Active learning ideas
Obedience is a specific form of social influence where an individual follows a direct order from an authority figure. This topic focuses on Stanley Milgram's controversial research and his 'Agency Theory,' which explains how people can shift from an autonomous state (taking responsibility) to an agentic state (acting as an agent for someone else).
Activity 01
Students act out a workplace scenario where a manager gives an unethical order. They must role-play the transition from an autonomous state to an agentic state, discussing how it felt to 'just follow orders.'
What is the agentic state?
Activity 02
Divide the class into two teams: one defending Milgram's study for its scientific value and the other condemning it for the psychological harm caused to participants. They must use the BPS guidelines to support their arguments.
How did Milgram test obedience to authority?
Activity 03
Stations represent Milgram's variations: 'Change of Location,' 'Proximity of Teacher,' and 'Uniform.' Students must predict how obedience levels changed in each variation and then check the actual results.
How do situational factors increase obedience?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Milgram's participants were 'evil' or 'cruel' people.
Milgram's study showed that ordinary people are capable of extreme actions under the right situational pressures. A collaborative investigation into the 'banality of evil' helps students focus on the situation rather than the person.
Obedience and conformity are the same thing.
Conformity is following a group majority, while obedience is following a direct order from an authority. A Venn diagram activity can help students map out the similarities and differences between these two types of influence.
Methods used in this brief
Conformity and Dispositional Factors
Students will explore why people conform to group pressures, referencing Asch's classic research. They will evaluate how dispositional factors like self-esteem influence conformity.
8 methodologies
Prosocial Behaviour and Crowd Psychology
Students will analyse bystander intervention and the factors that encourage or inhibit prosocial behaviour. They will also explore deindividuation and how behaviour changes within a crowd.
8 methodologies