Milgram

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To test the idea that Germans were different to other people by seeing if American male volunteers obey the order to give electric shocks to innocent people

Question 2

The learner (confederate)

Answer 2

47 year old American- Irish actor
Introduced as Mr. Wallace
Mild mannered and likeable

Question 3

The experimenter (confederate)

Answer 3

31 years old
Dressed in lab coat
Would sternly encourage participants to continue with procedure

Question 4

Sampling type

Answer 4

Volunteer sampling

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

40 males aged 20-50
Jobs ranged from unskilled to professional
From the New Haven area
Paid $4.50 for turning up

Question 6

Where did the study take place?

Answer 6

Yale univeristy

Question 7

Procedure

Answer 7

• drew straws to determine their roles (fixed)
• learner was strapped to a chair with electrodes.
• learner would learn a list of word pairs
• the teacher tests him by naming a word and asking the learner to recall its partner from a list of four possible choices
• the teacher is told to administer an electric shock every-time the learner makes a mistake- increases by 15 v each time.
• learner gave mainly wrong answers.
• if teacher refused to continue the experimenter gave prompts

Question 8

Describe the shock generator

Answer 8

• Voltages had categories underneath ranging from ‘slight shock’ to ‘danger’ to ‘XXX’ for the final two volts
• Generator consisted of 30 switches
• Voltages increased by 15 v each from 15- 450 v

Question 9

Prompts

Answer 9

1. Please continue/please go on
2. The experiment requires that you continue
3. It is absolutely essential that you continue
4. You have no other choice - you must go on
5. If the participant was still refusing at this point, the study was stopped

Question 10

What happened at 300V?

Answer 10

Learner went silent (unconscious or dead)

Question 11

What % of participants went to 300v?

Answer 11

100%

Question 12

What % of participants went to 450v?

Answer 12

65%(26/40)

Question 13

Why did participants obey?

Answer 13

• Prestigious nature of Yale Uni
• Learner had volunteered
• Participant had been paid and felt obligated
• Shocks were painful, but not dangerous

Question 14

2-3 weaknesses about the sample

Answer 14

• Androcentric (only men)
• Ethnocentric (only American’s)
• All from same area (may share characteristics)

Question 15

Strength of the sample

Answer 15

Participants were volunteers

Question 16

Reliability of the study?

Answer 16

Very reliable as it can be easily replicated as shown by the multiple variations.
Standardised (pre scripted prompts)

Question 17

How is this low in validity?

Answer 17

Lacks ecological validity as its a unrealistic setting

Question 18

What real world events can this be applied to?

Answer 18

The Holocaust

Question 19

What 3-4 ethical guidelines did the study break

Answer 19

• Participants were deceived (were told it was a memory test)
• Participants did not give informed consent
• It was made difficult for them to withdrawal
• Were not initially protected from mental harm

Question 20

What ethical guidelines did it uphold

Answer 20

• Participants were extensively debriefed

- Participants were kept confidential

Question 21

Can you explain why Milligram was ok to break the guidelines

Answer 21

If the participants knew what the study was about/ that it was fake it would create demand characteristic and they wouldn’t act naturally