Podcast Summary
Situational variables impact obedience significantly: Proximity, location, setting legitimacy, and uniform influence obedience rates, with obedience dropping in closer settings, lower legitimacy, and when the experimenter isn't in uniform.
Situational variables significantly impact obedience, as demonstrated in Milgram's experiments. Proximity and location played a crucial role, with obedience rates dropping when the teacher and learner were in the same room (40%), when the teacher touched the learner (30%), or when the experiment was conducted remotely (20.5%). The setting's legitimacy also influenced obedience, with rates higher in a prestigious university setting (65%) than in a rundown building (47.5%). Uniform was another powerful situational variable, with obedience falling to 20% when the experimenter wore ordinary clothes instead of a lab coat. Research supports the influence of uniform on obedience, with people twice as likely to obey a security guard over someone in a jacket and tie. Milgram's findings have been replicated across cultures, further validating the impact of situational variables on obedience.
Concerns over Milgram's obedience experiments' internal validity: The variations introduced in Milgram's obedience experiments might have raised suspicion among participants, casting doubt on the results' validity and generalizability
Key takeaway from the discussion on Milgram's obedience experiments is the concern over their internal validity. Orne and Holland pointed out that the variations introduced in the studies might have raised suspicion among participants due to the additional experimental manipulation. For instance, replacing the experimenter with a member of the public was so conspicuous that some participants might have caught on to the deception and acted accordingly. Consequently, it's uncertain whether the results were due to obedience or the participants' awareness of the experiment's true nature. Thus, the validity and generalizability of Milgram's findings remain a subject of debate.
