Milgram KEY STUDY Flashcards
What was Milgram’s (1963) aim?
To research how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person.
What was Milgram’s sample for his study?
40 males aged between 20 and 50, who’s jobs ranged from unskilled to professional. Volunteers were recruited by an advert placed in the newspaper. Participants were paid $4.50
What was Milgram’s method?
Milgram carried the experiment out by telling the participants they were taking part in a ‘memory and learning’ experiment. There was two confederates, one learner and one experimenter. The true participant believed the learner was also a participant and that their positions were randomly allocated. Participants were told that the teacher (them) would ask the learner (confederate) questions and give them an electric shock if they got it wrong. To make this more believable the true participant was given a mild 15V shock at the start. The learner gave wrong answers on purpose to test if the participant would continue to increase the voltage to the maximum, 450V. The experimenter stood by and encouraged the participant to keep going.
What were the results of Milgram’s study?
65% of participants continued to the highest level of 450 volts.
