1.5: Stanley Milgram (1963)

Question 1

Milgram’s work can be criticised for being unethical.

Describe one way in which his work is unethical (2 marks)

Answer 1

One way is deception.
The participants were deceived in many ways, for example the initial advert and the selection of the teacher and the learner.
Therefore, informed consent was not able to be obtained

Question 2

Milgram’s experiments into obedience can be criticised as being unethical.
Describe one ethical issue that can be illustrated by Milgram’s research (2 marks)

Answer 2

One ethical issue that can be illustrated by Milgram’s research is deception.
Milgram deceived participants into believing that they had an equal chance of being the teacher or learner, when in fact it was rigged

Question 3

Milgram’s experiments into obedience can be criticised as being unethical.

One ethical issue that can be illustrated by Milgram’s research is deception.
Milgram deceived participants into believing that they had an equal chance of being the teacher or learner, when in fact it was rigged.

Explain a way of dealing with it (2 marks)

Answer 3

Deception could be dealt with by debriefing the participant.
It would have to be explained why it was necessary to deceive them and answer any questions that they might have wanted to ask, as well as reassuring them