- Cognitive Psychology - Developmental Psychology - Individual
Differences - Physiological Psychology - Social Psychology This
study investigates the nature of obedience. Obedience can be
defined as complying to the demands of others, particularly
those in positions of authority. Many historians disagree with
Arendt?s description of Eichmann. For example, the trial of
Eichmann clearly showed how closely he identified with Nazi
ideology and how he was both aware and proud of his evil
actions. This study is often described as an experiment. However
as there is no control condition (i.e. all of the participants
took place in the same experimental procedure) it is not
strictly speaking an experiment. The independent variable could
be considered to be the prods provided by the experimenter for
the participant to carry on, and the dependent variable could be
considered to be the degree of obedience. That is, how far up
the shock scale the participant went. It is perhaps more
accurate to describe the method used as