milgram (1963) obedience

Question 1

research method

Answer 1

a controlled observation bcos no IV.

Question 2

sample

Answer 2

40 male p’s aged 20-50 years

Question 3

outline procedure

Answer 3

took place in a lab at yale university.
The 40 participants in the experimental group were always given the role of teacher (through a fixed lottery) and saw the learner (a confederate)
strapped into a chair with (non-active) electrodes attached to his arms. The ‘teacher’ then sat in front of an electric shock generator in an adjacent room.
The ‘learner’ (Mr Wallace, a 47 year old, mild-mannered and likable accountant) produced (via a tape recording) a set of predetermined
responses, giving approximately three wrong answers to every correct one. At 300 volts he pounded on the wall and thereafter made no further
replies.
• If the ‘teacher’ turned to the experimenter for advice on whether to proceed, the experimenter responded with a series of standardised prods
eg’ “Please continue / Please go on.”
• The study finished when either the ‘teacher’ refused to continue (was disobedient/defiant) or reached 450 volts (was obedient.
p’s were debriefed

Question 4

conclusions

Answer 4

inhumane acts can be done by ordinary people.
People, will obey others whom they consider legitimate authority figures even if what they are asked to do goes against their moral beliefs.
• People obey because certain situational features lead them to suspend their sense of autonomy and become an agent of an authority figure.
• Individual differences, such as personality, influence the extent to which people will be obedient