6. Concluding

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about how we can conclude on the discussions in this course, focusing in particular on: (i) the key factors that have been discussed with some questions which could be posed to assess each one; (ii) the importance of obedience in a social society, despite its negative light in social psychology research; (iii) the consequences of widespread disobedience in society; (iv) Pagliaro and colleagues’ findings, that trust of an authority was the most influential factor concerning obedience to authority; (v) a limitation of social impact theory being its lack of consideration of individual differences; (vi) returning to the idea that authority is granted, not taken; (vii) viewing the driving force of obedience to authority being the desire to do something for the greater good, as originally highlighted in Milgram’s 1963 studies.

Course

In this course, Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya (University of Birmingham) explores factors affecting social influence. In the first lecture, we think about what social influence is and how to define obedience within it. In the second lecture, we think about Milgram’s research into obedience, with a specific review of variations seven, ten and thirteen. In the third lecture, we think about how gender and culture can impact obedience and influenceability. Next, we think about disobedience in the context of whistleblowing and its differentiation from obedience. In the fifth lecture, we think about how you as a psychologist would go about undertaking a study to explore obedience and disobedience. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about how to conclude on the concepts discussed throughout this course.

Lecturer

Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Bouguettaya’s research interests are in social psychology and how knowledge from that field can be applied to others, particularly health, including how we can apply social identity theory to societal problems, as well as investigating the different perspectives one might take on those issues. Some of Dr Bouguettaya’s recent publications include 'The relationship between gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviours: a critical and meta-analytic review' (2020) and 'The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma' (2020).