Milgram

Question 1

Milgram Experiment

Answer 1

Baseline procedure to assess obedience levels and the affects of punishment and power on them.

Question 2

Obedience

Answer 2

‘A form of social control in which an individual follows a direct order’

Question 3

14 psychology students

Answer 3

Predicted that no more than 3% would continue to 450V

Question 4

Who took part in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 4

40 American men aged 20-50 years old

Question 5

How were they able to take part?

Answer 5

They volunteered from a newspaper advertisement for an experiment supposedly on memory.

Question 6

Teacher and Learner

Answer 6

Participant always assigned ‘teacher’ and confederate was the ‘learner’. The participant believed that the lot was random.

Question 7

First prod

Answer 7

Please continue

Question 8

Second prod

Answer 8

The experiment requires you to continue

Question 9

Third prod

Answer 9

It is absolutely essential that you continue

Question 10

Fourth prod

Answer 10

You have no choice, you must go on

Question 11

150V

Answer 11

The learner starts to ‘scream’ (audio recording)

Question 12

14/40

Answer 12

These subjects became nervous and started laughing and smiling

Question 13

50%

Answer 13

These subjects carried on the whole way, obeying orders from the psychologist

Question 14

All 40 participants

Answer 14

These subjects went up to 300V (intense shock)

Question 15

12.5%

Answer 15

These subjects stopped at 450V

Question 16

65%

Answer 16

These subjects continued to the highest level of 450V

Question 17

3

Answer 17

These subjects had ‘full blown in-controllable seizures’

Question 18

84%

Answer 18

These subjects said that they were glad to have participated in Milgram’s experiment.

Question 19

Post-experiment

Answer 19

After Milgram’s experiment the psychologists assured the ‘teachers’ that no harm was actually inflicted upon the ‘learner’. the participants were all debriefed about the study and reassured that their behaviour was ‘normal’.

Question 20

Low internal validity

Answer 20

Martin Orne and Charles Holland (1968) argued that the participants behaved as they did because they didn’t believe in the set-up.

Question 21

75%

Answer 21

These participants believed that the shocks that they were administrating were real.

Question 22

Gina Perry (2013)

Answer 22

Reported that only half of the participants believed that the shocks were real.

Question 23

Charles Sheridan and Richard King (1972)

Answer 23

Students gave real shocks to puppies following orders from the experimenter. Despite the distress of the animals, 54% of men and 100% of women gave a fatal shock.

Question 24

Alex Haslem et al (2014)

Answer 24

Showed that Milgram’s participants obeyed the first 3 verbal prods that were given. However, when the. 4th prod was given, every participant disobeyed without exception.

Question 25

Social Identity Theory

Answer 25

According to this theory, participants only obeyed when they identified with the scientific aims of the study. When hey were ordered to obey an authority figure, they refused. This shows that SIT may provide a more valid interpretation of the findings.

Question 26

Situational variables

Answer 26

‘Features of the immediate physical and social environment which may influence a person’s behaviour’

Question 27

Proximity

Answer 27

‘The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving orders to’

Question 28

Location

Answer 28

‘The place where an order is issued’

Question 29

Uniform

Answer 29

‘People in positions of authority often have a specific outfit that is symbolic of their authority’

Question 30

How did Milgram investigate proximity as a situational variable?

Answer 30

The teacher and learner were kept in the same room making obedience drop from 65% to 40%.

Question 31

Touch proximity variation

Answer 31

The teacher had to force the learner’s hands onto the ‘electric shock’ switch if they refused once an incorrect answer had been given. Obedience dropped to 30%.

Question 32

Remote proximity variation

Answer 32

The experimenter left the room and gave instructions over the telephone. Obedience reduced further to 20.5%. Participants also tried to pretend that they had given the shock.

Question 33

How did Milgram investigate location as a situational variable?

Answer 33

Milgram also ran the experiment in a run-down office block rather than the university. Obedience fell to 47.5%.

Question 34

How did Milgram investigate uniform as a situational variable?

Answer 34

In the baseline experiment the experimenter wore a great lab coat. In one variation, the experimenter left the room and someone in ‘normal clothes’ came to continue the experiment. Obedience levels dropped to 20% (the lowest of all variables).

Question 35

Bickman (1974)

Answer 35

3 confederates ordered people in New York pick up litter (milkman, security guard and man in a jacket and tie). They were twice as likely to obey the security guard than the man in a jacket and tie. This supports the view that the situational variable ‘uniform’ affects obedience.