Explanations for Obedience

One of the pivotal moments in the development of the concept of obedience can be attributed to the groundbreaking work of social psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. The concept of obedience has a rich historical background in the field of psychology. It involves recognizing the authority of the person giving the directives and can have both positive and negative consequences depending on how it is applied.

Psychological Factors: The Invisible Strings of Compliance

We’ve seen how obedience is a fundamental aspect of human behavior, shaped by a complex interplay of social, cultural, and psychological factors. Milgram’s work revealed the powerful influence of perceived authority and the ease with which ordinary people could be led to commit potentially harmful acts. It involves following direct orders or commands from an authority figure, often despite personal reservations or ethical qualms. Obedience isn’t the same as conformity or compliance, although they’re all kissing cousins in the family of social influence. These were not cruel people but they followed the experimenter’s instructions to administer what they believed to be excruciating if not dangerous electric shocks to an innocent person. No one was hurt or injured during this study, the research participant receiving the electric shocks was a confederate – part of the study – but the actual research participants did not know this.

Factors of obedience

Promoting ethical behavior in the face of authority pressure requires a multifaceted approach. Resistance to authority can also stem from a strong sense of personal identity and values. When people are taught to question authority, to seek evidence, and to think independently, they’re better equipped to make ethical decisions in the face of pressure to conform.

When individuals change their behavior to go along with the group even if they do not agree with the group These variations show that when the humanity of the person being shocked was increased, obedience decreased. Several variations of the original Milgram experiment were conducted to test the boundaries of obedience. In response to a string of incorrect answers from the learners, the participants obediently and repeatedly shocked them. The participants were told to shock the learners if they gave a wrong answer to a test item—that the shock would help them to learn. The participants were told that they were to teach other students (learners) correct answers to a series of test items.

In situations where multiple people are present, individuals are less likely to take action or help others in need. This can result in a psychological state where individuals no longer see themselves as accountable for the consequences of their behavior. Obedience to legitimate authority facilitates social order and cooperation. Those at the top have more influence and are more likely to be obeyed. Power dynamics and social hierarchies play a crucial role in obedience as well. There’s an energy that sweeps through the masses, a collective mood that can influence individual behavior.

Overall, these modifications illustrate that reducing the perceived authority of the experimenter and forcing participants to confront the harm they may inflict can significantly lower obedience rates. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in uncertain or new environments, where individuals look to authority figures for guidance on appropriate behavior. Obedience is a behavioral change that occurs in response to the demands of an authority figure, often seen in situations where norms are defined by those in power. These findings underscore the influence of authority perception on behavior and the ethical implications of obedience in social contexts.

• Although we may be influenced by the people around us more than we recognize, whether we conform to the norm is up to us but sometimes decisions about how to act are not so easy.
• Submission to the requirements of an authority.
• Understanding obedience is crucial, especially in today’s complex social landscape.
• Since the line judgment task was unambiguous, participants did not need to rely on the group for information.
• Lastly, the separation of the learner from the experimenter does not significantly affect obedience rates.
• The question of why people obey others, its impact on society, and the factors that impact obedience are essential in understanding social behavior and social influence.

The Hofling hospital experiment

Others reported amplifying their behaviors to help give the experimenters the results they were looking for. In addition to the long-noted ethical problems with the study, a more recent analysis of the study’s methods has revealed serious issues with the experiment’s design, methods, procedures, and authenticity. During the early 1970s, social psychologist Philip Zimbardo staged an exploration into the study of prisoners and prison life. The study found that obedience rates were only slightly lower than those originally reported by Milgram. He soon discovered, however, that many people are surprisingly obedient to authority.

In addition to the above studies, additional research using participants from different cultures (including Spain, Australia, and Jordan) also found participants to be obedient. They also found that participants would either stop the experiment at the first sign of the learner’s pleas or would continue until the end of the experiment (called “the foot in the door scenario”). He also found that the more the experimenter prodded the participant to continue, the more likely they were to stop the experiment.The Utrecht University study also replicated Milgram’s results. Other studies showed that the sense of agency, as measured through the implicit task of time perception, was reduced in the coerced compared to the free-choice condition, suggesting that the sense of agency diminishes when individuals obey orders compared to acting freely.

