Lesson 11 (Milgram 1963) Flashcards
Question
Was such brutality simply a metter of obeying orders? Was it a product of evil?
Are germans ‘different’ or was it the situation they found themselves in?
Aim
Aimed to create a situation that allowed him to measure the process of obedience, when when the demand requires destructive behaviour.
Methodology
Controlled observation
conducted in a labratory environment
Gathered via advertisement in New haven newspaper (volunteer sampling)
Metholodolgy
40 males, ages 20-40 selected.
Paid $4.50 for participant - didnt depend on staying
Were told it was on memory and learning
Sample had a range of jobs and varied education level
Procedures
Took place in a lab at yale uni
on arrival, greeted by ‘experimenter’ (man dressed in lab coat)
Another ‘participant’ was at the lab - a 47 year old accountant, Mr Wallace
Participants drew slips of paper to see who could be the teacher or learner. (was rigged) Mr wallace was always the learner
They were taken to a experimental room. Learner strapped to a chair. Electrode placed on learners wrist connected to shock generator.
The shock machine
had 30 switches on, going up in voltage 15-40 volts
Every 4 switches were labelled. 15 volts (slight shock), 255 volts (intense shock) 450 volts (potentually fatal).
Experimenter gave test shock to prove it was real.
Learning task
Teacher was told to administer shock when learner got an answer wrong, increasing voltage each time.
Learner told to make no protest until 300 volts, start to pound on walls, then make no comment
Verbal prods
Please continue
Its esential that you continue
you have no other choice
the experiment requires that you continue
The dehoax
After research was completed, the teacher was thoroughly debriefed, reunited, and interviewed
Conclusions: quantitative data
Milgram estimated 0-3% would administer 450 volts.
Large majority continued to highest level
at 300 volts 12.5% refused to continue
26/40 65% administered full 450 volts
35% defied authority
Conclusions: qualitative data
Subjects observed to sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lip, groan, dig nails into flesh
14 participants displayed nervous laughter
Were acting against their own values
3 participants had seizures. 1 participant had such a violent convulsion the study had to be stopped.
The main conclusion
Its the circumstance in which participants found themself in that algamated to create a situation shown difficult to disobey.
Methodology strengths:
Controlled observation: high control over extraneous variables, prevents them from becoming confounding. Increases internal validity.
Environment can be manipulated to reflect a more natural natural environment - increasing mundane realism and ecological validity, that findings can be generalised
High control a standardised procedure can be used - each participant tested the same, increasing internal reliability. Makes it easier to replicate, external reliability.
Methology weakness
High control makes if artificial, low mundane realism and ecological validity. Difficult to generalise
The study was not insightful
Although the findings are important to social psychology, relevance to holocause is overstated. Can lead to oversimplified explinations of atrocoties commited.
Internal validity. Participants had guessed the aims of the study, obedience were due to demand characteristics.
