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”