It shows how authority figures can influence people’s actions and decisions. The standard definition of obedience in psychology is as a form of social influence elicited in response to a direct order or command. Zimbardo’s prison experiment highlighted the role of situational factors in shaping behavior, showing how individuals can conform to social roles and engage in abusive behaviors.

How would you have behaved if you were a participant in Asch’s study? Since the line judgment task was unambiguous, participants did not need to rely on the group for information. Research shows that the size of the majority, the presence of another dissenter, and the public or relatively private nature of responses are key influences on conformity. What factors make a person more likely to yield to group pressure?

Power Causes Brain Damage: The Neurological Impact of Authority

If the learner made a mistake, the teacher was instructed to administer electric shocks using a shock box, which was designed to appear authentic but was actually harmless. A pivotal exploration of obedience was conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s, inspired by the Nazi trials post-World War II, where many perpetrators claimed they were merely following orders. Whistleblowing mechanisms, ombudsman programs, and independent ethics committees can provide channels for employees to raise concerns about unethical behavior without fear of retaliation.

Unlike obedience, which is a response to explicit instructions, conformity is often a tacit adaptation to social pressures. Milgram’s experiments on obedience to authority had a profound impact on the field. Pioneering experiments by researchers such as Stanley Milgram shed light on the extent to which individuals are willing to obey authoritative commands, even at the expense of their own moral judgments. These studies also underscore the importance of protecting participants in psychological research.

Another consequence of blind obedience is the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility. But the dark side of obedience is equally potent. On the other, it can lead to moral disengagement and harmful actions that individuals might never consider on their own. On one hand, it’s the glue that holds societies together, enabling cooperation on a massive scale.

Q: What is the Milgram experiment?

Following the Utrecht studies, another study used the stress remarks method to see how long participants would obey authority. Milgram attempted to explain how ordinary people were capable obedience psychology definition of performing potentially lethal acts against other human beings by suggesting that participants may have entered into an agentic state, where they allowed the authority figure to take responsibility for their own actions. Obedience is a form of social influence that involves acting on the orders of an authority figure. This less prestigious setting weakened the authority figure’s legitimacy, making participants less willing to comply with harmful orders. Whether it is due to normative or informational social influence, groups have power to influence individuals.

In the context of obedience, several key terms such as conformity, compliance, and authority warrant further exploration to fully grasp their interconnectedness within social psychology. It highlights the psychological concept of obedience and how hierarchical social structures can have a powerful influence on individuals. Obedience in psychology refers to the act of following instructions or obeying commands from an authority figure or conforming to societal norms.

• A participant assigned the role of agent must either freely decide or receive orders from the experimenter to deliver or withhold a mildly painful electric shock to another participant (the “victim”) in exchange for €0.05.
• The process by which individuals change their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as a result of real or imagined pressure from others.
• In the Stanford Prison Experiment, college age students were put into a pseudo prison environment in order to study the impacts of “social forces” on participants behavior.
• Participants in the study reportedly faked their responses to leave early.
• The experiments underscored the ethical and psychological implications of obedience, particularly in understanding historical events like the Holocaust.
• Despite these concerns, the study provided valuable insights into human behavior and the influence of authority, prompting the development of stricter ethical guidelines in research.
• Participants were told to make all of the instructed stress remarks to the confederate that ultimately made him fail in the experimental condition, but in the control condition they were not told to make stressful remarks.

In psychology, obedience refers to a person’s willingness to comply with demands from others, usually in a position of authority. Obedience includes considering social context, the authority and power of others, and personal morals and values. A variety of individual and social factors can impact the likelihood that a person will obey a leader. Surprisingly, Milgram found that 65% of participants were willing to deliver the maximum level of shocks on the experimenter’s orders.