Milgram (1963) Obedience To Authority

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

Would people obey a legitimate person of authority even if they were being asked to do something immoral.

Question 2

Set Up (4)

Answer 2

Two confederates as ‘learner’ and ‘experimenter’
Learner connected to fake electric shock machine
Teacher sat in adjacent room w. controls for machine
Experimenter sat behind teacher

Question 3

Procedure (3)

Answer 3

Teacher had to increasingly shock learner for every wrong answer given
Learner quiet until shocks reached 300V where they were supposed to bang in wall but not give answer, same for 315V
Experimenter encourage teacher to continue using prompts

Question 4

Sample (4)

Answer 4

Volunteer
40 Caucasian white/blue collar workers
USA
20-40 years old

Question 5

Results (2)

Answer 5

65% went to max voltage
Only 12.5% stopped at 300V

Question 6

Conclusion (2)

Answer 6

If experimenter had legitimate authority, ordinary people would obey demands
Decided acts not carried out by evil people, but the acts themselves were evil

Question 7

Generalisability (3)

Answer 7

Population validity
Empathy
Volunteer sample

Question 8

Reliability (1)

Answer 8

Can be repeated (Burger)

Question 9

Application (1)

Answer 9

Unclear if it can be applied as was before ethical guidelines in 1970s meaning exact same experiment can’t be fully replicated

Question 10

Validity (2)

Answer 10

Stamford University
Bias

Question 11

Ethics (3)

Answer 11

Deception
Mental harm
Right to withdraw

Question 12

Milgram’s Variation 7
Aim, Procedure, Results

Answer 12

Proximity of experimenter influenced obedience
Experimenter gave initial instructions face to face then left room and gave further instructions over phone
22.5% went to max volts
Some even lied to experimenter about increasing shock level

Question 13

Milgram’s Variation 8
Aim, Procedure, Results

Answer 13

To find out women’s obedience level
Had 40 female teacher as teacher
Obedience level was 65% same as the men

Question 14

Milgram’s Variation 10
Aim, Procedure, Results

Answer 14

Still obey if setting of experiment was a rundown office block not Yale institute
Same as original though sparsely furnished
48% obedience level w. participants questioning company upon arrival

Question 15

Milgram’s Variation 13
Aim, Procedure, Results

Answer 15

Follow authority of someone not looking authoritarian
Experimenter give instructions (minus upping volt by 15 for every wrong answer) then leaving room
Another person in room suggests that to be a good idea
20% obedience level