1 Social Influence- Obedience P1 Milgram Flashcards
obedience
a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct explicit order form a legitimate authority figure- our behaviour changes in response to a direct request
did milgram suggest a situational or dispositional explanation for obedience?
situational- he believed the circumstances that people found themselves in during the war led them to the inhumane behaviour of the Nazis- authority figure giving direct orders
aim of Milgram’s research
investigate the level of obedience when told by an authorative figure to give electric shocks (man in a white coat)
describe the method of Milgram’s study?
-took place in a smart psychology lab in Yale University
-laboratory experiment
-40 participants
-volunteer sampling of men ages 20-50 in New Haven area via an advert
what happened when the learner got an answer wrong?
the participant had to administer an electric shock, increasing the voltage with each incorrect response
-started at 15 volts, and increased to a maximum of 450 volts
what verbal prods were given to the participant/ teacher by the experimenter?
please continue
the experiment requires that you continue
it is absolutely essential that you continue
you have no other choice, you must go on
results of Milgram’s study
all 40 of the ppts went up to 300V
65% went up to the full 450V
-some participants demonstrated signs and symptoms of anxiety e.g. sweating, nervous laughter and one ppt had an epileptic fit.
conclusions from Milgram’s study
ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authorative figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being
the situation the ppts were in, influenced them to obey. we have a tendency to overemphasise the role of situational factors in destructive obedience.
A03 Milgram’s- generalisability
the study had low population validity
-sample was 40 males aged 20-50 yrs from the New Haven Area
-this is a limitation as the results were androcentric and ethnocentric, not representative of a wider population
-however he replicated his study with 40 women and found an obedience rate of 65%- same
therefore, situational factors can cause these inhumane behaviours as a result of authorative figures present.
A03 Milgram’s - reliability
the study is high in reliability
Burger (2009) partially replicated his study where the ‘learner’ stated they had a heart condition- found no difference and had similar findings
-this is a strength as results are consistent
Milgram’s findings are credible
A03 Milgram’s- application
the findings of Milgram’s research have real world applications
-can explain why people followed orders in WW2
-provides a better understanding of why some people can show blind obedience and commit atrocious acts due to situational factors
-strategies can be put in place to mitigate and prevent such tragedies from occurring
therefore, his research has improved our knowledge of behaviour in contexts of obedience.
A03 Milgram’s- validity
internal validity
-lab experiment
-standardised procedures allowed for high levels of control
ecological
-low in this validity as the artificial env could have caused demand characteristics
-Hofling 1966 found that in a hospital setting, nursers obeyed a doctor over the phone
temporal validity
-study was in 1961- post war society ‘just following orders’
a0£ Milgram’s- ethics
Baumrind 1964 published a criticism saying that Milgram had ignored the wellbeing of the ppts, deceived them and caused traumatic stress
-psychological harm- ppts were nervous, tense, trembling, seizures
-deception- told it was a study of memory and learning
-right to withdraw- put under pressure with verbal prompts
Milgram’s defence to his study being unethical
participants were fully debriefed
participants were interviewed by a psychiatrist a year later to see if they had any lasting distress
a questionnaire was sent out to all the participants- only 1% expressed criticism of the way they had been treated and 84% said they were ‘glad’ or ‘very glad’ to have participated
