PSYCH 280 Exam 2 Lecture 17

Changes in behavior in response to direct commands from an authory figure

62%

Study was all male..would woman be obedient too?
Found identical results…men and women tended to shock confederate to the end about 2/3 of time

HS teacher acted like he knew what he was doing, and wore white lab coat..the more legitmate, more obedient…also game onto Yale’s campus for this
Did it again in rundown building in Connecticut..in this building, only 48% went all the way to end
They did random assignment experiment too…looked like just random person..only 20% went to end


Wearing uniform also mattered..uniforms increase

Manipulation of who takes responsibility…if experimenter says it, obedience goes up
Solid combination if person in uniform saying this

He cannot see the person he is hurting, just experimenter (social impact theory lists 3 factors of influence…this is relevant to immediacy)
Person influencing me to hurt someone is closer to me than person telling me to stop shocking them
If just calling over phone…goes down to 20%

What if can see person huring..goes down! Easier to hurt them if further away
If brought victim into same room, only 40% went all way

What if had other people with you that were modeling disobedience..refused to keep shocking..Asch did this too…two other teachers actually confederates..one stopped at 150, other at 210..only 10% went to end

People are also capable of defiance and capable of resisting social influence…and where you fall on the spectrum might be due more to the situation than characteristics
Some people tried to disobey but weren't really sure how to

Even in a relatively independent culture, there is value placed on respecting authority/obedience..socialized to follow what person in charge says we should do

Commitment and consistency!
Nobody is asked first to shock with lethal amount (first thing is 15 volts, and everybody does this)..gradually increases
If agreed at 15, 30 is probably okay..not much different

The earlier participants resisted…
If the earlier did it, more likely that later people stopped shocking
Why?
Reactance
If someone trying to influence you so strongly that control is gone, you react the opposite way..earlier you resist, the earlier you start to experience reactance
Seek consistency with disobedience, not obedience
The longer you wait to no question what you’re doing, you will seek consistency in shocks..but if start questining earlier, better chance you will stop obeying earlier based on consistency

Take responsibility
If feel responsible for actions, less likely..remind yourself!
Look for/provide models
Support others who disobey/seek support from group if you wish to disobey
Resist early: question authority
Learn about Milgram!