Milgram - 1963 Flashcards
What is the background to Milgram’s study?
Nazi Germany
Why is Milgram related to Nazi Germany?
Milgram’s authority figure pushed people into an agentic state similar to the Nazi regime due to fear of consequence which made people obey the authority figure to any length
How does the agency theory link to Milgram?
participants were in an agentic state and believed any harm done to the ‘leaner’ (Mr Wallace) would be the authority figures (Jack Williams) responsibility
What was the false aim given to participants about?
memory, learning, and punishment
What was Milgram’s aim?
To see how far an individual will go in obeying an authority figure
What is the DV?
obedience to the authority figure
What is the IV?
there is not one
What is a disadvantage of not having an IV?
it is not possible to establish causality therefore explanations may lack validity
Where did Milgram’s study take place?
A lab in an ivy league university (Yale) in New York
What is an advantage of the setting?
the prestigious setting makes it feel safer for participants
What is a disadvantage of the setting?
when the study was replicated in a run-down office block there was a decrease in obedience so the prestigious setting may have unfairly impacted the results
Who were the confederates in the study?
Jack Williams (experimenter) and Mr Wallace ‘leaner’
How would you describe Jack Williams?
a legitimate authority figure
Who were the participants in Milgram’s study?
- 40 males
- aged 20-50
- from New Haven New York
- range of education levels
- range of jobs from plumbers to CEOs
- volunteers
- paid $4.50
What is another (better) word for ‘teacher’ and ‘learner’ in this study?
‘teacher’ - naïve participant
‘learner’ - confederate
What is an advantage of the sample?
the fact that the sample included a range of ages, jobs & education levels results can be used to explain that these factors are not extraneous variables that affect how people respond to authority figures
What are the disadvantages of the sample?
- small (not representative)
- gender bias (makes results androcentric)
- culture bias (makes results ethnocentric)
- lack population validity
- because they were paid it may remove the right to withdraw
What was the sampling technique used?
Self-selected (volunteer)
How was the sampling technique used?
newspaper ad & direct mail solicitation
What is an advantage of using this sampling technique?
less chance of attrition as the participants are interested
What is a disadvantage of using the sampling technique?
only a certain type of person volunteers - more confident - therefore not generalisable
What is Milgram’s method?
A controlled observation in a lab setting
Why was Milgram’s method a controlled observation?
because there was no manipulation of the IV
What are the strengths of a controlled observation?
- high level of control means the results are less likely to be affected by extraneous variables = more reliable
What are the weaknesses of a controlled observation?
- lacks ecological validity and does not have mundane realism
What are some examples of the types of things that were controlled?
- who was the learner and who was the teacher
- learner responses
- experimenter prods
Why is a highly controlled environment an advantage?
Standardisation - this makes results more reliable and the experiment more replicable
How was data collected?
- the experimenter (who was in the same room as the participant)
- observers watching and making notes through a one-way mirror
- most sessions were recorded on magnetic tape
- photographs were occasionally taken through the one-way mirror
What happened before the study was conducted?
14 Yale seniors (psychology majors) were provided with a detailed description of the experiment and asked to predict the behaviour of 100 hypothetical ‘Americans of diverse occupations ranging in age from 20-50’
What did the Yale seniors predict?
an insignificant minority would go through to the end of the shock series - mean 1.2%
How were participants always given the role of teacher?
fixed lottery
Who was the authority figure?
Jack Williams - experimenter
How did the experimenter look like an authority figure?
he wore a white lab coat (UNIFORM)
How did Milgram make the experiment look real?
1) the participants saw Mr Wallace attached to (non-active) electrodes strapped to a chair
2) the participants also were given a sample shock of 45 volts
What was the point of administering a sample shock to the participants?
to stimulate genuineness and contribute towards making the participants believe that the learner was actually getting shocked
What did the shock generator look like?
- 30 switches ranging from 15-450 volts
- going up in 15 volts increments
- had some descriptors to put into words the severity of the shocks e.g., 375 V = Danger: severe shock
What was the test that the learner had to complete?
paired word test e.g., blue sky or green grass
What was the role of the teacher?
administer an electric shock with increasing intensity every time the learner got an answer wrong
How were the learners responses standardised?
pre-recorded responses
What was the ratio of right to wrong answers?
3 wrong to every right one 3:1
Why were the responses standardised?
So that each participant went up the same amount
What happened to the learner at 300V?
pounded on the wall and thereafter made no further replies
What are some examples of the experimenter prods?
1- “Please continue”
2- “The experiment requires that you continue”
3- “It is absolutely essential that you continue”
4- “You have no other choice, you must go on”
What is the effect of the prods on the participant?
- removes the right to withdraw
- pressured to continue
- fear of the authority figure (might switch their roles)
When does the study end?
either when the ‘teacher’ refuses to continue (disobedient) or when they reached 450 V (max)
What ethical concern was taken care of once the study was completed?
debrief
What is an advantage to the high levels of control?
results have internal validity
What are some of the overarching issues of the procedure?
- the participants knew they were in a study therefore demand characteristics are more likely to have affected the results
- procedure lacked mundane realism therefore results are not ecologically valid
What are the key results?
- 100% of participants went up to a deadly 300V
- 65% of participants went up to the max of 450V
- many participants showed signs of extreme stress whilst administering the shocks
What were some of the signs of stress exhibited by participants?
- sweating
- 3 uncontrollable seizures
- stuttering
- nervous laughter
. sighs of relief
. nervously fumbled cigarettes
What are some of Milgram’s explanations?
13 total
1) prestigious setting
2) new situation
What are the conclusions for Milgram’s study?
- inhumane acts can be done by ordinary people
- individual differences such as personality, influence only the extent to which people will be obedient
- level of obedience was totally unexpected
- extreme signs of tension were surprising
What are the ethical issues in the study?
- no informed consent
- deception
- protection from harm
- right to withdraw
