Milgram- Authority Flashcards
Aim 1
Why do people obey authority?
Aim 2
What are the conditions that foster obedient behaviour?
Aim 3
What are the conditions that foster independent behaviour?
Research method
Controlled observation
What did the psychologist majors predict about the study?
1 to 3% of people would administer the highest level of shock
Sample number and qualities
40 males, aged between 20-50 years from the New Haven area.
Sampling method
Volunteer with a cash incentive
What were the internal roles in the study?
The experimenter (biology teacher) and Mr Wallace (accountant)
What was the aim of the study the participants got told?
How punishment effected learning
How were the roles fixed?
A fixed lottery, flicking a bias coin that meant the participant was always the teacher.
Before the experiment started, what did the participant experience?
Seeing the learner being strapped up to the machine and having a 15 volt shock to stimulate genuineness
What was the learning task?
Paired word test where the learner had to pair up a list of words with remembered information
What if the learner was wrong?
The teacher gave him an electric shock of increasing intensity after every wrong answer
What did the pre-determined responses of the learner consist of?
1/4 was wrong. At 315V he pounded on the wall and fell silent.
What was the response of the experimenter when participants looked hesitant
Standardised prods: “Please continue/ please go on”. When asked about pain simulation he responded “although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage”
What happened after the experiment?
They were fully debriefed
Which voltage did every participant get up to?
300V
What percentage went to 450V?
65%
How many were disobedient?
14
What signs of extreme stress were shown by the teachers?
Sweating, trembling, stuttering and nervous laughter
What happened to 3 of the Teachers?
They had uncontrollable seizures
Why such high levels of obedience?
Prestigious university of Yale - influenced perspective on competence of researcher and worthiness of study.
No past experience and assured of health of the learner
Main conclusion
Inhumane acts can be dine by ordinary people die to being in agentic state
Conclusion 2
People will obey authority, no matter how inhumane the act
Conclusion 3
Individual differences, such as personality, will influence the degree of obedience
