ARE FEMALES MORE OBEDIENT THAN MALES?

Are Females More Obedient than Males?

Abstract

Obedience can be extremely functional—particularly in crises and high-stress crisis positions (e.g., a assault, a policeman raid, a space shuttle, a clinic emergency room). Under these circumstances, it really helps to have someone in authority take the lead and issue commands that are unquestioningly obeyed. Consider what might happen in a battle if the troops decided to mull over every command given by their commander before deciding whether or not to obey. For this reason, obedience is highly valued in groups that need to make decisions and take action very swiftly under life-or-death conditions. However, obedience is also enshrined in more enduring groups that expect members to simply do as they are told and to unquestioningly follow specific orders and more general rules and principles. Such groups are often thought of as being orthodox and as having a strong leadership structure based on power—for example, the military in general, many religions, cults, gangs, and some societies.

Are Females More Obedient than Males?

Obedience

Although obedience can be valuable, it can also be destructive if the commands that one is obeying specify actions that have harmful consequences. The classic example of this is the plea “I was only obeying orders,” which has repeatedly been made by people accused of crimes against humanity. The key question is, what is the psychology of blind obedience that causes people to simply obey a leader irrespective of what the orders ask one to do?

The Milgram experiment, with its chilling results, appeared in the early '60's. Have things altered since the Milgram experiment? Are persons less obedient to unjust authority? Many people imagine so. Ihave two phrases in response to that question: Abu Ghraib. But perhaps, some might believe to themselves: "That was a infantry position where soldiers are notified to comply authority. Whead covering does thead covering notify us about real life?""The Human Behavior Experiments," a program aired a number of years ago on TV, supplies an response (PSO, 2006). Besides discussing the Milgram and Zimbardo trials, as well as the Latane and Darley studies on bystander apathy, the program details a number of infamous real-life situations and sketches the attachments to the psychology studies. Perhaps the most astonishing one was the case of the "Telephone Cop." A man, masquerading as a policemanman agent, started calling very quick food locations round the homeland, telling the manager that one of the workers was a supposed drug dealer and inquiring the supervisor to hold the suppose for him. This, all at the behest of the suspected policeman officer on the phone. Hard to believe? regretful but similar outcomes at other very quick nourishment locations happened more than once. The man on the telephone rang out authoritative and had the mask of authority. They obeyed.

Thesis Statement

In the demonstration utilised for the program, the innocent teenage young female worker was, over some hours, subjected to humiliating questions, a narrow piece seek and finally--sexual molestation by the manager's fiance!

Authoritarianism and Obedience

Following that ...