milgram Flashcards
why did milgram carry out this study
milgram wanted to understand and explain how people can obey authority figures to the extreme, even when it went against their own morals and conscience.
he specifically wanted to explain why the nazi soldiers had allowed the mass extermination of the jews and other minority groups during the holocaust in ww2
what was the aim of milgrams study
to investigate whether people will obey an authority figure to extreme lengths and administer lethal electric shocks
what’s the method used
controlled observation
who were the sample
40 males between the ages of 20-50 from the new haven area.
volunteer sampling was used and they were told they were taking part in a study of memory and learning.
participants were each paid $4.50 for just showing up to the lab
describe the procedure of milgrams study
the participant was introduced to the confederate and was told that the study was on memory and learning.
the participant and confederate then drew lots to see who would be the teacher and learner although this was rigged so the participant would always be the teacher
the teacher then saw the learner be taken to the experimental room where he was strapped to the chair and equipment including electrodes and gel on his skin to prevent scorching. the learner then said that he had a mild heart condition and asked if the shocks were dangerous. he was told that the shocks could be very painful but would not give him any long term damage.
the teacher was then sat at a desk in another room with the shock generator in front of him. the teacher was then given a test shock of 45V to add to the authenticity of the experiment
the teacher and learner could only hear each other. the teacher was told that the learner had to learn word pairs. the teacher would read out the first word of the pairs and then 4 more words. the learner had to choose the correct one. if they chose wrong, the teacher had to administer a shock, starting at 15V. The generator went from 15-450 volts and had words to describe each shock. for each mistake, the teacher had to move up a level.
all participants heard the same feedback from Mr Wallace. this consisted of standardised responses which came through the answer box as well ad pre recorded sounds of pain and distress. at 300v the learner pounded on the wall and no answer came through the answer box. the teacher was told to treat no answer as a wrong answer and to continue shocking. at 315v the teacher received no answer and could no longer hear screaming or crying or pounding, making them believe Mr Wallace was either dead or unconscious.
if the teacher protested at any point, they were given prods by the experimenter to continue, such as: “ the experiment requires you to continue”
at the end of the study, Mr Wallace and the participant were reunited and was fully debriefed on the purpose of the experiment.
Milgram also interviewed the participants using open ended questions, projective measures and attitude scales to ensure that the subject left in a state of well being
what were the results of milgrams study
what did milgram conclude
describe the agentic shift theory
there are two states of behaviour when people are put in social situations:
the autonomous state- people direct their own actions and take responsibility of those actions.
the agentic state- people allow others to direct their actions and then pass off the responsibility of those consequences to the person giving orders
when in the presence of authority figures, the agentic shift happens and people move from the autonomous state to the agentic state and become very obedient, even to immoral actions
people may want to stop but due to ‘binding factors’ they feel unable to. binding factors e.g denial of responsibility allow someone to ignore the hurtful impacts of their behaviours, ease their moral strain and continue to obey
comment on the generalisability of the study
- the study was androcentric, so only tested males therefore we can’t generalise to obedience of females to authority figures
-ethnocentric- the study only tested people from New Haven, USA, so results cannot be generalised to other areas or countries around the world
-self selected sampling is at risk of bias e.g all helpful people/ people pleasers
comment on the reliability of the study
+ the study is high in reliability due to standardised procedures- carried out in a lab at Yale University, all participants were given the same procedure, all screams were pre recorded and prods were scripted
comment on the ecological validity of the study
+ milgram was trying to explain the extreme obedience of the nazis, so conducted an observation in an extreme way
-controlled observation so in a controlled setting- perhaps participants behaved in a different way due to being in a lab
-the activity the participants did was not very true to real life- it is not an everyday task to shock someone- therefore it is low in ecological validity
comment on the ethics of the study
+participants were debriefed at the end of the study and were reintroduced to mr wallace. they were also given well being questionnaires so PoP was adhered to
- we can question PoP as the study was harmful- 3 participants had seizures and most showed signs of anxiety such as nervous laughter
- participants were deceived for the purpose of the study
-they had the right to withdraw but were heavily encouraged not to- verbal prods made them feel like they couldn’t leave
comment on the way data was collected
+ qualitative data adds context to the participant’s actions- we knew that they did not enjoy participating despite 65% of them going all the way to 450V
+ quantitative data shows obedience levels which are easy to analyse
was demand characteristics a strength or weakness
+ participants did not know they were being observed through a one way mirror, they also didn’t know the study was on obedience as they were told it was about memory and learning therefore demand characteristics was a strength
+ if they knew the aim of the study they would not be distressed
how useful is the study
+ anti-obedience training in the army- if orders go against the law or your morals, you should disobey / checks to make sure soldiers aren’t under order of unethical authority
+ schools should be well kept and teachers should wear uniform to get higher levels of obedience from students
comment on the methodology used
+ controlled observation- no extraneous variables e.g all participants heard the same responses from Mr Wallace, so all participants experienced the same thing. we therefore can establish cause and effect- that authority causes high levels of obedience
