Milgram (1963)

Question 1

what did milgram want to find out in this experiment

Answer 1

how far people would go obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person

Question 2

what inspired Milgrim to carry out the experiment

Answer 2

At the Nuremberg trials, nazis claimed that they were ‘just following orders’ and were in fact innocent, despite aiding to the slaughter of millions.

Question 3

how did Adolf Eichmann inspire the study

Answer 3

despite being a key figure in the implementation of ‘The Final Solution’, Eichmann claimed that he could not recognise that he was ‘guilty’ he could however recognise he was ‘guilty of having been obedient’

Question 4

what sample was used in the study

Answer 4

self-selecting

Question 5

define self-selecting samples

Answer 5

when people volunteer to take part in the study

Question 6

define agentic state

Answer 6

people allow others to direct their actions, and then pass of the responsibility for the consequences to the person giving the orders

Question 7

describe the participants taking part in the study

Answer 7

40 males, ages 20-50, from New Haven or surrounding communities

Question 8

how were the participants recruited

Answer 8

obtained through newspaper advertisements and direct mailing- offered $4 for an hour, $4.50 if transport taken

Question 9

how many participants reached 300v

Answer 9

40/40

Question 10

how many participants reached the maximum 450v

Answer 10

26/40

Question 11

what percentage of participants reached 450v

Answer 11

65%

Question 12

how would you describe the 26 participants that went to 450v

Answer 12

they were ‘obedient’

Question 13

how would you describe the 14 participants that didn’t reach 450v

Answer 13

they were ‘defiant’

Question 14

where was the experiment conducted

Answer 14

Yale university

Question 15

who played the role of experimenter

Answer 15

a 31-year-old high school teacher of biology

Question 16

describe some typical actions of the participants observed by the experimenter

Answer 16

sweating, tremling, stuttering, lip biting, groaning

Question 17

what actions did 14 participants do

Answer 17

laughed and smiled nervously

Question 18

what actions did 3 participants do

Answer 18

they had stress-induced uncontrollable seizures

Question 19

what two things did Milgram conclude after the study

Answer 19

• this was a situation that produced extremely strong tendencies to obey
• the situation generates extraordinary tension and emotional strain

Question 20

give four reasons for the high levels of obedience observed

Answer 20

• the event was placed in yale university (with a high, dignified reputation)
• participants paid to come to the laboratory (strengthened sense of obligation)
• lack of clarity about what participants had expected of them and what would be over-stepping limits
• participants reassured that the shocks were ‘painful but not dangerous’

Question 21

give four reasons for the high levels of tension experienced

Answer 21

• participant placed in a position where he had to respond to competing demands from two people- both demands couldn’t be met
• demands of the experimenter and victim were very different
• participants had little time for reflection during the experiment
• participants experienced conflict between the idea of not hurting others but also obeying authority figures

Question 22

name 5 prods given by the experimenter

Answer 22

• ‘please continue’
• ‘please go on’
• ‘this experiment requires you to continue’
• ‘it is absolutely essential that you continue’
• ‘you have no other choice, you must go on’

Question 23

what was said when experimenter was asked if electric shocks would lead in permanent injury

Answer 23

‘although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage so go on’

Question 24

what occured after the experiment

Answer 24

the participant was interviewed and a friendly reconciliation was made between the ‘learner’ and the participant

Question 25

what mean percentage of participants did yale students believe would be obedient

Answer 25

1.2%

Question 26

describe the procedure of this study (8 points)

Answer 26

• participants told experiment was investigating punishment and learning
• participants tested individually and were always the ‘teacher’ (fixed lottery)
• participants saw ‘volunteer’ (confederate) strapped into a chair and told shocks were not harmful
• participant given a sample shock of 45v from shock generator
• teacher seated in a room adjacent to learner and read over the intercom a series of word-pairs
• the teacher then asked the learner to identify the correct answer from a choice of four by pressing switches
• if the learner got the answer wrong the teacher administered an electric shock. the chocks increased each time by 15v
• if the teacher expressed his discomfort, the experimenter (authority figure) would reply using 1 of 4 ‘prods’

Question 27

name 5 strengths of this study

Answer 27

(sample)- all men aged 20-50 so comparable to nazis
(sampling method)- all volunteers so more likely to be willing participants
(validity)- believable to participants, they thought they were giving the shocks so behaved genuinely
(reliability)- standardised procedure, all participants experienced the same events
(lack of demand characteristics)- participants were deceived so they didn’t know the aim of the study

Question 28

name 4 weaknesses of this study

Answer 28

(sample)- low population validity, no females so can’t tell us about female audience
(sampling method)- volunteered so may have felt they couldn’t withdraw
(ethics)- ^harm^ psychological stress shown by seizures. ^deception^ lied to about the aim of the study, really though they were giving the shocks when they weren’t
(ecological validity)- not representative of a real life situation where you would need to obey -its extreme

Question 29

what is population validity

Answer 29

how representative your sample is compared to the target population