Milgram (1963)

Question 1

What was the aim of the study?

Answer 1

• Investigate the level of obedience when told by a authority figure to give electric shocks.
• Investigate ‘Germans are different hypotheses’

Question 2

What was the sample?

Answer 2

• 40 men aged between 20-50
• Various occupational backgrounds, all from New Haven Area of America

Question 3

How was the sample selected?

Answer 3

• Advert was put in the local papers
• asking for Volunteers to take part in a study of memory and learning at Yale University
• Paid 4.50 dollars

Question 4

What was the method?

Answer 4

• lab based experiment
• role of the experimenter was played by a 31 year old high school teacher of biology
• He was passive and seemed stern
• Victim was played by a 47 year old accountant, trained

Question 5

What was the procedure?

Answer 5

• Subject drew paper out of the hat to decide who is the teacher and who is the student.
• Learner is strapped in to an ‘electric chair’
• electrode attached to the leaner chair - paste applied
• learning task - paired associate learning task, subject lead a series of word pairs to the learner, readers the first word of the pair with 4 terms - learner has got to guess which of the four terms is a word pair
• shock generator - consisted of 30 layers, difference of 15v each time.
• sample shock - each naive subject given a sample shock on shock generator (45v)
• shock instructions - subject told to give shock learner if answer is wrong or no answer is given and to move to a higher level.

Question 6

What was procedure 2?

Answer 6

• Learner gives predetermined answers (3 wrong; 1 right), no vocal response or protest until 300v shock reached.
• most recorded on a magnetic tape
• interviews - open-ended questions
• reconciliation arranged between victims and subjects to reduce any tensions

Question 7

What were the results?

Answer 7

• 26 out of 40 went up to 450 volts (65%)
• all participants went up to 300 volts
• 5 refused after 300 volts

Question 8

What qualitative data can we talk about?

Answer 8

Milgram also collected qualitative data. He observed the participants sweating, trembling, stuttering and groaning. 14 showed nervous laughter.

Question 9

What were the conclusions?

Answer 9

• Concluded you don’t have to be a psychopath to obey immoral orders.
• Showed strength of obedience tendencies as subjects listened although there would be no material loss for not listening.