milgram Flashcards
what was the aim of Milgram’s study?
Milgram aimed to investigate whether participants would show obedience to an authority figure who told them to administer electrical shocks to another person
what was the design of this study?
it was a controlled observation in a lab it also used self report
why wasn’t it an experiment?
it wasn’t an experiment because there was no independent variable
how did Milgram obtain his participants?
Milgram worked at Yale university in new haven he placed an advert in the local newspaper looking for participant to take part in a study related to memory he also said they would be paid $4 and $0.5 for car fare
it was a self selected sample
what were the characteristics of mailgrams sample?
sample included 40 MEN aged 20-50 years old they were if various educational and occupational backgrounds they were told they would get the money no matter what happened after they arrived
who played the other roles in the experiment?
the part of the experimenter was played by a 31 yr. old biology teacher dressed in a lab coat the parts of the learner was played by a 47 year old accountant trained for the role both men were confederates
what materials were used in this study?
a shock generation was used it has 30 switches on going from 15 too 450 volts in increments of 15
how was the shock generator labelled?
slight shock - 15-60 volts
moderate shock - 75-120 volts
strong shock- 135-180 volts
very strong shock - 195-240 volts
intense shock - 255-300 volts
extreme intensity shock-315-360 volts
danger severe shcok-375-420 volts
XXX-435-450 volts
how did they convince participant’s shocks were real?
they watched the learner get strapped in to the chair and have the device attached to him they were also given a sample shock of 45 volts
what was the first part of the procedure?
the participant’s were told the study was to see how punishment affected learning the participant met the accountant they drew for roles within the study the participant always got the part of the teacher. they were then taken into the lab and watched the leaner get strapped in the experimenter said “although shocks can be extremely painful they cause no permanent tissue damage “
what was the paired associate learning task?
the teacher was asked to read out a list of word pairs (‘clear’ and ‘air ‘ as they matched together ) during the study the teacher read out a word with 4 possible answers the learner had to say which option was the one originally paired with the word
what was found out in the pilot study?
it showed that it would take time for participants to get the procedure right. to help this they were given 10 words to read to the learner the learner would answer 3 right and 7 wrong this means they would be at 105 volts
what was some feedback from the victim?
the learner was given a list of predetermined responses (3 wrong answers to every correct one)
the learner made no protest or comments until 300 volts where he would begin to pound on the wall he didn’t respond to questions
after that the teacher asked the experimenter what to do but they were told to wait 5-10 seconds then shock
at 315 volts the learner pounded on the wall again after there was no further responses
what prods did the experimenter give to the learner?
prod 1 ‘please continue’ or please go on’
prod 2 ‘the experiment requires that you continue’
prod 3 ‘it is absolutely essential that you continue’
prod 4 ‘you have no other choice you must go on’
what other records were taken?
most sessions were tapped or photos were taken through a one way mirror notes were also kept on any unusual behaviour and observers wrote descriptions on participant behaviour
