Milgram Flashcards

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1
Q

what is obedience?

A

the result of social influence where somebody acts in response to a direct order from a authority figure

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2
Q

what did he set out to investigate?

A

whether ordinary people will obey a legitimate authority even when requires to injure an innocent person.

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3
Q

what did he do?

A

recruited 40 male participants by advertising for volunteers to take place in a study at Yale university and being paid $4.50.
There were 2 confederates an (experimenter) and the “learner.” The participant was the “learner.” He was told he must administer electric shocks to the “learner” each time he got the question wrong.
The “leaner” was sat in another room and mostly gave wrong answers to receive a FAKE electric shock. As the shocks increased, the “learner” would pretend to be hurt and would scream/cry out and even went silence with the effect that he had been knocked out or killed. A series of prods was used to ensure the “teacher” continued with the experiment

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4
Q

what did he find?

A

65% continued to 450 volts, the max voltage

all participants went to 300 volts

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5
Q

what are the conclusions or his study?

A

ordinary people are obedient to authority even when asked to behave in a inhumane way.
it is not evil people who commit atrocities but ordinary people who are just obeying orders
many crimes against humanity are the outcome of situational rather than dispositional factors

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6
Q

VARIATIONS

in one variation, proximity study, what was it and how did it effect the amount that obeyed?

A

the teacher and the learner were in the same room, the amount who obeyed decreased

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7
Q

VARIATIONS

touch-proximity-explain

A

teacher had to physically put the learners hand on the shock pad, obedience fell

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8
Q

VARIATIONS

experimenter absent

A

experimenter gave prods over the phone after leaving the room

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9
Q

VARIATIONS

two peers rebel study

A
3 teachers (2 confederates) The 2 confederates would refuse to give higher shocks
obedience fell
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10
Q

VARIATIONS

discretion study

A

level of shock was left to participant

obedience fell the most

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11
Q

VARIATIONS

gender

A

men and women were both included, obedience remained the same but women consistently reported stress

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12
Q

VARIATIONS

location

A

the study was moved to a run down office block

obedience fell as participants began to question the legitimacy of the authority figure

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13
Q

evaluation

Orne and Holland believed Milgrams study lacked internal validity-explain why

A

They claimed that the participants knew the learner was in no pain because the experimenter remained calm and unfazed by the learner receiving electric shocks. And this is why so many went to full voltage.

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14
Q

evaluation

how does Milgram counteract this accusation by Orne and Holland?

A

that when he interviewed many of the participants, they had believed they were giving real shocks and the distress they felt was real.

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15
Q

evaluation
Milgram’s study has been reproduced in other countries . However cultural differences, must be taken into account, explain

A

each of these replications differ slightly both in terms of procedures and types of participants used.

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16
Q

evaluation

Hoffling’s study gives Milgram’s high ecological validity, explain what he did and why this gives it validity

A

a nurse was alone doing the late shift in a hospital one night, she received a call from an unknown doctor who asked her to administer a drug she had never heard of before-thus breaking 4 hospital rules. Despite this 21/22 nurses went to give the drug. When interviewed after, may said the doctors became annoyed before when they did not administer the drug. This study shows that high levels of obedience can be obtained in a real life setting.

17
Q

evaluation

A study by Rank and Jacobson questioned the validity of Hoffling’s nurse study, explain how they adapted it

A

they used a common drug, gave the name of a real doctor on the phone call and gave the nurses time to talk to each other before the drug had to be given. Only 2/18 obeyed.

18
Q

evaluation

Would Milgrams theory still work today?

A

Yes, in a recent study done by Burger which was identical to Milgram’s, he found levels of obedience almost exactly the same.

19
Q

evaluation
“the obedience alibi” David Mandel challenges criticises Milgram’s research by simply offering an alibi for the obedience shown by the holocaust perpetrators or by the Nazi’s,

A

:(

20
Q

evaluation

ETHICAL- informed consent- explain how it lacked informed consent?

A

because it didn’t tell the participants what was going to happen to them and so could not get 100% informed consent.

21
Q

evaluation
ETHICS- informed consent- Milgram argued there are 2 ways of overcoming the problem of informed consent, what are they and explain them

A

prior general consent: obtaining consent from participants and informing they may be “misinformed” about its purpose

presumptive consent: ask people not taking part whether they think the experiment is acceptable and how they think the participants will react.

22
Q

evaluation

ETHICS-protection from harm- how does the study not provide protection from harm?

A

because may were distressed, nervous tension was shown along with twitching and even a seizure

23
Q

evaluation

ETHICS-protection from harm- how has this been overcome?

A

the effects were only short term

Milgram interviewed the participants one year after and it was found that many were happy they took part

24
Q

evaluation
ETHICS-right to withdraw-Milgram referred to his participants as “volunteers”, why does this effect the right to withdraw?

A

it feels like the participants are less part of an experiment and less as if they were taking part and being involved.

25
Q

evaluation

ETHICS-right to withdraw- why didn’t the participants have the right to withdraw?

A

a series of prods was used which essentially discouraged withdrawal from the experiment.

26
Q

evaluation

ETHICS-debriefing- what does debriefing aim to do?

A

restore participants to the same state as when they entered.

27
Q

evaluation

ETHICS-debriefing- how was debriefing dealt with?

A

the participants were told not to feel ashamed and that their behavior was normal.
They were united with the learner and shook hands with them.