Milgram

Question 1

What is this study called?

Answer 1

1963 behavioural study of obedience

Question 2

What was Milgram interested in?

Answer 2

• destructive obedience
• where orders are obeyed even when individuals understand the negative consequences

Question 3

What is the methodology?

Answer 3

Lab experiment/ environment

Question 4

What are the participants like?

Answer 4

• 40 males
• 20-50 years old
• range of jobs from postal clerk to engineers
• varied education, one didn’t finish primary school, another with a doctorate
• each paid $4.50
• sample was self selecting

Question 5

What is the observation?

Answer 5

Non participant and covert observation

Question 6

What is the procedure?

Answer 6

• teacher and student
• electric shock for obedience

Question 7

What are the findings?

Answer 7

• all participants gave at least 300V
• 5 participants dropped out
• 26 participants administrated full 450V

Question 8

What is an advantage of the methodology?

Answer 8

Milgram reported 75% of the participant strongly believed they were giving electrical shocks
High internal validity

Question 9

What is a disadvantage of the methodology?

Answer 9

• participants didn’t think the shocks were real (Orne and Holland) lack of internal validity
• lack of ecological validity, lacks mundane realism, external validity

Question 10

What is an advantage of the sample?

Answer 10

• high population validity, varied job, age and education
• later studies Milgram found the same rate in females

Question 11

What is a disadvantage of the sample?

Answer 11

• androcentric, lacks generalisation

Question 12

What are the ethics?

Answer 12

• deception
• harm to participants
• informed consent
• right to withdraw

Question 13

What are the advantages of the procedure?

Answer 13

It is a standardised procedure which increases its reliability