Milgram Flashcards
Define obedience.
A form of social influence I’m which an individual follows a direct order. The person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority.
What is the background to Milgram’s study?
- Adolf Eichmann was a key player in the ‘Final Solution’ (the Nazi program for mass murder of the Jewish people).
- He was brought to trial as a war criminal where he argued that he was just following orders and therefore was not guilty for the mass murder.
- Milgram wanted to test whether the Germans were particularly obedient or if anyone is capable of being as obedient if they are put in a similar situation.
What was the aim of Milgram’s study?
To investigate whether ordinary Americans would follow an unjust request from an authority figure (a person who has the right to/power to give orders/enforce obedience).
What was the research method in Milgram’s study?
- Controlled observation.
- Everything was kept the same for each participant but there was not IV despite there being a DV so it is a controlled observation.
What was the sampling method in Milgram’s study?
- Self selecting sampling whereby Milgram’s put an advert in the local newspaper / posted this advert through doors. The advert had the criteria of the participants that would be accepted and a form that they could complete to register their interest.
What was the sample in Milgram’s study?
- 40 participants
- 20 - 50 years old
- Male
- From the New Haven Area
- Factory workers, barbers, clerks, white-collar workers, others.
How much was each participant paid in Milgram’s study?
$4.00 plus 50c carfare
What was the procedure in Milgram’s study?
- Participants were told the experiment was investigating punishment and learning.
- Participants were tested randomly and were always the teacher (due to a fixed lottery).
- Participants saw the ‘volunteer’ (in fact a confederate) strapped into a chair with electrodes attached to his arms and were told the shocks were not harmful.
- The participant was given a sample shock of 45 volts from the shock generator.
- The teacher was seated in a room adjacent to the learner and read over the intercom a series of word-pairs.
- The teacher then asked to learner to identify the correct answer from a choice of four by pressing switches.
- If the learner got the answer correct they went onto the next question, however if they got it wrong, the teacher administered an electric shock which increased by 15V each time.
- The learner produced a set of predetermined responses, giving approximately three wrongs answers to every correct one.
- At 300V the learner pounds on the wall.
- After 300V, the learner stops answering questions which is treated as an incorrect answer.
- At 315V the learner pounds on the wall.
- If the teacher expressed his discomfort, the experimenter would reply using one of the four prods in the determined order.
- The experiment ended when either 450V was reached of the participant withdrew.
- All participants were then debriefed by being told about the real nature of the experience y and were re-introduced to the learner.
What were the series of prods used in Milgram’s study?
- ‘Please continue’.
- ‘The experiment requires you to continue.’
- ‘It is absolutely essential that you continue.’
- ‘You have no other choice but to continue.’
What were the series of prods used in Milgram’s study?
- ‘Please continue’.
- ‘The experiment requires you to continue.’
- ‘It is absolutely essential that you continue.’
- ‘You have no other choice but to continue.’
What equipment was used in Milgram’s study?
- Electric shock generator
- Rigged lottery tickets
- Electrodes
- Buttons for answers
- A speak
- Straps
- Wores
- Intercom
- List of word pairs
What were the quantitative findings from Milgram’s study?
- 100% of participants continues to 300v.
- 65% of participants continued to 450v.
- 26 participants were obedient.
- 14 participants were disobedient.
What were the qualitative findings from Milgram’s study?
- 14 shoes nervous laughter.
- 3 had full blown uncontrollable seizures.
- Participants were observed to sweat, tremble, stutter and groan.
- ‘I don’t think this is very humane.’
- ‘I’d like to continue, but I can’t do that to a man.’
What were the conclusions made from Milgram’s study?
- Germans are not different (i.e. they are not more obedient).
- The situation produced strong tendencies to obey.
- The situation had caused emotional strain and tension.
What were the explanations for high levels of obedience in Milgram’s study?
- The study took place at Yale University, a credible institution with a good reputation.
- Participants had volunteered and were paid so felt obliged to take part.
- It was apparently by chance that the teacher was assigned that role; the6 both ran the risk of being the learner.
- Participants were assured that the shocks weren’t dangerous.
What were the explanations for high levels of tension in Milgram’s study?
- The participant was placed in a position in which he had to respond to competing demands from two people - the experimenter and the victim - whose demands couldn’t both be met.
- The demands of the experimenter (for abstract scientific knowledge) and the victim (for relief from physical suffering) were very different.
- The experiment gave the participant little time for reflection.
- The experiment involved participants experiencing conflict between the disposition not to harm others and the tendency to obey those perceived to be legitimate authorities.
How does Milgram’s study lack ecological validity?
- The request from the authority figure (to cause someone serious harm) was an extreme one and not an everyday request.
- Yale university was a highly artificial setting (a lab).
How does Milgram’s study have ecological validity?
- Those working in Nazi death camps were also required by authority figures to inflict harm upon others.
How does Milgram’s study lack population validity?
- Only men
- Only aged 20 - 50 (no students)
- Only from the New Haven area
How does Milgram’s study have population validity?
- All occupations
- Relatively large sample size
- Represents the group they were trying to research (Nazis working in death camps)
How does Milgram’s study lack construct validity?
- Milgram didn’t do much to ensure participants were all psychologically healthy.
- The behaviour of his participants could also reflect their levels of empathy (for the learner) and their levels of moral courage.
How does Milgram’s study have construct validity?
How does Milgram’s study have internal reliability?
- The researcher was in the room for each participant.
- Each teacher was given a sample shock of 45v.
- Each teacher was given the same four prods in the same order.
- The learner only communicated to the teacher at 300v and 315v by banging on the wall.
How does Milgram’s study lack internal reliability?
- Even though there were four standard prods it would have been difficult for the ‘experimenter’ to act in precisely the same with each participant.
How does Milgram’s study have external reliability?
- Good sample size (40 participants) therefore we can trust that they are consistent results.
How does Milgram’s study lack external reliability?
How was Milgram’s study ethnocentric?
- Only studied participants in a certain area (New Haven, Connecticut, USA) so can only link results to this specific group.
How was Milgram’s study not ethnocentric?
- Replications of the study in other cultures often produced quite similar results.
How can Milgram’s study be defended ethically?
- Participants could withdraw from the study (35% did as they did not go up to 450v).
- Confidentiality was kept as no names were published in the original research paper.
- Participants were debriefed before they left the laboratory.
How can Milgrams study be criticised ethically?
- There was deception as the participants were lied to about the aim of the study and they believed they were giving shocks to the learner when they weren’t.
- There was no informed consent as participants didn’t know the truth aim of the study.
- Many participants experienced harm during this study with three experiencing full blown, uncontrollable seizures.
