Milgram (1963) Behavioural Study of Obedience Flashcards
Define obedience
Complying with the demands of others, particularly those in positions of authority.
What was the aim of Milgrams study?
To investigate what level of obedience would be shown when participants were told by an authority figure to administer electric shocks to another person.
What was the sample like in Milgrams study?
40 males age between 20 and 50.
Recruited by a newspaper and direct mail advertisement.
How was the role of participants determined in Milgrams study?
Each participant would draw a slip of paper from a hat to determine which role he would play
The draw was rigged and the participant was always the teacher and the confederate (Mr.Wallace) was always the learner.
Describe the shock generator in Milgrams study
Milgram created a phoney ‘shock generator’
The shock generator had 30 switches marked clearly in 15 volt increasments from 15 to 450 volts.
Describe the setup of the experiment in Milgrams study
The participant was seated in an adjacent room in front of the shock generator and asked to read a series of word pairs to the learner.
Participant can’t see the confederate.
The experimenter was in the room with the participant.
Describe the word list in Milgrams study
The learner was asked to learn the pairs and was then tested by giving him one word in a pair along with four other words.
Describe the process of correct and incorrect answers in Milgrams study
If the answer was correct the participant would move onto the next word.
If it was wrong the participant would tell them the correct answer and the punishment they were going to receive.
They went from 15 to 450 volts up in 15 volts.
What happened when the participant asked for advice in Milgrams study?
The experimenter would give the participants encouragement to continue using standardised prods e.g. “please continue”, “the experiment requires that you continue”
Describe the results of the study in Milgrams study
All 40 participants obeyed the experimenter and delivered shocks up to 300 volts.
65% of participants delivered shocks up to the maximum 450 volts
What was the conclusion of Milgrams study?
The participants obeyed because of the situation.
Participants believed experiment was for a worthy purpose (took place at Yale)
They believed the victim had volunteered to be in the study and therefore has an obligation to take part.
What is an ethnocentric bias sample?
When all the participants are from the same cultural background so it’s not representative of individuals from other cultural backgrounds.
What is an androcentric bias sample?
When only male participants are used in an experiment.
Danger of androcentrism.
What were the strengths of Milgrams study?
High control - high internal validity
Standardised procedure - reliable
Quantitative data - objective
Qualitative data - valid
No ethical guidelines to breach
What were the weaknesses of Milgrams study?
Unrepresentative sample
Low ecological validity
Ethics - right to withdraw, deception
What is moral strain?
A negative feeling caused by doing something we believe to be morally wrong but feel compelled to do because of the social situation.
Why is a high control a strength of Milgrams study of obedience?
Everything in the procedure was kept constant for every participant
Confounding variables were avoided by conducting the procedure in an artificial setting
Why is standardised procedure a strength of Milgrams study of obedience?
Because it used standardised procedure for all participants it is possible to repeat the experiment which makes it more reliable
Why Is both quantitative and qualitative data a strength of Milgrams study of obedience?
As both types of data were collected it can be argued to increases the validity of the study
Quantitative - level of shocks administered
Qualitative - provided through interviews and observations
Why is an unrepresentative sample a weakness of Milgrams study of obedience?
Milgram chose to study only American men (thus deliberately ethnocentric) but from a variety of backgrounds and different ages
Could be argued that by using men this study produced a samples that was biased and didn’t reflect the general population
Why is low ecological validity a weakness of Milgrams study of obedience?
Can be argued Milgrams study was low in ecological validity that is not true to life
Have to be careful generalising findings to real life situations as people may act differently to an authority figure in real life
Why is ethics a weakness of Milgrams study of obedience?
Participants were deceived as to the exact nature of the study and by making them believe they were administering real electric shocks to a real participant
