classic study - milgram 1963 Flashcards
What inspired milgram to study obedience?
Milgram was influenced by the Nazi war crimes during WW2 where soldiers (Eichmann) claimed they were just following orders when committing atrocities
What was the aim of milgrams 1963 study?
To investigate how far ordinary people would go in obeying authority figures, even if it meant harming another person
How were participants recruited for milgrams study?
Participants were recruited through a newspaper advertisement
What were the characteristics of milgrams sample?
The sample consisted of male volunteers aged 20-50 from various backgrounds and occupations
How many participants were in milgrams study?
40 male participants
What sampling method did milgram use?
Volunteer sampling:
A self-selected sample where participants responded to an advertisement
How were participants compensated for taking part in milgrams study?
Participants were paid $4.50 for attending the experiment, regardless of whether they continued to the end
Where did milgrams study take place?
The study was conducted at Yale university in a controlled laboratory setting
What were the participants told at the beginning of the study?
That they could drop out at any point and still keep the money
What does a confederate mean?
a person who is secretly part of the experiment but pretends to be a participant that words with the researcher and acts in a predetermined way to manipulate or control the situation
Participants are unaware the confederate is not a genuine participant
Who acted as the authority figure in milgrams study?
Mr Williams
The experimenter was a likeable man wearing a grey lab coat
What roles were assigned to the particpants and the confederate
The participant was always assigned the role of teacher and the confederate (mr Wallace) was the learner
How were the roles of milgrams experiment decided?
Lots were drawn but they were fixed as both pieces of paper had teacher written on them, the confederate pretended his said learner
What tasks were the particpants in milgrams study asked to perform?
Participants were asked to administer electric shocks to the learner each time they give an incorrect answer on a word recall task
What was the range of electric shocks in milgrams study?
15 volts - 450 volts
How much did the voltage increase by for each question in milgrams study?
15 volts at a time but the shocks were fake
What happened to the teacher at the start of the experiment to make them believe the machine was real in milgrams study?
They were given one real electric shock of 45 volts
Explain the procedure of the pair-associate task in milgrams study in 5 steps
- the experimenter explained the pair associate task to the participant and told him to read a list of words mr Wallace must remember
- the teacher communicated through an intercom but he couldn’t hear the learner
- the participant read out the first word of the pair and gave 4 possible options
- mr Wallace presses on of the 4 switches to indicate his answer
- mr Wallace gives 3 wrong answers to every 1 answer
What 3 responses did the learner give during the procedure of milgrams study?
150 volts - the learner began protesting and asking to stop
300 volts - the learner banged on the wall and stopped responding
315 volts - there was no further response
What were the 4 verbal prompts given in milgrams study if the participant hesitated to continue?
- please continue
- the experiment requires that you continue
- it is absolutely essential that you continue
- you have no other choice, you must go on
Why was a standardised procedure essential in milgrams study?
- to ensure that all participants had the same experience making the study more reliable as it could be replicated and to control extraneous variables
- to maintain consistency in prompts to ensure the authority figures influence was the same for every participant
What happened at the end of milgrams procedure?
Participants were fully debriefed, reassured that the shocks were not real and that the learner was unharmed
What percentage of participants obeyed fully to 450 volts in milgrams study?
65% of participants administers the maximum 450 volt shock
What did the psychiatrists predict before the milgram study?
That only 1-2% of participants would administer the full 450 volts
Before the study, what did the participants predict they would do if they were in the teachers role?
Most participants predicted they would stop obeying early and refuse to give high voltage shocks
What was the lowest voltage all participants administered in milgrams study?
100% of participants administered at least 300 volts
What 5 signs of distress did participants show during milgrams study?
- sweating
- trembling
- nervous laughter
- stuttering
- biting their lips
What qualitative data did milgram collect from the study?
Milgram noted participants verbal protests and their physical signs of distress
At what point did some participants refuse to continue in milgrams study?
35% of participants stopped obeying between 300 and 375 volts
