Milgram Flashcards
Describe Milgram’s participants
40: 20-50 year old men, from the New Haven area. No students-range of occupations (Factory workers, teachers, engineers, salesmen, city employees, etc.)
Aim of Milgram’s study
To investigate the process of obedience by testing how far ordinary Americans would go in obeying an authority figure.
What sampling method did Milgram use?
Self-selecting-ad in newspaper+mail boxes, paid volunteers $4.50
Strengths of Milgrams sample
-Represented those working in concentration camps
-Range of occupation and ages
Weaknesses of Milgrams sample
-Not generalisable
-Important gender differences missed
-Only people from one area
Strengths of Milgram’s sampling method
-More co-operative as they chose to be there
-Removes researcher bias
-Get consent easily
Weaknesses of Milgram’s sampling method
-More expensive
-No guaranteed response (wanted 500 participants, got 40)
-Certain type of person who responds-already obedient?
What were Milgram’s quantitative results?
-65% of participants completed the full experiment
-0% left before 300V
-14 showed nervous laughter
-3 had ‘uncontrollable full blown seizures’
What were Milgram’s qualitative results?
-Particants were ‘observed to sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their fingernails into their flesh.
Give 2 quotes from the participants during the study.
-‘These are terrific volts. I don’t think this is very humane…oh I can’t go on with this’
-‘I can’t do that to a man. I’ll hurt his heart. You take your money’
What were Milgram’s conclusions?
-The situation created produced strong tendencies to obey.
-The situation caused emotional strain and tension-not happy with doing it.
-Germans aren’t different.
How did Milgram explain why the results occurred?
-Thought that both people ran the risk of being the learner
-Yale was a credible institution+researchers lab coat
-Little time for reflection
-Were getting paid-felt obliged.
Why were there high tension levels?
-Participants had to try meet demands of two people (learner and researcher)
-They were unable to meet both of these demands
What were the prods that the ‘experimenter’ gave the ‘teacher’?
-‘Please continue’
-‘The experiment requires that you require’
-‘It is absolutely essential that you continue’
-‘You have no other choice, you must continue’
