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Can you teach a flea to do a trick? In a renaissance Victorian flea circus, a ringmaster instructed fleas to pull carriages, walk over tightropes and kick balls. It is reported that 85% of the time, they did what they were told. But why would they obey the command? Would they show obedience?
In this situation, the obedience of the command is a trick played on the audience – these fleas aren't following instructions at all; they are strapped into tiny wire harnesses, which limit their natural movements and create the illusion of obedience.
What then determines obedience? Even getting a dog to carry out commands is not an easy task. In one experiment, dogs did not obey commands from owners who did not consistently give them attention, compared to attentive owners. Furthermore, some raccoons can put coins into a slot for reward; however, eventually, they will ignore rewards to do what comes naturally to them.
It is interesting to consider factors that may determine whether a human will or won't display a specific behaviour in response to a command or instructions. Is it just part of some peoples' nature, or do specific circumstances determine whether people will obey?
To be able to answer these questions, let us first cover the basics: the definition of obedience, different types of obedience, and the difference between conformity and obedience. We will also look at several explanations and theories.
In psychology, obedience is a specific type of social influence, where people are explicitly told what to do. Often, people merely go along or comply with a command from an authority figure who can punish them if the command is disobeyed. This kind of authority figure is called a legitimate authority.
Although they're both types of social influence, conformity doesn't require instruction, but obedience does. When you clean your room on your own accord because you know your parents expect you to keep a room tidy, that is conformity. However, if you clean your room because you're being told to do it, that is obedience.
Obedience is essential for the orderly functioning of society. Obeying the directions of first responders in an emergency can mean the difference between survival and safety or grave danger. Cooperating with first responders or obeying laws is considered constructive obedience, meaning it benefits the social group or the individual.
Obedience can be destructive too. If police shoot innocent people or if people obey discriminatory laws, this would be an example of destructive obedience, meaning it produces negative outcomes for the individual or the social group.
One of the most famous experiments in psychology is Stanley Milgram's shock experiment. In this study, participants were instructed to shock another person to dangerous levels of voltage, and when the participants refused, they were prompted to continue with increasing levels of urgency. 63% of study subjects complied, showing that people will be obedient given the right circumstances.
Milgram's first study investigated destructive obedience in general. He continued to investigate many variations and found variables such as location, uniforms, and proximity to affect obedience.
Milgram went on to develop his Agency Theory which offers further explanations as to why people obey.
If someone believes an authority figure will 'take the fall' for the consequences of their actions, agency theory suggests a person is more likely to obey that authority figure.
Agency theory focuses specifically on personal responsibility and how that will affect a person's decision making in a social setting. There are two major states:
The person giving the orders cannot be a random person with no legitimate authority. Those following orders have to truly believe the authority figure is qualified to direct them and is willing to take full responsibility for others actions, according to Milgram. When it was suggested that the participants would actually be taking responsibility, and not the authority figure as was thought, they would refuse to obey and continue in Milgram's subsequent investigations.
Adorno established the idea that personality is more of a factor in obedience than social setting (the participant's environment), and is something that begins in early childhood. Strict parenting styles and dependence on obedience for love and affection from parents taught children a particular style of behaviour.
By studying around 2000 American, white, middle-class families' attitudes to fascist beliefs and behaviours, he investigated authoritarian personalities using the F-scale. High scores on the F-scale usually indicated that participants associated more with 'strong' people and were hostile to 'weak' people.
Those who had an authoritarian personality were more likely to be willing to obey those who they viewed as higher or more authoritarian than them but were more openly hostile to those they regarded as beneath them.
Obedience is a type of social influence, where an authority figure explicitly tells an individual how to behave.
Both conformity and obedience refer to a person doing what is contrary to their own values. In contrast to conformity, obedience is when explicit instruction is given by an authority figure to an individual. Conformity refers to both implicit and explicit pressures that a group puts on an individual.
Constructive obedience helps the smooth operation and fast response within many large hierarchical organisations in society such as the military, police, and health services. Obeying laws is a prerequisite for a lawful and orderly society. Destructive obedience is relevant because it’s often used as a defense for human rights abuses.
In 1963 Milgram did a study that tested the obedience of participants to an authority figure, where they were instructed to shock another person to dangerous levels. Most study subjects did so, showing that people will do what others tell them, given the right circumstances.
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