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Social appraoch > Milgram - 1963 > Flashcards

Milgram - 1963 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the background to Milgram’s study?

A

Nazi Germany

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2
Q

Why is Milgram related to Nazi Germany?

A

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

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3
Q

How does the agency theory link to Milgram?

A

participants were in an agentic state and believed any harm done to the ‘leaner’ (Mr Wallace) would be the authority figures (Jack Williams) responsibility

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4
Q

What was the false aim given to participants about?

A

memory, learning, and punishment

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5
Q

What was Milgram’s aim?

A

To see how far an individual will go in obeying an authority figure

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6
Q

What is the DV?

A

obedience to the authority figure

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7
Q

What is the IV?

A

there is not one

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8
Q

What is a disadvantage of not having an IV?

A

it is not possible to establish causality therefore explanations may lack validity

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9
Q

Where did Milgram’s study take place?

A

A lab in an ivy league university (Yale) in New York

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10
Q

What is an advantage of the setting?

A

the prestigious setting makes it feel safer for participants

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11
Q

What is a disadvantage of the setting?

A

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

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12
Q

Who were the confederates in the study?

A

Jack Williams (experimenter) and Mr Wallace ‘leaner’

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13
Q

How would you describe Jack Williams?

A

a legitimate authority figure

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14
Q

Who were the participants in Milgram’s study?

A
  • 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
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15
Q

What is another (better) word for ‘teacher’ and ‘learner’ in this study?

A

‘teacher’ - naïve participant
‘learner’ - confederate

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16
Q

What is an advantage of the sample?

A

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

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17
Q

What are the disadvantages of the sample?

A
  • 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
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18
Q

What was the sampling technique used?

A

Self-selected (volunteer)

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19
Q

How was the sampling technique used?

A

newspaper ad & direct mail solicitation

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20
Q

What is an advantage of using this sampling technique?

A

less chance of attrition as the participants are interested

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21
Q

What is a disadvantage of using the sampling technique?

A

only a certain type of person volunteers - more confident - therefore not generalisable

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22
Q

What is Milgram’s method?

A

A controlled observation in a lab setting

23
Q

Why was Milgram’s method a controlled observation?

A

because there was no manipulation of the IV

24
Q

What are the strengths of a controlled observation?

A
  • high level of control means the results are less likely to be affected by extraneous variables = more reliable
25
Q

What are the weaknesses of a controlled observation?

A
  • lacks ecological validity and does not have mundane realism
26
Q

What are some examples of the types of things that were controlled?

A
  • who was the learner and who was the teacher
  • learner responses
  • experimenter prods
27
Q

Why is a highly controlled environment an advantage?

A

Standardisation - this makes results more reliable and the experiment more replicable

28
Q

How was data collected?

A
  • 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
29
Q

What happened before the study was conducted?

A

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’

30
Q

What did the Yale seniors predict?

A

an insignificant minority would go through to the end of the shock series - mean 1.2%

31
Q

How were participants always given the role of teacher?

A

fixed lottery

32
Q

Who was the authority figure?

A

Jack Williams - experimenter

33
Q

How did the experimenter look like an authority figure?

A

he wore a white lab coat (UNIFORM)

34
Q

How did Milgram make the experiment look real?

A

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

35
Q

What was the point of administering a sample shock to the participants?

A

to stimulate genuineness and contribute towards making the participants believe that the learner was actually getting shocked

36
Q

What did the shock generator look like?

A
  • 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
37
Q

What was the test that the learner had to complete?

A

paired word test e.g., blue sky or green grass

38
Q

What was the role of the teacher?

A

administer an electric shock with increasing intensity every time the learner got an answer wrong

39
Q

How were the learners responses standardised?

A

pre-recorded responses

40
Q

What was the ratio of right to wrong answers?

A

3 wrong to every right one 3:1

41
Q

Why were the responses standardised?

A

So that each participant went up the same amount

42
Q

What happened to the learner at 300V?

A

pounded on the wall and thereafter made no further replies

43
Q

What are some examples of the experimenter prods?

A

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”

44
Q

What is the effect of the prods on the participant?

A
  • removes the right to withdraw
  • pressured to continue
  • fear of the authority figure (might switch their roles)
45
Q

When does the study end?

A

either when the ‘teacher’ refuses to continue (disobedient) or when they reached 450 V (max)

46
Q

What ethical concern was taken care of once the study was completed?

A

debrief

47
Q

What is an advantage to the high levels of control?

A

results have internal validity

48
Q

What are some of the overarching issues of the procedure?

A
  • 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
49
Q

What are the key results?

A
  • 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
50
Q

What were some of the signs of stress exhibited by participants?

A
  • sweating
  • 3 uncontrollable seizures
  • stuttering
  • nervous laughter
    . sighs of relief
    . nervously fumbled cigarettes
51
Q

What are some of Milgram’s explanations?

A

13 total
1) prestigious setting
2) new situation

52
Q

What are the conclusions for Milgram’s study?

A
  • 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
53
Q

What are the ethical issues in the study?

A
  • no informed consent
  • deception
  • protection from harm
  • right to withdraw

Social appraoch (5 decks)

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