In 1974, a psychologist by the name of Leonard Bickman, conducted another experiment on obedience based off of similar findings from Stanley Milgram. However, instead of selecting participants and subjecting them to varying degrees of shocks to be administered to a "tester"--who was actually an actor, and not being harmed at all--Bickman proposed that individuals will become obedient based off of the uniform that an individual is wearing.
For example, Bickman selected three actors who wore different uniforms on different days. There was a milk man, a security guard, and a civilian (coat and tie). The actors then walked through the streets and asked people to complete various tasks such as picking up trash from the road, giving them a coin for parking, etc. Through Bickman's study, it was revealed that there was a visible increase in the amount of obedience being portrayed from the guard, wearing a guard's outfit, as opposed to the civilian or milk man.
Bickman concluded that visible signs of authority automatically inhibits obedience among individuals. The picture chart listed below has more information as to the findings that were presented.
For example, Bickman selected three actors who wore different uniforms on different days. There was a milk man, a security guard, and a civilian (coat and tie). The actors then walked through the streets and asked people to complete various tasks such as picking up trash from the road, giving them a coin for parking, etc. Through Bickman's study, it was revealed that there was a visible increase in the amount of obedience being portrayed from the guard, wearing a guard's outfit, as opposed to the civilian or milk man.
Bickman concluded that visible signs of authority automatically inhibits obedience among individuals. The picture chart listed below has more information as to the findings that were presented.