Milgram (1963) Flashcards
what did milgram want to find out in this experiment
how far people would go obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person
what inspired Milgrim to carry out the experiment
At the Nuremberg trials, nazis claimed that they were ‘just following orders’ and were in fact innocent, despite aiding to the slaughter of millions.
how did Adolf Eichmann inspire the study
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’
what sample was used in the study
self-selecting
define self-selecting samples
when people volunteer to take part in the study
define agentic state
people allow others to direct their actions, and then pass of the responsibility for the consequences to the person giving the orders
describe the participants taking part in the study
40 males, ages 20-50, from New Haven or surrounding communities
how were the participants recruited
obtained through newspaper advertisements and direct mailing- offered $4 for an hour, $4.50 if transport taken
how many participants reached 300v
40/40
how many participants reached the maximum 450v
26/40
what percentage of participants reached 450v
65%
how would you describe the 26 participants that went to 450v
they were ‘obedient’
how would you describe the 14 participants that didn’t reach 450v
they were ‘defiant’
where was the experiment conducted
Yale university
who played the role of experimenter
a 31-year-old high school teacher of biology
describe some typical actions of the participants observed by the experimenter
sweating, tremling, stuttering, lip biting, groaning
what actions did 14 participants do
laughed and smiled nervously
what actions did 3 participants do
they had stress-induced uncontrollable seizures
what two things did Milgram conclude after the study
- this was a situation that produced extremely strong tendencies to obey
- the situation generates extraordinary tension and emotional strain
give four reasons for the high levels of obedience observed
- 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’
give four reasons for the high levels of tension experienced
- 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
name 5 prods given by the experimenter
- ‘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’
what was said when experimenter was asked if electric shocks would lead in permanent injury
‘although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage so go on’
what occured after the experiment
the participant was interviewed and a friendly reconciliation was made between the ‘learner’ and the participant
what mean percentage of participants did yale students believe would be obedient
1.2%
describe the procedure of this study (8 points)
- 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’
name 5 strengths of this study
(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
name 4 weaknesses of this study
(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
what is population validity
how representative your sample is compared to the target population
