Obedience without orders: Expanding social psychology’s conception of ‘obedience’

Research suggests that overall rates of conformity may have reduced since the time of Asch’s research. Furthermore, efforts to replicate Asch’s study have made it clear that many factors determine how likely it is that someone will demonstrate conformity to the group. These factors include the participant’s age, gender, and socio-cultural background (Bond & Smith, 1996; Larsen, 1990; Walker & Andrade, 1996). An example of informational social influence may be what to do in an emergency situation. Imagine that you are in a movie theater watching a film and what seems to be smoke comes in the theater from under the emergency exit door.

1. When you are uncertain you will tend to look at the behavior of others in the theater.
2. Social identity theory suggests that individuals obey authority figures to retain a positive sense of self.
3. The perceived authority of Professor Milgram rested on his authority as a professor at an elite institution, the fact that it was his experiment and the status of science.
4. Children are taught to comply with rules and authority figures in the family unit, educational institutions, and the workplace.

Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment is one of the most well-known experiments in psychology. In this experiment, participants were asked to administer electric shocks to another participant, who was, in reality, part of the experiment. The participants were told to administer the shocks every time the other participant made a mistake while completing a task. The other obedience psychology definition participant was not actually receiving shocks, but the participants believed they were. Social identity theory suggests that individuals obey authority figures to retain a positive sense of self. When an individual identifies strongly with a group or organization, they may obey the commands of the authority figure to maintain a positive sense of identity with that group.

In This Article Expand or collapse the “in this article” section Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience

The experiment intended to last for two weeks but was terminated after six days due to the psychological effects it had on the participants. In this article, we will examine what obedience is, explore the psychological definition of obedience, discuss theories related to obedience, and examine experiments that shed light on obedience. Despite the problems with Milgram’s original study, some researchers have been able to replicate his findings. In 2009, researchers partially replicated Milgram’s study, but with a top shock of 150 volts.

Experimental studies

His obedience to authority study began when he ran an advertisement for male volunteers and brought them to his campus laboratory. He instructed the forty participants to administer painful electric shocks to a fellow human being if a wrong answer was given. The finding that conformity is more likely to occur when responses are public than when they are private is the reason government elections require voting in secret, so we are not coerced by others. The Asch effect can be easily seen in children when they have to publicly vote for something. For example, if the teacher asks whether the children would rather have extra recess, no homework, or candy, once a few children vote, the rest will comply and go with the majority.

Where obedience relies on direct orders, the perceived status and power of the person giving those orders, conformity is more about fitting in with the group. People obey because they are commanded to, but conform because they want to gain approval from their peers. Table 12.2 summarizes the types of social influence you have learned about in this chapter.

The study found that obedience rates were only slightly lower than those originally reported by Milgram. The Asch effect is the influence of the group majority on an individual’s judgment. When the Milgram experimenters were interviewing potential volunteers, the participant selection process itself revealed several factors that affected obedience, outside of the actual experiment.

Another way in which a group presence can affect our performance is social loafing. Social loafing is the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group.

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 gave (or believed they gave) the learners shocks, which increased in 15-volt increments, all the way up to 450 volts. The participants did not know that the learners were confederates and that the confederates did not actually receive shocks. The participants believed they gave the learners shocks, which increased in 15-volt increments, all the way up to 450 volts. Psychologists have typically defined obedience as a form of social influence elicited in response to direct orders from an authority figure.

Similarly, Cialdini 2001 would be useful for not only students but also those with nonacademic backgrounds who have an interest in social influence. In contrast, Cialdini and Griskevicius 2010 and Cialdini and Trost 1998 are geared more toward graduate students and researchers. Milgram’s controversial experiments generated a great deal of interest in the psychology of obedience. During the early 1970s, social psychologist Philip Zimbardo staged an exploration into the study of prisoners and prison life. While 65% of the participants followed orders, it is essential to note that the statistics only apply to one study variation.

Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment

In contrast, conformity refers to when people adjust their behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and/or beliefs to fit to a group norm. Conformity is generally regarded as a passive form of influence in that members of the group do not necessarily actively attempt to influence others. People merely observe the actions of group members and adjust their behaviors and/or views accordingly.

While they are somewhat considered celebrities in the psychological world and ubiquitous in textbooks, to this day, the ethics of the two studies are debated. Weiner said this internal conflict caused him great stress, but ultimately, he did not deliver the shocks that featured higher voltage. Mr. Wiener also had the courage to confront Professor Milgram afterward and inform him that volunteers should have been prescreened. To clarify how different ethical standards were in 1961, many of the faculty members saw no problem with the experiment, and in fact, only one submitted a complaint. Obedience can impact behavior in organizations by promoting conformity, influencing moral decision making, and potentially leading to unethical behavior and scandals.