4.1.1 Milgram - Obidiance

Question 1

When was milligrams experiment conducted

Answer 1

1961

Question 2

What is the name of the experiment conducted by milgram

Answer 2

obedience to authority

Question 3

What was the aim of milgrams expirment

Answer 3

Milgram was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person

Question 4

What was the method behind milgrims expirment

Answer 4

milgaram had 40 participants who received payment for attending rather than proceeding with the study. Each experimenter was introduced to a confederate. They drew lots to see who would be teacher and who would be learner but this was fixed so the particpant was always the teacher. Participant fully believed the learner was be electrocuted. The switches ranged from 15 to 450 volts. The participant asked the learner. When answered incorrectly the participant had to administer and increasing level of shock. If the participants hesitated during the process they where told to continue.

Question 5

Results of milgrams study

Answer 5

65% of 40 males administer the highest voltage

Question 6

What is the conclusion of milgrams study

Answer 6

Ordinary people will obey orders to hurt someone else, even if it means acting against their conscience.

Question 7

What are some criticism of milgrims study (5)

Answer 7

• All forty participants where males
• Baumrind was very critical about the way Milgram deceived his participants claiming this level of deceit could cause trust to be lost in other psychologists
• Orne and Holland argued that participants behaved the way they did because they did not really believe in the set up and therefore the experiment had low internal validity
• very unrealistic and with low ecological validity
• rank and Jacobson only 2 out of 18 nurses gave vellum to patients who did not need it despite doctors which was a more realist version of milligrams study

Question 8

What are some experiments which reaffirm milgrams expirment

Answer 8

• Sheridan and king conducted a similar study with puppy’s which 54% of males gave the full voltage and 100% of females gave full voltage which supports milgrams realism
• hofling et al studied nurses on a hospital ward found that levels of obedience to unjustified demands by doctors where high 21 out of 22
• The death game where 80% ppts delivered the maximum shock of 460 volts to an unconscious man

Question 9

What was found to be the key to obedience in milgrams study

Answer 9

It was found that participants identified with the experimenter and the science of the study and when the obedience level fell this was as a result of the participants identifying less with the science and more with the learner

Question 10

What was the effect of proximity on the percentage of participants who used the full voltage

Answer 10

The number people who used the full voltage went from 65% down to 40% when the learner and teacher where in the same room

Question 11

What was the effect of touch proximity on the obedience

Answer 11

When the teacher had to place the students hand onto an electroshock plate when he refused to answer the obedience rate dropped by 30%

Question 12

What was the effect of remote proximity being between the teacher and the authority figure

Answer 12

When the authority figure had to communicate through a phone with the teacher the obedience rate dropped by 20.5%

Question 13

What was the effect of a change in location on the rate of obedience

Answer 13

When the location was changed to a run down building the rate of obedience dropped to 47.5%

Question 14

What was the effect of uniform on the rate of obedience

Answer 14

When the lab coats where not worn by the authority figure and they where replaced by a member of public this meant the rate of obedience dropped to 20%

Question 15

What where all the variations of milgrams study

Answer 15

Female PP’s - 65%
Victim screaming - 62.5%
Visible victim - 40%
Physical contact - 30%
Experimenter phones - 21%
Run down office - 48%
Disobedient confeds - 10%
Confed gives shocks - 95%
Teachers discretion - 2.5%

Question 16

What was the experiment which proved milgrams ideas around uniform causing obedience in a more ecological valid setting

Answer 16

Bickman 1974 tested the ecological validity by having three male researchers give direct requests to 153 randomly selected pedestrians

80% obeyed a man in a guards uniform

40% obeyed the milkman’s uniform

40% in civilian uniform

Question 17

What was the experiment which further proved Milgrams ideas of authority being followed depending on the outfit with a female researcher

Answer 17

Bushman 1988 where a women wore three different outfits and asked random pedestrians if they would give money to a confederate for a parking meter

Women in uniform - 72%
Women dressed in business executive - 48%
Women as beggars - 52%

Question 18

Why if the obedience used as criticism of milgrams study

Answer 18

This is because it can be used to suggest that the NAZI’s who killed Jews where simply obeying orders rather than acknowledging their hatred for Jews

Question 19

Which experiment supports milligrams ideas about legitimate authority

Answer 19

Blasts and Schmitt 2001

Students who where shown the experiment blamed the experimenter not the teacher and responsibility is due to legitimate authority.

Question 20

What is the link between obedience and authoritarian personality

Answer 20

Link between obedience and dispositional situation factors

Question 21

What are the six explanations for obedience which are as a result of milgrams study and variation so this study

Answer 21

Uniform
Proximity
Location
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority figure
Dispositional (authoritarian personality)

Question 22

What is the significance of the air Asia crash towards legitimacy of authority

Answer 22

Second pilot didn’t want to question the authority of the lead pilot and when some one did this led to many lives being saved

Question 23

What was the effect of having increased dissenters as teachers in milgrams study

Answer 23

Milligrams variation three inviduals testing the learner with 2 confederated who resisted the result being that only 10% continued to the full shock level.

Individuals are more confident in their ability to resist when they have an ally who is willing to oppose the authority figure.

Question 24

What was the results from milgrams study when participants where measured to be internals or externals

Answer 24

Holland milgramas baseline study measured with participants were internal external

37% of internals did not continue to highest shock level compared to 23% of externals

Question 25

How does LOC play a role in resisting obedience

Answer 25

Rotter only comes into play in novel situations, has little influence over our behaviour in familiars situations where devious experiences will always be more important

This means people are more likely to obey in as situation which is new to them