Social discussion 5

The Milgram study, by today’s standards, is considered an unethical research experiment. However, it is still being used as one of the classical experiments describing obedience.

• Search the Internet to find another research study (not one from the textbook) explaining similar principles as the Milgram’s study.
• Compare and contrast the study you found with the Milgram study.

Justify your answers with appropriate reasoning and research from your text and course readings. To support your work, make sure to utilize your course and text readings. When asked, utilize outside sources. As in all assignments make sure to cite your sources in your work and provide a reference for that citation utilizing APA format.

Textbook

Myers, D. G., & Jean M. Twenge. (2022). . McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN: 9781266580468.

Course reading 1

Conformity and Obedience

This week, you will analyze the dynamics of conformity and obedience and how they influence individual behavior. In your everyday life, you conform to various rules and standards. One of the best examples is driving a car. You conform and obey traffic laws without conscious consideration of why you do so. There are times, though, when conformity and obedience may not be in the best interest of an individual. Even in such situations individuals conform to rules and standards under pressure from others. This week, you will examine the reasons why individuals may be obedient under the pressure from others; and therefore conform.

Myers (2008) defines compliance as “conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing” (p. 188). According to this definition, individuals who comply with the driving rules secretly disagree with those rules. They believe they should be allowed to drive as fast or as slow as they want and disregard stop lights whenever preferred. Compliance can be measured only through the observance of being compliant (or noncompliant). Asking people about their attitudes about a rule does not necessarily coincide with their actual compliance to the rule. Therefore, a better definition for compliance is to focus on the act rather than the desires behind the act.

Your experiences are categorized in a manner that allow you to function effectively. For instance, if you have been driving for several years you may have noticed you dont need to pay attention to the rules. You automatically turn on your signal light when taking a turn while completely focusing on the activity of driving.

The question is, “Why am I compliant?” Let’s discuss compliance and conformity at the macro level to find an answer to this question.

Myers, D. (2008). Social psychology (9th ed). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Course reading 2

Understanding Conformity and Obedience

Myers (2008) defines culture as “the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next” (p. 156). According to this definition, conformity and compliance are part of what defines a culture. You can expand Myers’ (2008) definition by stating that a culture is a large group of people who conform to an enduring set of behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions. Complying with the cultural traditions is reflected in how you are dressed, the food you eat, the ceremonies you participate in, and even your attitudes and beliefs.

Are conformity, compliance, and obedience part of what you accept in your everyday lives because of your conditioned response to life-long training?

One way to analyze this question is by reevaluating the Milgram obedience experiment mentioned in Myers (2008). The original experiment occurred in the early 1960s. However, it was replicated several times after that, producing similar results (Burger, 2009).

Question: Besides the ethical issues regarding the experiment, what does the experiment tell you about the underlying nature of compliance and obedience?

Experts Opinion:

The experiment may suggest conformity to social norms and obedience to those who seem to be in authority as more than a generational or even a cultural norm. Your seemingly instinctual nature to conform may stem from conforming to authority from the moment of your birth. As children, you are put on a schedule designating the time for you to get up, to go to bed, to play, and to eat. Children look to their parents (caregivers) as the primary authority figures in their lives. This significantly ingrained learned set of behaviors seems to set the stage for accepting conformity.

Next, lets discuss conformity and obedience on a personal level.

Burger, J. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today? American Psychologist, 64(1), 111.

Myers, D. (2008). Social psychology (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Course reading 3

Conformity and Obedience on a Personal Level

There is an old adage “I just can’t say no.” Many of you, especially at your workplace, are challenged with saying no to a request. Why is it so? One explanation could be that conforming to a set of rules or being obedient is reinforcing. However, the definition of reinforcement is something that is based on a behavior that increases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again. So how is conformity or obedience reinforcing?

Consider a situation where the mother of a child (Johnny) wants him to clean his room, which is strewn with clothes and toys from one end to the other. The mother approaches Johnny and tells him to clean his room. Johnny agrees to his mother’s request, but after a few minutes decides to go and play video games. An hour or two later, the mother approaches Johnny again and asks him why he didn’t clean his room. In reply, Johnny said he liked his room the way it was. Johnny’s mother gives him a long sad look of disappointment. Later, realizing his mother’s disappointment, Johnny decides to clean his room to please her. His mother praises him for doing a great job and gives him a reward of juice and carrot sticks (his favorite).

As a child, many of you learn from the consequences of your actions, be it rewards or punishments. For example, Johnny’s mother could have taken away his video game for not cleaning his room. Johnny was reinforced for pleasing his mother because it likely had an intrinsic (a good feeling) reward and also an extrinsic (juice and carrot sticks) reward. Complying with his mother’s request or, in other words, conforming to her standards and being obedient results in a consequence that reinforces his behavior.