Factors Influencing Obedience to Authority
Concept Map
Exploring the dynamics of obedience, this content delves into Stanley Milgram's 1963 experiment and the agentic state theory, revealing how authority and situational factors like uniforms affect compliance. Leonard Bickman's 1974 study further investigates the role of uniforms and surveillance in eliciting obedience, highlighting the complexity of human behavior in social contexts.
Summary
Outline
Exploring the Dynamics of Obedience: Milgram's Experiment and Agentic State Theory
Stanley Milgram's landmark study in 1963 was a psychological inquiry into obedience to authority, inspired by the defense of Nazi war criminals who claimed they were 'just following orders.' Milgram's experiment involved participants believing they were administering electric shocks to another person under the instruction of an authority figure. The results were startling: all participants complied to some degree, and a significant majority (65%) administered the experiment's maximum voltage. Milgram theorized the agentic state to explain this phenomenon, where individuals enter a mental state that allows them to follow orders without feeling personal responsibility, effectively acting as agents of the authority figure.Factors Influencing Obedience: Insights from Milgram's Study
Milgram's research uncovered various situational factors that can modulate obedience, such as the perceived legitimacy of the authority figure, often symbolized by a uniform; cultural norms that reinforce obedience to hierarchy; the physical and psychological proximity to the 'victim,' which can amplify feelings of personal accountability; and the setting's prestige, which can bolster the authority's perceived legitimacy. Experiments showed that obedience rates varied with these factors, for example, decreasing when the authority figure wore ordinary clothes or when the setting was less formal. These findings illustrate that obedience is not solely a trait of the individual but is heavily influenced by the surrounding circumstances.The Role of Uniforms in Authority: Bickman's 1974 Study
Leonard Bickman expanded on the concept of situational influence on obedience in his 1974 study, which examined the effect of uniforms on compliance. In a field experiment in Brooklyn, New York, Bickman had actors dress as a security guard, a milkman, or a civilian and issue commands to passersby. The study found that people were significantly more likely to obey the actor dressed as a security guard, reinforcing the idea that uniforms that signify authority can increase compliance.Investigating Obedience Through Scenarios and Surveillance
Bickman's research included various instructions, such as asking pedestrians to pick up a paper bag, give a dime to someone, or stand on the other side of a bus stop. The guard uniform consistently elicited higher obedience rates. Bickman also explored the role of surveillance by having the authority figure either remain in sight or leave after giving the command. The level of obedience was largely unaffected by the presence of the authority figure, suggesting that the symbolic power of the uniform was the dominant factor in eliciting obedience.Predicted Versus Actual Obedience: A Study of Perceptions
In a related study, Bickman asked female college students to predict their obedience in the scenarios used in his field experiments. The students did not regard the guard as a significantly more legitimate authority figure and believed they would not be swayed by the uniform. However, their predictions did not match the actual behavior observed in the field, indicating a gap between self-perceived and actual obedience, which underscores the complexity of human behavior in social contexts.Critical Assessment of Bickman's Obedience Research
While Bickman's study boasts high ecological validity due to its naturalistic setting, it also has limitations, including the challenge of controlling for extraneous variables and questions about the generalizability of the findings across different cultures or in response to female authority figures. Ethical considerations are also pertinent, as the unwitting participants were not given informed consent or debriefed post-experiment, raising concerns about the manipulation involved. Nevertheless, Bickman's work provides important empirical evidence on the situational factors that can influence obedience, complementing and extending Milgram's seminal research.
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Milgram's Landmark Study
Background and Purpose
Stanley Milgram's 1963 study aimed to investigate obedience to authority in response to the defense of Nazi war criminals
Experiment Design and Results
Agentic State Theory
Milgram's theory of the agentic state explains how individuals can follow orders without feeling personal responsibility
Situational Factors
Milgram's research uncovered various situational factors that can influence obedience, such as the perceived legitimacy of the authority figure and the physical and psychological proximity to the victim
Implications and Criticisms
Milgram's study sparked discussions about the role of situational factors in obedience and raised ethical concerns about the manipulation of participants
Bickman's Study on Uniforms and Obedience
Background and Purpose
Leonard Bickman's 1974 study aimed to examine the effect of uniforms on compliance
Experiment Design and Results
Role of Uniforms in Increasing Compliance
Bickman's study found that people were more likely to obey an authority figure dressed in a security guard uniform
Influence of Surveillance
Bickman's study showed that the presence of an authority figure did not significantly affect obedience, highlighting the symbolic power of uniforms
Gender Differences and Self-Perception
Bickman's study revealed a gap between self-perceived and actual obedience, particularly in response to female authority figures
Limitations and Ethical Considerations
Ecological Validity and Generalizability
Bickman's study has high ecological validity but may not be generalizable to different cultures or responses to female authority figures
Controlling for Extraneous Variables
Bickman's study faced challenges in controlling for extraneous variables that may have influenced obedience
Ethical Concerns
Bickman's study raised ethical concerns about the lack of informed consent and debriefing for participants
Factors Influencing Obedience to Authority
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Milgram Experiment Setup
Participants thought they were giving shocks to a person, instructed by an authority figure.
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Milgram Experiment Results
All participants obeyed to some extent; 65% gave maximum voltage shocks.
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Agentic State Theory
Theory where individuals obey orders without personal responsibility, acting as authority's agents.
