Chapter 3 Flashcards
What was milgram studying?
obedience to an authority figure.
How did milgram recruit participants and what did he say he was studying?
he placed an add in the local newspaper offering to pay $4.50 to men participate in a scientific study of memory and learning.
What was Mr. Wallace in the the milgram experiment?
a confederate
What is a confederate?
A person posing as a participant in an experiment who is actually a collaborator of the experimenter.
What was the explanation provided to participants in the Milgram study? How were Participants assigned?
scientists explained that the study would examine the effects of punishment on learning. One person would be a “teacher” who would administer the punishment, and the other would be a the “learner”. Mr. Wallace and the volunteer participant then drew slips of paper to determine who would be the teacher and who would be the learner. The drawing was rigged, Mr Wallace was always the learner and the volunteer was also the teacher.
What did the scientists do to Mr. Wallace? How did the scientist set up the teacher? What was the set up of the shock machine?
attached electrodes to him and placed the teacher in front of an impressive-looking shock machine. The shock machine had a series of levers and the individual was told that when these levers were pressed, they would deliver shocks to Mr. Wallace. The first lever was labeled 15 volts, the second 30 volts, the third 45 volts and so on up to 450 volts. These levers were labelled “slight shock”, moderate shock” and so on up to “Danger: severe shock” followed by red Xs above 400 volts.
What was Mr. Wallace instructed to learn in the Milgram experiment? What happened in the experiment?
a series of word pairs. Then he was given a test to see if he could identify which words went together. Every time Mr. Wallace made a mistake, the volunteer was to deliver a larger shock as punishment. the first mistake was supposed to be punished by a 15 volt shock, the second by 30 volt, and so on. Mr wallace made mistake after mistake.
Did Mr. Wallace aver actually recieve any shocks in the milgram experiment?
no. but the participants didn’t know that.
What were Mr. Wallace’s reactions at different levels of shock?
When the volunteer shocked him with about 120 volts, Mr. Wallace began screaming in pain and yelled that he wanted out. If the volunteer wanted to quit, and this definitley happened with participants becoming visibly upset with Mr. Wallace’s pain. the experiemnt told the participant that he could quit but urged him to continue. These encouragments followed a set series of verbal prods that stressed the importance of continuing this experiment.
Althoug the experiment was purportedly about memory and learning, what was milgram actually interested in?
Milgram was actually interested in whether participants would continue to obey the experimenter administering ever higher levels of shock to the learner.
What were the results of Milgram’s study? What happened after this study was completed?
approximately 65% of the participants continued to deliver shocks all the way to the maximum possible 450 volts. This study (and milgram’s many extended replications) recieved a lot of publicity and the results challenged many of our beleifs about our ability to resist authority/
What do the milgram study results have implications for? What have recent replications shown?
understanding obediencei n real-life situations, such as the holocaust in Nazi germany and the Jonestown mass suicide. Recent replications of these studies suggest that many people in contemporary society continue to be vulnerable to a dangerous obedience to authorities.
What did Milgram’s work shape in terms of ethics?
common practices we use in psychology to protect our participants.
At what point did researchers debate whether Milgram’s studies were ethical?
immediately after they were published.
What do researchers and institutions adhere to fo ethics?
Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
What does the Tri-council refer to in the Tri-council policy statement?
refers. to three federally funded research grant agencies: The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Natural Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the natural sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
When was the tri council policy first published?
1998
what is the tri-council policy responsible for?
became the first standard canadian ethics code to guide all research involving humans; this replaced all prior guidelines.
When was the tri-council policy statement’s first major revision?
TCPS2 in 2010
What must all institutions who receive funding from the tri-council must have? Why?
a research ethics board that reviews each study to ensure it adheres to the TCPS2 ethical guidelines.
What did the nuremberg code emphasize?
the concept of informed consent.
What does the TCPS2 remind people to do?
consult and follow the laws and jursidicions in which the research is conducted.
In addition to the TCPS2 what do Canadian researchers have comply to?
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, canadian privacy of information laws, and relevant provincial laws,
What is the aim of research ethics codes around the world?
to ensure that research si conducted in a way that respects the dignity and inherent worth of all human beings.