Social Psychology RE: Obedience to authority and explanation of why people obey

How have psychologists studied conformity and what have they found out about it?

Milgram

Electric shocks

18 variations

Teacher and learner

75 volts – 450 volts

Criticism –

1. Lacked experimental validity, as participants knew they weren’t giving real electric shocks and just carried on to see what the experiment was about.

However this has little substance. Post-experimental interviews were given where majority believed they were giving shocks.

2.  Carried out in laboratory = lack ecological validity.

Milgram set up a version of study in ‘real world’. Found slightly less obedience, but still enough to convince him that lab and real world experience was no different.

3. Unethical. Milgram accused of deception, failing to protect participants from harm, failing to secure informed consent, and not giving participants the right to withdraw.

Had to deceive participants or results would be bias. Not harmed just momentarily stressed. Had the right to withdraw – part of the experiment.

Results in initial study-

26/40 (62.5%) continued all the way up to 450 volts (total obedience)

Most people WILL obey orders that go against their conscience

Variation 10 -

Seedy offices in ‘Downtown’ New Haven

47.5% obedience

Variation 18 –

Two teachers

Naive teacher presumably sees the other teacher as being responsible/

90% obedience

Variation 13 –

The experimenter is dressed as an ordinary man

20% obedience

Other Studies:

Bickman (1974) -

Three male experimenters gave orders to 153 randomly selected pedestrians in Brooklyn, New York

Dressed in one of three ways

1.       A sports coat and tie

2.       A milkman’s uniform

3.       A guard’s uniform resembling that of a police officer

Found that participants were most likely to obey the experimenter dressed as a guard than as a milkman or civilian

Zimbardo, et al (1973) –

The ‘guards’ treated the ‘prisoners’ so bad that the experiment had to be terminated 8 days early.

Hoffling (1966)

Nurses

21/22 obeyed

Why do people obey authority figures?

 Milgram’s explanations –

1. Personal responsibility

2. The perception of legitimate authority

3. Socialisation

4. The-foot-in-the-door