shocks increased in 15-volt increments up to 450 volts (labelled "Danger: Severe Shock" and "XXX").

Results: 65% of participants continued to the maximum 450 volts despite the learner's screams of pain and eventual silence.

Conclusion: Ordinary people can commit harmful acts when ordered to do so by an authority figure.

💡 Variations of Milgram's Study

Milgram conducted several variations of his original experiment to identify factors that influenced obedience levels:

Location: Obedience dropped to 47.5% when conducted in a rundown office rather than Yale University.
Proximity: Obedience decreased to 40% when the learner was in the same room.
Touch-proximity: Obedience fell to 30% when teachers had to force the learner's hand onto a shock plate.
Social support: Obedience dropped to 10% when two other 'teachers' (confederates) refused to continue.

⚠️ Ethical Issues

Milgram's study raised serious ethical concerns:

Participants experienced extreme stress and anxiety
They were deceived about the true purpose of the study
No proper informed consent was obtained
Participants were pressured to continue against their will
Potential psychological harm from learning they were capable of such behaviour

Factors Affecting Obedience

🏫 Situational Factors

Legitimate authority (uniforms, titles)
Location (prestigious settings)
Gradual commitment (small steps)
Buffers (distance from victim)
Social support (others' behaviour)

👤 Dispositional Factors

Authoritarian personality
Locus of control (internal vs external)
Personal values and morals
Previous experiences with authority
Cultural background

📄 Research Evidence

Hofling et al. (1966): 21/22 nurses obeyed an unknown doctor's phone order
Bickman (1974): People more likely to obey someone in a guard's uniform
Burger (2009): Modern replication found similar obedience rates to Milgram

Explanations for Obedience

Agency Theory (Milgram)

Milgram proposed that people enter an 'agentic state' when following orders, where they see themselves as agents of another person's will rather than responsible for their actions.

Key components:

Agentic shift: Moving from autonomous state (making own decisions) to agentic state (following orders)
Binding factors: Elements that keep people in the agentic state (e.g., anxiety about disobeying, feeling committed)
Socialisation: We're taught from childhood to obey authority figures

Evaluation:

Strength: Explains why people often deny responsibility ("I was just following orders")
Weakness: Doesn't fully explain individual differences in obedience levels
Weakness: Difficult to test scientifically whether someone is truly in an 'agentic state'

Legitimacy of Authority

People are more likely to obey those they perceive as having legitimate authority. This perception can come from:

Formal positions (doctor, teacher, police officer)
Symbols of authority (uniforms, titles, badges)
Expertise or specialist knowledge
Institutional backing (universities, government)

Evidence: Bickman's (1974) study found that 92% of participants obeyed a man in a guard's uniform compared to only 42% who obeyed someone in civilian clothes.

Case Study Focus: The Hofling Hospital Experiment (1966)

This real-world study investigated obedience in a natural setting:

22 nurses received phone calls from an unknown "Dr. Smith" asking them to administer 20mg of a drug called "Astroten" to a patient
The medication was unauthorised, the dose was twice the maximum stated on the bottle and hospital policy forbade taking medication orders by phone
21 out of 22 nurses (95%) were prepared to administer the drug before being stopped
This demonstrates how powerful obedience to perceived authority can be in real-world settings
The study highlights the dangers of blind obedience in professional contexts

Real-World Applications

👮 Understanding Destructive Obedience

Research on obedience helps us understand historical atrocities:

Holocaust and Nazi war crimes ("following orders")
My Lai massacre during Vietnam War
Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal
Shows how ordinary people can commit harmful acts under authority

💡 Preventing Harmful Obedience

Knowledge of obedience research can help prevent harmful compliance:

Teaching critical thinking and questioning authority
Establishing clear ethical guidelines in organisations
Creating systems where individuals can report concerns safely
Encouraging personal responsibility for actions
Promoting ethical leadership models

Exam Practice Tips

When answering exam questions on obedience:

Define obedience clearly and distinguish it from conformity
Describe studies with specific details (sample size, procedure, results)
Evaluate research by discussing strengths and weaknesses
Consider ethical issues in obedience research
Apply knowledge to real-world scenarios
Compare explanations for obedience and assess their validity

Sample Exam Question

Question: "Describe and evaluate Milgram's research on obedience." (8 marks)

Approach:

Briefly outline the aim and procedure (2 marks)
State key findings with specific statistics (2 marks)
Evaluate strengths (e.g., controlled variables, replicability) (2 marks)
Evaluate weaknesses (e.g., ethical issues, artificial setting) (2 marks)

Summary: Key Points to Remember

Obedience is following direct orders from an authority figure
Milgram found 65% of participants would administer potentially lethal shocks when ordered
Factors affecting obedience include legitimate authority, location, proximity and social support
Agency theory suggests people enter an 'agentic state' where they see themselves as agents rather than responsible individuals
Understanding obedience helps explain historical atrocities and can help prevent harmful compliance
Real-world studies like Hofling's hospital experiment show obedience occurs in natural settings

🧠 Test Your Knowledge!