ocial

sychology

The MHRC encounter (Gamson, Fireman, and Rytina, 1982)---

The participants were recruited from a small Michigan town and paid $10.00 for two hours work. Subjects were told that legal decisions sometimes depend upon community standards and that MHRC sometimes collects evidence on existent standards. A "coordinator" administered a questionnaire that measured opinions on such topics as attitudes towards oil companies, employee's rights, and extramarital affairs. The subjects were then asked to sign a "participation agreement" giving MHRC the right to videotape them and making the videotapes the sole property of MHRC.

The "coordinator" read a summary of a legal case requiring evidence of community moral standards. It involved a Mr. C who had his gas station franchise revoked after he criticized the oil company's pricing policies on television. The oil company contends that the franchise was taken because Mr. C was living in an unmarried state with a young woman. Mr. C claims the franchise was revoked because he publicly criticized the oil company.

The "coordinator" asks the subjects (three at a time) to respond as if they were offended by Mr. C's extramarital affair. The video-camera is then turned on. After the filming is complete, an affidavit is then presented to the subjects giving MHRC the right to use these tapes in court.

Only one of thirty-three groups came close to going through with the entire scenario. Most people became highly angry and rebellious.

5. Why the difference in the outcomes of the Milgram and Gamson et al. investigations? Some similarities and differences in the two studies are presented below.

a. Similarities

1) In both investigations authority oversteps its bounds and is unjust.

2) The subjects did not previously know one another.

3) In both investigations the subjects were neither threatened with punishment nor heavily rewarded for participation.

4) The Milgram and Gamson et al. studies were performed in the U.S.

b. Differences

1) The Milgram baseline procedure was performed in 1963 and the Gamson et al. study was performed in 1981. In that time Vietnam, Watergate, and the civil rights became issues of national importance. Were people simply more obedient in 1963 than today? Unfortunately, the data necessary to answer that question is not available.

2) The Milgram investigation was conducted at Yale and the Gamson et al. study was held in less prestigious surroundings. Was prestige an important factor influencing obedience? In one variation, the Milgram procedure was carried out by a private research group rather than at Yale. The percentage of maximum obedience decreased from 63% to 48%. Therefore, prestige could have accounted for some of the difference between Milgram's baseline procedure and the Gamson et al. study. However, prestige was certainly not the only variable responsible for differences in the findings of the two investigations.

3) In Milgram's study only one actual subject was present. Thus, there was no chance for collective action against the experimenter. On the other hand, in the Gamson study eight or nine subjects were in each group. The possibility of a collective rebellion was always present. Does the number of subjects reduce obedience? Certainly, you know the world is too complex to expect a simple "yes" or "no" answer. We'll look at that one more closely later.
 
 

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