Milgram Flashcards

social psychology

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1
Q

key theme

A

responses to people in authority

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2
Q

strengths of the social approach

A

-this approach has demonstrated the strong effect of social influences on people’s behaviour.
-The approach has explained many phenomena e.g why the Nazi’s obeyed hitler.
-Wide applications
-Scientific methodology.

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3
Q

Weaknesses of social approach

A

-Reductionism, this area fails to acknowledge the role of individual differences within a social setting.
-Unethical, it’s been argued that some research is unethical (like Milgram’s)

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4
Q

obedience

A

complying with the demands of an authority figure. Obedience is less likely to involve an alteration of private belief than conformity.

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5
Q

conformity

A

yielding to group pressure

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6
Q

why was Milgram interested in obedience to authority? (background)

A
  • He had a fascination with Nazi Germany and the holocaust.
    -Milgram was jewish but born in New York.
    -Historians said that the holocaust happened because of the ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis (Milgram wanted to test this)
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7
Q

Germans are different hypothesis

A

Germans have a basic character defect that causes them to blindly obey authority figures no matter what they are being told to do.
Milgram had intended to repeat his study in Germany but this became unnecessary after the surprising results he obtained.
As blind obedience was not just a flaw in German personalities but was found in a high percentage of the American sample he studied.

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8
Q

Is obedience necessarily a Flaw?

A

Obedience can be used to explain some of the worst examples of human behaviour, but can also account for acts of charity and kindness.

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9
Q

situational factors

A

Conditions the person is in- e.g heat

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10
Q

dispositional factors

A

Conditions unique to the person- e.g personality

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11
Q

Background

A

14 yale seniors (all psychology majors) were provided with detailed description of experimental situation.
They were asked to reflect carefully on it and predict behaviour of 100 hypothetical subjects.
Specifically they were instructed to plot the distribution of obedience of ‘100 americans of diverse occupations’ ranging from 20-50 yrs old.
All respondents predicted that only an insignificant minority would go to end of shock series.
-Estimates ranged from 0-3% with a class mean of 1.2%.
Most pessimistic member of class predicted 3/100 would to go 450v.
-Question was also posed informally to Milgram’s colleagues and the general feeling was that few would go beyond ‘very strong shock’.

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12
Q

Aim

A

To investigate how obedient people would be to orders from a person in authority that would result in pain and harm to another person (destructive obedience).
More specifically, the aim was to see how large of an electric shock ps would give to a helpless man when ordered to by a scientist in his own lab.

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13
Q

Sample

A

40 male volunteers responded to a newspaper advert asking them to take part in a study at Yale university. (volunteer sample).
20-50 years old from New Haven, America.
All had wide range of occupations, e.g teachers, engineers, labourers etc….
-ps ranged in educational level (from not finishing elementary to professional degrees)

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14
Q

Method

A

-controlled observation formed part of wider experiment.
-ps were allocated roles by experimenter-either teacher or learner(confederate)
-roles were RIGGED so ps were ALWAYS the TEACHER.
-Teacher was told experiment was on ‘punishment and learning’ (lie).
-learner and teacher sat in adjoining rooms.
-teacher was seated in front of shock generator.
-teacher was asked to administer electric shocks of increasing intensity to a learner everytime they made a MISTAKE in MEMORY TEST.
-ELECTRIC SHOCKS WERE NOT REAL
-when teacher asked whether increased shocks should be given they were VERBALLY ENCOURAGED to continue by experimenter.

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15
Q

Obedience was measured by…

A

Max shock administered before refusing to continue.

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16
Q

Results

A

5 ps went to 300 volts max (12.5%)
BUT 26 ps went all the way to 450 volts (65%) MAX VOLTAGE

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17
Q

research method

A

controlled observation

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18
Q

what were ps told they were participating in?

A

A study on memory and learning.

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19
Q

how much did ps get paid to participate?

A

$4.50 (were told it was for coming to lab no matter what happened after arrival)

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20
Q

procedure

A
  • conducted on grounds of Yale University in ‘elegant interaction laboratory’.
    -The role of the experimenter was played by a 31 year old high school biology teacher. (his manner was impassive and his appearance was stern throughout the ‘experiment’.
    -experimenter wore a grey technician coat.
    -the learner was played by a 47 year old accountant trained for the role-irish American, mild mannered and likeable.
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21
Q

why was a cover story devised?

A

In order to justify the administration of the electric shocks by the participants

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22
Q

(cover story) After a general introduction what were ps told?

A

They were told very little is known about the effects of punishment on learning and whether it made a difference who is giving the punishment, whether an adult learns best from a younger or an older person (this is why the experimenter brought together a number of adults with a range of ages & occupations and asking some to be a learner and some to be a teacher).

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23
Q

How did they determine who would be teacher and who would be learner?

A

Ps pulled slips of paper from a hat to determine who would be teacher/learner. However this allocation was rigged so that ps always got teacher and the confederate always got learner.

24
Q

what happened immediately after drawing?

A

teacher and learner were taken to an adjacent room and the learner (confederate) was strapped into an ‘electric chair’. Experimenter explained that straps were to prevent excessive movement while learner was being shocked.
An electrode was attached to learners wrist and electrode paste was applied to avoid burns and blisters.
Ps were told the electrode was attached to shock generator in adjoining room.

25
Q

To improve credibility…

A

the experimenter declared, in response to a question by the learner, that although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no permanent tissue damage.

