Component 2: Milgram (Social) Flashcards
What is the background to Milgram’s study?
After ww2 there was a belief that the atrocities committed by Nazi soldiers may have been caused because Germans had a personality ‘defect’ that made them more likely to obey. This is called the Germans are different hypothesis. This supports the dispositional view of behaviour such as personality rather than situational factors such as who we are with, where we are and what we are doing.
What research method was used during Milgram’s study into obedience to authority.
Controlled observation and self reports completed before the study by 14 senior psychology majors and participants completed one during the debrief.
What were the results of the self report in Milgram’s study?
The 14 senior psychology majors were asked to estimate the percentage of participants who would administer the highest level of shock. The estimate was between 1% and 3%.
What was the sampling method in Milgram’s study?
Self-select sampling through a newspaper advertisement which asked for volunteers for a ‘study of memory and learning.’ They were payed $4.50 for turning up to the laboratory.
Where did Milgram’s study take place?
Yale University
Describe the sample in Milgram’s study.
40 male participants between the ages of 20 and 50 years old.
What were the aims of Milgram’s study?
- To investigate the ‘Germans are different hypothesis’
- To investigate the extent of situational influences rather than dispositional/external factors affecting behaviour.
- To investigate levels of obedience to an authority figure by administrating electric shocks to another person.
Describe the procedure of Milgram’s study into obedience to authority.
- The study took place in a lab at Yale University where participants were greeted by a stern experimenter in a grey lab coat.
- The 40 participants in the experimenter group were always given the role of the teacher (through a fixed lottery) and saw the learner (a confederate) strapped into a chair with (non-active) electrodes attached to his arm. They were told they could leave at any point and they would still be paid. All participants were given a 4 volt shock at the start to create genuineness.
- The teacher sat in front of an electric shock generator in another room. He had to conduct a paired word test and give electric shocks in increasing volatage for every incorrect answer. There were 30 switches (15-450 volts) increasing by 15 volt increments.
- The learner produced (via taperecording) a set of predetermined responses, givimg approximately 3 wrong answers for every correct answer. At 300 volts the learner pounded on the door and made no sounds afterwards.
- If the teacher turned to the experimenter for advice on whether to proceed they were told to continue.
- The participant was fully debriefed.
- Data was gathered through observations made by the experimenter through a one way mirror.
- The learner gave answers by pressing a button numbered 1-4 that illuminated on the teachers side,
What were the key findings of Milgram’s study?
- All participants reacher 300 volts
- 25/40 (65%) of participants continued to the full 450 volts
- 26 were obedient and 14 were disobedient
- Many participants showed signs of extreme stress while administering shocks. E.g. sweating & trembling, with 3 having full blown seizures despite never having them before.
What are the conclusions of Milgram’s study?
- Inhumane acts can be done by ordinary people.
- People will obey others whom they consider authority figures even if this causes internal moral conflict.
How does Milgram’s study relate to the social area?
Milgram’s study relates to the social area because the results show how pressure from another person could lead people to administer potentially fatal electric shocks to another individual. This is an important study because of the way in which it inspired so much other research into obedience. Furthermore, Milgram emphasized situational rather than individual explanations for behaviour.
How does Milgram’s study relate to the key theme responses to people in authority?
Milgram’s study shows the effects of an authority figure on our behaviour. It comes with a situational explanation for behaviour. The situation has the greatest effect on behaviour and not individual personality. Situational factors make obedience more likely. These are the presence of a ‘legitimate authority figure’ and ‘how prestigious’ the surrounding are thought to be.
What was the aim of Maguire’s study?
To investigate the volume of grey matter in the hippocampi of the taxi drivers who rely on spatial navigation.
