1.3.2 - Burger (2009) Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today? Flashcards
why did Burger want to carry out the study?
while some psychologists now argue that people are more aware of the consequences of blindly following orders from authoritative figures and would reconsider their actions if asked to hurt others, Burger thought that the changes in society’s culture and values wouldn’t have a significant effect on obedience
where was the study carried out?
Santa Clara University
what was the aim of the study?
to investigate obedience by partially replicating Milgram’s (1963) study to examine whether situational factors affect obedience to an authoritative figure
which specifically of Milgram’s studies was Burger replicating with his baseline experiment?
variation 5 where the learner informed the teacher at the start that he had a heart condition and complained that his heart was bothering him
why did Burger need to adapt his research slightly?
Milgram’s study was subject to ethical criticism, so he had to adapt it to adhere to current ethical guidelines and minimise the distress caused to participants
how did Burger adapt his research to be more ethical?
by carrying out thorough screening procedures on participants to ensure the study wouldn’t cause significant harm to them
how did Burger advertise his study?
adverts were put in local newspapers and establishments (libraries/businesses) and also online
they promised $50 for taking part in two 45 minute sessions, and participants expressed interest by phone or email
what was the first stage of the screening procedure?
participants were asked if they had been to college and taken psychology lessons - this removed people who had taken two or more psychology lessons or may have been familiar with Milgram’s study
remaining participants were asked about their physical and psychological health and if they had experienced childhood trauma (further 30% removed)
what was the second stage of the screening procedure?
it was led by two clinical psychologists and participants completed various scales/questionnaires eg. a demographic sheet asking about age, occupation, education and ethnicity, the Desirability of Control index and the Interpersonal Reactivity index
what was the third stage of the screening procedure?
a clinical psychologist interviewed participants with interviews based on the MINI procedure
interviews lasted around 30 minutes and 123 individuals took part, but 47 (38.2%) were removed as a result
76 were invited back a week later but 6 then dropped out
what is the MINI procedure?
Mini International Psychiatric Interview - touches on psychological disorders so psychologist can identify those who shouldn’t be in study
what were the features of the final sample of participants?
70 in total, 29 males ad 41 females, age range 20-81, mean age of 42.9
how were the participants divided up in the study?
split into two groups to try and maintain equal ratios of gender in each group
what were the two experiments that Burger carried out in his study?
experiment 1 - baseline condition
experiment 2 - modelled refusal condition
experiment 1 baseline condition - method?
participants were introduced to the experimenter and confederate before starting (who were chosen due to their resemblance to the ones used in Milgram’s study)
Burger used a similar script to Milgram and explained the procedure and use of the electric generator
role choice was still rigged (confederate=learner, participant=teacher)
teacher and learner were placed in adjoining rooms and the teacher witnessed the experimenter place an electrode on the learner’s left wrist
teacher was asked to read out list of 25 word pairs, and if the learner failed to remember the correct pair, a shock would be given, with each wrong answer leading to a stronger shock
at this point the learner mentioned that they had a heart condition
the teacher was shown how to use the shock generator and given a 15V sample shock
Burger used the same four verbal prods as Milgram
experiment 1 baseline condition - 75V onwards?
pre-recorded voice grunts from the learner were audible
experiment 1 baseline condition - 150V?
recording stated an exclamation from the confederate saying ‘My heart’s starting to bother me now. Get me out of here please’
experiment 1 baseline condition - how did the experiment end?
if the teacher was resistant to continuing after the 150V point even with the prods, the experiment ended
if the teacher read out the next experiment after 150V, the experiment was forcibly ended
experiment 1 baseline condition - what happened immediately after?
the teacher was told that the shocks weren’t real and shown that the learner was fine
experiment 2 modelled refusal condition - method?
mostly same procedure as baseline study but with a few exceptions
two confederates were used (the extra one acted as an additional participant and was the same gender as the real participant)
teacher 1 (confederate) took the lead with asking the questions while teacher 2 (participant) sat with them
75V - teacher 1 hesitated after hearing grunt
90V - teacher 1 stated ‘I don’t know about this’ and despite being prompted by the experimenter they refused to continue
the participant was asked to continue the procedure
experiment 1 baseline condition - results?
stopped at 150V or earlier - 33.3% of males and 27.3% of females
went to continue past 150V - 66.7% of males and 72.7% of females
70% of total participants went to continue past 150V (just lower than Milgram’s 82.5%)
experiment 2 modelled refusal condition - results?
stopped at 150V or earlier - 45.5% of males and 31.6% of females
went to continue past 150V - 54.5% of males and 68.4% of females
63.3% of total participants went to continue past 150V
results - gender differences?
little difference in obedience levels between genders
males and females needed first prods at similar points
results - compared to initial questionnaires that were completed?
little difference between empathy and control scores of those who stopped and continued
in baseline condition, those who were reluctant to give shocks early on scored higher on desirability for control
no difference when comparing either condition to personality score
