Milgram(1963) Flashcards
What is the area of this study
Social
What was the aim of the study
The aim of the study was to investigate the process of obedience by testing how far an individual will go in obeying an authority figure to deliver electric shocks to another person, even when the command breaches the moral code that an individual should not hurt another person against their will
What was the research method
Lab study - controlled observation
How many participants were there and what were their gender?
40 ppts
All male
How were the volunteers/ ppts recruited?
Via a newspaper advert in a local paper in Connecticut USA.
What did the advert say the study was about ?
The advert asked males to take part in a study of memory and learning at Yale Uni.
Between the ages of 20-50 from a range of occupational and educational backgrounds.
How much were the ppts paid upon arrival?
$4.50 upon arrival for their participation
How many psychologists did milgram tell about his procedure?
14 psychologists
What were the psychologists asked to do prior to the study ?
They were asked to estimate the percentage of participants who would administer the highest level of shock(450volts)
What did the psychologists estimate about the amount of ppts that would go up to 450 volts
Estimates ranged from 1-3%
Mean (1.2%)
How were the participants always the teacher
The ppt arrived at Yale uni and was asked to draw lots for the role of the teacher and learner in a rigged draw, so they always became a teacher
Did the teacher receive a sample shock ?
Yes of 45 volts
How were the ppts tricked into believing the learner was just another ppt ?
They saw the “learner” strapped into an electric chair
Where was the “teacher” (ppt) sitting
The teacher was sat infringe of a shock generator which had 30 switches labelled from 15/450 volts, under which were descriptions “slight shock, danger, severe shock- XXX”
What did the experimenter tell the ppts before the experiment began (about the volts)
The experimenter told the ppts “although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage”
We’re the responses pre- recorded ? I.e cries/ shouts screams
Yes the responses were pre - recorded
At 300 volts the learner pounded on the wall.
After 315 volts he went silent and did not response to any further questions
What happened if the participant didn’t want to continue with the experiment
The experiment would respond with
- please continue
- the experiment requires you to continue
- it is absolutely essential that you continue
- you have no other choice you must go on
How was data gathered
Data was gathered through observations made by both the experimenter and others who observed the process through one way mirrors.
Were photographs taken for observation
Yes occasional photographs were takes the rough the one- way mirrors and notes were made on unusual behaviours
Debrief
At the end of the study, the teacher was reunited with the learner and, assured no shocks had been given and was thoroughly debriefed about the true nature and purpose of the experiment
Did milgram interview the ppts after the experiment ? And if so, for what?
Yes milgram interviewed the ppts about their attitudes towards their experience
Results: how many volunteers obeyed up to 300 volts?
All 40 participants
How many continued to 450 volts?
65%/ 26 ppts
5 dropped out after 300v and between 315 and 375, a further 9 dropped
What were the observations made of the ppts during the experiment ?
Many ppts showed signs of extreme stress- sweating, trembling, nervous laughing, biting their lips and groaning.
Some appeared to be crying
3 had full blown seizures
Conclusions
- the majority of ppts showed a high level of obedience to an authority figure
- ‘normal men’ had obeyed to the point where they believe they were actually harming a fellow ppt. Inhumane acts can be done by ordinary
- the power of obedience outweighed their personal moral beliefs that it was wrong to injure others
- people obey because certain situational factors lead them to suspend their sense of autonomy
- individual differences such as personality, influence the extent to which people will be obedient
Factors affecting obedience
- the experiment was in a prestigious university and the experimenter appeared authoritative
- the learner had also volunteered to participate and so was willing
- the participant was paid to participate
- the teaching/ learning role had apparantley appeared by chance
- the situation was entirely new to the ppts so they had no past experience to guide their behaviour and there was no one for the participant to discuss things with
- the ppt was told the shocks weren’t harmful
- the leached experienced conflict between two deeply ingrained behaviour dispositions: not to harm vs obedience to authority
Sample
- All volunteers may not represent a full section of society
- all male ppts
Ecological validity
Low ecological validity
Artificial/ lab based environment and a task which is very unrealistic- not something the ppts were likely to have been asked to do in their everyday life
Reliability
Milgram had a standardised procedure
Including standardised responses from the learner and prods from the experimenter
This makes his experimental procedure easy to replicate and therefore makes it highly likely that his results are reliable
(HIGH RELIABILITY)
Ethics
Major ethics with this study
- deception- ppts were deceived as to the nature of the study
- fully informed consent - as ppts didn’t know the nature of the study, they could not give informed consent
- right to withdraw- if ppts were reluctant to give the next shock, the prods were used to encourage them to continue, and thus discourage withdrawal
- protection from harm- the ppts were at significant risk of psychological harm because of the stress they were out under in this experiment. Milgram defended his experiment by arguing they had no way of predicting the reaction of the ppts- his results were quite unexpected
Milgram did a follow up with the ppts 12 months later which indicated they had not suffered any long term harm
Practical application
Gives us indication of factors which we may be able to alter to encourage obedience in settings such as hospitals/ schools.
