Milgram 1963 Study Of Obedience Flashcards
What is the aim?
To investigate how obedient people would be in a situation where following orders would mean breaking participants’ moral codes & harming another person: to test the hypothesis that the “Germans were different”.
What were the volunteers like?
40 volunteers
Males aged 20-50
They thought they were being tested for human memory (not ethical)
What were the PPS offered as payment?
$4.50
How were the PPS given roles? (Procedure)
-The PPS we’re introduced to Mr Wallace (a confederate).
-They were told either they or Mr Wallace would be randomly allocated tiled of teacher or leaner.
-Mr Wallace was ALWAYS the learner.
What was the procedure?
-Mr Wallace (learner) would receive electric shocks every time he got a memory question wrong.
-The PPS could HEAR Mr Wallace but couldn’t see him.
-The teacher (naive real participant) was given a small shock at the beginning of the experiment to illustrate its effects.
-The shocks went up in 15V increments up to 450V which was marked as XXX.
-The researcher & Mr Wallace followed a carefully scripted set of responses & prompts.
-Teacher and learner were then placed in separate rooms.
-At 180V Mr Wallace complained of a weak heart, at 300V he banged on the wall and demanded to leave, at 315C he refused to answer and became silent.
How was the GENERALISABILITY of Milgrams study?
Only US males were used from a wide range of backgrounds and ages. There was also only 40 participants.
How was the RELIABILITY of Milgrams study?
A standardised procedure was followed, ie the same script & verbal prompts were used for each PPS.
How was the APPLICATION of Milgrams study?
There were numerous examples in real life where we have to obey authority figures BUT in real life you do not have to shock people depending on their wrong answers.
How was the VALIDITY of Milgrams study?
Situation was too strange to be credible for the PPS, why was there a need for a teacher of the research was about punishment and learning.
As the learner cried out in pain the researcher remained aloof & distant, leading the PPS to suppose the learner was not really suffering any harm.
As he administered a shock on the PPS, the equipment looked real, Mr Wallace seemed genuine, validity was increased.
How was the ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY of Milgrams study?
-Do the results tell us anything about real world behaviour?
-Giving electric shocks doesn’t occur in real life
-Lacks mundane realism.
How was the METHOD of Milgrams study?
-When the teacher objected to the procedure, the researcher responded with a series of 4 prods which were standardised.
What were the RESULTS for Milgrams study?
-The estimate for the naive participants to inflict the maximum shock level was 1%. In reality 100% went to 300V & 65% went to 450V.
-During the experiment many PPS showed signs of extreme stress (shaking, sweating, stuttering).
-Many PPS argued to stop BUT continued to obey.
-35% stopped between 300-450V.
-56% stated they fully believed the learner was getting shocks.
What was the CONCLUSION of Milgrams study?
-Milgram concluded that the power of the social situation is a powerful determinant of behaviour- we are socialised from an early age to recognise authority and obey those with perceived power.
What was the VALIDITY of Milgrams variations of his study?
-When done outside a lab and in a run down office block, obedience levels fall but we’re at 48% still.
How were the ETHICS of Milgrams study?
-PPS we’re deceived (obedience not memory study AND the shocks weren’t real). But it was necessary to ensure experimental validity despite not being able to give informed consent.