26
Q

The learning task administered by the subject

A

A paired-associate learning task.
Ps read a series of word pairs to the learner and then read the first word of the pair along with four terms. Learner was to indicate which of the four terms had originally been paired with the first word.
He communicated his answer by pressing one of four switches in front of him, which in turn lit up one of the four numbered quadrants in an answer box located at top of shock-generator.

27
Q

shock generator

A

-ranged from 15-450 volts
-15 volt increment from one switch to next going left to right
-verbal descriptions clear;y indicated; slight shock, moderate shock, strong shock, very strong shock, intense shock, extreme intensity shock, danger server shock.
-2 switches after these were labeled XXX

28
Q

Sample shock

A

each ps were given a sample shock on the shock generator prior to beginning his run as the teacher. The shock was always 45 volts and is applied by pressing 3rd switch on generator. The shock was applied to the wrist of the participant and comes from an actual 45 volt battery wired into the generator.

29
Q

shock instructions

A

ps were told to administer a shock to learner every time he gives wrong response, told to move up one level higher each time its wrong. Ps also told to announce voltage level before
administering.

30
Q

ps found it hard to read words and administer shocks so practice was needed:

A

so teacher is given a preliminary series of 10 words to read to the learner, there are 3 neutral words in the practice series (words that the learner answers correctly) so that shocks are administered for the 7 words with the max shock at 105 volts. Almost all ps master the procedure by the time this preliminary run is over.

31
Q

Victim feedback

A

In all conditions the learner gives a predetermined set of responses to the word pair test based on approx 3 wrong answers to 1 correct answer. No vocal response or other sign of protest is heard from the learner until shock level 300 is reached. At 300 volt mark learner pounds on the wall of the room they’re in bound to the electric chair. Pounding can be heard by the ps, from this point on the learners answers no longer appeared on the 4 way panel.

32
Q

the experimenter instructs the subject to treat the absence of a response as a wrong answer & shock learner like usual…

A

Experimenter advises the ps to allow 5-10 seconds before considering no response as a wrong answer.

33
Q

learners pounding is repeated after which volt mark?

A

315 volts, but then is not heard from again.

34
Q

experimenter feedback

A

at various points in the experiment the ps may turn to experimenter for advice on whether he should continue and then a standardised response was given called ‘prods’.

35
Q

4 prods given to teacher (ps)

A

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.

36
Q

only if prod 1 had been unsuccessful…

A

then prod 2 could be used

37
Q

if ps refused to obey experimenter after prod 4 then…

A

experiment was terminated

38
Q

how was the experiment observed?

A

one way mirror

39
Q

what happened following the experiment?

A

ps were interviewed, open ended question, projective measures and attitude scales were used. Measures were taken to ensure ps left lab in state of well being.
A friendly reconciliation was arranged between the participant and confederate (learner)

40
Q

question asked in post experimental interview:

A

“How painful to the learner were the last few shocks that you administered to him?”
Ps indicated their answers on a printed 14 point scale ranging from NOT PAINFUL to EXTREMELY PAINFUL (most ps circled 14) mean was: 13.42.

41
Q

signs of nervousness shown by ps:

A

sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their nails into their flesh, nervous laughing fits. 14/40 ps showed definite signs of nervous laughter and smiling.

42
Q

how many subjects had full-blown seizures?

A

3

43
Q

one seizure was so violent that…

A

they had to call a halt to the experiment

44
Q

effects on the ps that had the violent seizure:

A

46 year old salesman suffered embarrassment

45
Q

some ps said during the debrief:

A

ps stressed that they were not sadistic types and that the laughter did not mean they enjoyed shocking the ps.

46
Q

results

A

all 40 went to 300 volts, 5 refused to obey commands above 300 volts.
2 broke off at 330 volts, 1 each at 345, 360 and 375 volts.
A total of 14 ps defied the experimenter.
26 obeyed to the end (65%)

47
Q

ps body language that obeyed to the end:

A

sighs of relief, mopped brows and rubbed fingers over their eyes.

48
Q

what was the prediction?

A

predicted only 10 would go to 450 volts

49
Q

Discussion

A

the high levels of obedience (unpredicted) may be explained by the following:

1 -experiment is sponsored by and takes place on ground of prestigious and reputable uni (Yale).
2 -the worthy purpose of experiment-advancement of knowledge about learning and memory.
3 -ps perceive learner has volunteered and is not forced.
4 -ps entered them selves voluntarily and perceive themselves to be under obligation to aid the experiment.
5 -ps were paid.
6 -allocation of roles (teacher/learner)
7 -occured in closed setting, no discussion with others.
8 -ps assured shocks were ‘painful but not dangerous’
9 -demands of experimenter
10 -gave little time for reflection

50
Q

low ecological validity

A

task of giving electric shocks was not an everyday occurance

51
Q

deception

A

subjects thought they were taking part in a teaching and learning task to investigate the effects of punishment on learning.

52
Q

reliability

A

all went through same procedure, paid on arrival, saw ‘learner’ being strapped into electric chair and all had same task of flicking switches.

53
Q

validity

A

experimenter could note down exact voltage at which the subject stopped obeying commands.

54
Q

limited sample

A

advertisement was for males only, aged between 20-50 years old from New Haven, America

55
Q

controls made

A

screams of learner happened at the same voltage for every subject.
experimenter wore a grey technicians coat.
experimenter said only 4 prods throughout the experiment.

56
Q

influence of situation

A

cover story was made more plausible by being carried out at Yale (prestigious univeristy).