Milgram 1963 Flashcards
Participants
40 males
Aged 20-50
From new haven
How were participants obtained?
Obtained through a newspaper advertisement and direct mailing
How much were they paid?
Paid $4.50 & were told they could keep this no matter what happened
What was the aim of the study?
To investigate how obedient people would be to orders from someone in legitimate authority which would result in pain to another person
Where was the experiment conducted?
Yale university
Who was the experimenter?
31 year old biology teacher
Wore a grey lab coat
What were the participants told the study was about?
The effects of punishment on memory
Who were the 2 participants?
The teacher and the learner
The confederate was always the learner and the naive participant was always the teacher, this was fixed
What did the electric shock generator look like?
Had switches ranging from 15v to 450v
Participants were told shocks were painful but not dangerous
When did the teachers give shocks?
Every time the learner answered wrong to the pair task
What was the sample shock?
Before the experiment the naive participant was given a sample shock of 45v which was so they believed the shock generator was real
What did the learner do at 300v and 315v?
Pounded the wall and then was silent and didn’t reply
What happened after the experiment?
Participants were interviewed and de-hoaxed, they were told that the shocks weren’t real and the real purpose was to investigate obedience
What were the predicted results?
14 Yale students said 1.2% would obey
What were the actual results?
65% obeyed up to 450 (26) 5 obeyed up to 300 14 disobeyed Participants showed signs of sweating, trembling, stuttering 14 had nervous laughter 3 had full blown uncontrollable seizures
What were the conclusions?
People are more obedient than they think they are
The situation produces strong tendencies to obey
Inhumane acts are done by ordinary people
People will obey authority
People will obey because of the situation they are in
What are the 9 factors which can explain the high levels of obedience?
The study was carried out in a top uni
The aim of the study was worthwhile
The learner volunteered
The teacher volunteered
They were paid
They both had equal chances of being the learner
The right to withdraw wasn’t obvious
The participants were told that the shocks weren’t dangerous
The learner was comfortable with the procedure for the first 300v
What did later variations of the procedure show?
Obedience was a lot lower when conducted if the learner was presence and if it was in a run down office
Background to the study
People were killed in nazi Germany, milgram believed an individual who is commanded by someone in authority obeys
What was the research method?
Controlled observation
How was data gathered?
Observations made by the experimenter who was in the same room as the ppt and others who observed through one way mirrors, most sessions were recorded on magnetic tape, photos were occasionally taken through one way mirrors and notes were made on usual behaviours.
How and what did the learner respond?
Through a tape recording, a set of predetermined responses, giving approx 3 wrong answers to every correct one
What happened if the teacher turned to the experimenter for advice?
The experimenter responded with a set of standardised prods. Eg please continue please go on
