Gender Differences in Obedience Studies
Gender and Obedience
Milgram: Experiment 8
Milgram’s female variation = 65% identical
to males;
obedient women self-reported higher
levels of tension/nervousness during the
procedures than in 20 groups of obedient
men;
Milgram (1974) speculated that the
similarity between men’s and women’s
behaviour could be attributed to two
opposing tendencies.
On the one hand, women may have been
more empathic toward the learner’s
suffering, which would have led them to
end the procedure.
On the other hand, women may have had
a more difficult time asserting themselves
in the face of the pressure exerted by the
experimenter.
Blass (2000)
gender differences do surface
on occasion but Blass (1999)
found no evidence of a gender
difference in eight out of nine
replications of Milgram’s
studies.
Burger
Kilham and Mann
Study conducted in Australia
40% male and 16% female
Shanab and Yahya (1977)
Conducted in Jordan
school children
females were more
likely to show visible
signs of tension
than were males.
Ring, Wallston, and Corey (1970)
voice-feedback replication
using 57 female subjects.
main focus was the relative
effectiveness of different
debriefing methods
an important finding was that
91% of their subjects were
fully obedient, the highest
rate for a standard condition
reported in the obedience
literature.
Sheridan and King ( 1972
conducted a unique Milgram-type
study using a puppy as the
“learner.”
Even though the cute puppy was
visible to the subjects and
enough actual shock was
delivered to cause the puppy to
yelp and jump in pain, 100% of
the female subjects were fully
obedient, while only 54% of the
males were obedient.
Eagly (1978)
reviews gender differences in
“influenceability” showed that
the widely held assumption
about women being generally
more influenceable than men
was wrong.
She found no gender differences
in the majority of the studies
she reviewed.
A tendency for women to be
more susceptible to influence
than men showed up in only one
domain-the Asch-type (Asch,
1956) group-pressure
conformity situation, in which
34% of the studies found
women to be significantly more
conforming than men.
Research studies on gender differences in obedience reveal varying levels of obedience between men and women. While some studies show similarities in obedience levels, others suggest potential differences attributed to factors like empathy and assertiveness. Contradictory findings exist, with some studies indicating no significant gender variation while others demonstrate disparities in obedience rates between males and females.
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Presentation Transcript
Milgram: Experiment 8 Milgram s female variation = 65% identical to males; obedient women self-reported higher levels of tension/nervousness during the procedures than in 20 groups of obedient men; Milgram (1974) speculated that the similarity between men s and women s behaviour could be attributed to two opposing tendencies. On the one hand, women may have been more empathic toward the learner s suffering, which would have led them to end the procedure. On the other hand, women may have had a more difficult time asserting themselves in the face of the pressure exerted by the experimenter.
Blass (2000) gender differences do surface on occasion but Blass (1999) found no evidence of a gender difference in eight out of nine replications of Milgram s studies.
Kilham and Mann Study conducted in Australia 40% male and 16% female
Shanab and Yahya (1977) Conducted in Jordan school children females were more likely to show visible signs of tension than were males.
Ring, Wallston, and Corey (1970) voice-feedback replication using 57 female subjects. main focus was the relative effectiveness of different debriefing methods an important finding was that 91% of their subjects were fully obedient, the highest rate for a standard condition reported in the obedience literature.
Sheridan and King ( 1972 conducted a unique Milgram-type study using a puppy as the learner. Even though the cute puppy was visible to the subjects and enough actual shock was delivered to cause the puppy to yelp and jump in pain, 100% of the female subjects were fully obedient, while only 54% of the males were obedient.
Eagly (1978) reviews gender differences in influenceability showed that the widely held assumption about women being generally more influenceable than men was wrong. She found no gender differences in the majority of the studies she reviewed. A tendency for women to be more susceptible to influence than men showed up in only one domain-the Asch-type (Asch, 1956) group-pressure conformity situation, in which 34% of the studies found women to be significantly more conforming than men.
