Factors that Influence Obedience

Obedience varied significantly depending on the context. The lowest obedience of 10% was noticed when participants saw others disobeying the experimenter and questioning his authority. Also, obedience dropped when the symbols of authority weren’t present (such as the lab coat of the experimenter) and when the authority figure wasn’t close by but giving orders by phone. Another thing that had a lot of influence on lower obedience levels was having direct contact with the person getting shocked, making participants get their hands dirtier in the process.