The Causes of Resistance to Obedience

The Causes of Resistance to Obedience

Resistance to obedience is affected or influenced by many contributing

factors but can be defined as “The act of defying an order from an

authority figure despite pressures to obey. The same factors that

reduce obedience can be used to explain increased resistance, for

example the proximity of the victim.”

There are numerous ways in which people resist obedience which are

determined by changes in circumstances in which they deal with

authority. A situational factor has an influence on resistance to

obedience e.g. proximity to victim. When the learner is placed in the

same room the obedience levels drop to 40%. In Milgram’s study, he

moved the learner progressively closer to the teacher and as a result

obedience rates fell. This can suggest that the physical presence made

the teachers empathise more strongly with the learners suffering and

therefore made it harder to deny or ignore their reactions to the

situation. In connection with this, the proximity of authority, when

the experimenter is not visible to the participant and is using a

device such as a phone to give instructions this has an affect on the

obedience levels. E.g. In Milgram’s study, only 9 out of 40 P’s went

to maximum shock level. From the comparison of these two set of

results, it can be understood that people find it easier to resist in

the absence of direct surveillance by an authoritarian figure, or at

least in a laboratory setting.

Support for resistance contributes largely as a factor resistance

rates. It has been shown from Gamson’s experiment in 1982 which was

set out to study obedience in a natural situation, but en...

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...lly less obedient than those who

are not. Students are also more obedient than the general population.

A strong sense of moral responsibility will cause a different reaction

e.g. the minister of religion in Milgram’s experiment. A much more

confidant P would more easily stand against authority or would be used

to being in a position of power. These individual factors have been

recognized from transcripts of interviews with Milgrams P’s and from

cross-cultural replications.

In conclusion, with support, confidence, experience, expertise and

other varying aspects that reduce an amount of applied pressure to an

individual, a change in behaviour can be noticed when under strain

from a figure of authority. Having a clear sense of ones own moral

values and ones rights, can contribute to helping P’s resist to

obedience.