Milgram Flashcards
What does the Germans are different hypothesis state?
German’s have a basic character deficit which means they have a readiness to obey people in authority regardless of the act they are being asked to carry out.
What is the key theme of Milgram (and Bocchiaro)?
Responses to people in authority.
What was the aim in Milgram?
To investigate whether participants would show obedience to an authority figure who told them to administer electric shocks to another person.
What was the method in Milgram?
Controlled observation - where obedience was measured in terms of voltage given to the learner.
How were participants obtained in Milgram’s study?
Self-selected sampling through Newspaper advertisements and direct mailings asking people to take part in a study of memory and learning at Yale university.
What were the characteristics of the sample used in Milgram?
40 males aged 20-50, from the New Haven area and had a range of occupations and backgrounds.
What were the participants told they would receive regardless of if they completed the study?
$4.00
What did the first room contain?
An electric shock generator with 30 switches ranging from 15 to 450v in 15v increments from slight shock to XXX.
What did the second room contain?
An electric chair where the learner was later to receive electric shocks.
What were the roles in Milgram?
Experimenter, learner and teacher.
What was the description of the experimenter?
He was played by a 31 year old biology teacher and wore a grey technicians coat.
What did the experimenter tell the learner before the study began in Milgram?
‘Although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no permanent tissue damage’
What was the sample shock given to the teacher?
45v
What would happen if they got a question wrong?
They would be shocked and for every wrong answer the voltage would increase by 15v.
Did absence of a response class as an incorrect response?
Yes
Were any shocks actually delivered to the learner in Milgram?
No
What happened when the voltage reached 300v in Milgram?
The learner would pound against the wall which was heard by the teacher.
What two prods were used by the experimenter if the teacher protested that they didn’t want to go on?
‘Please continue/please go on’
‘You have no choice, you must go on’
When would the experiment end in Milgram?
When the 450v shock had been administered or when the PP walked out.
How many PP shocked up to 300V?
100% (40/40)
How many PP gave up to 450v?
65% (26/40)
How many PP were disobedient and stopped between 300-450v?
35% (14/40)
What were some qualitative results?
PPs showed signs of extreme nervousness, sweated, stuttered, bit their lips, had nervous fits of laughter and for 3 participants - uncontrollable seizures.
What was the conclusion in Milgram?
Germans are not different and people behave the way they do because of the situation they find themselves in.
What are three reasons for obedience in Milgram?
Location was a prestigious university (Yale) providing authority, they were paid therefore feeling obliged to continue and told shocks were painful but not dangerous and would contribute to scientific gain.
What three ethical issues were broken in Milgram?
Protection of participant, right to withdraw and deception.
