Milgram (obedience) Flashcards
What are the assumptions of the social approach
1) Behaviour , emotions and cognitions can be influenced by other individuals
2)Behaviour , emotions and cognitions can be influenced by groups or social contexts
What is the psychology being investigated in the study by Milgram
1)Destructive obedience
2)Situational hypothesis
3)Dispositional hypothesis
4)Germans are different hypothesis
what is destructive obedience
this is the idea that we often follow orders from an authority figure without questioning even when it involves harming others
what is situational hypothesis
this is the idea that we find ourselves in situations that we cannot extricate ourselves from and we end up acting against our conscious
What is dispositional hypothesis
this is the idea that our behaviour is largely due to our character traits
What is the Germans are different hypothesis
This is the idea that germans have a character defect that make them more obedient than the average american
Describe the sample in Milgram (obedience)
- 40 males
-Age range of 20-50 yrs
-Recruited from New Haven area and the surrounding community - They were obtained from a newspaper advert asking for volunteers for a study of memory
-They were paid $45 for coming
-The sample had a wide range of occupations ; -Salesmen
- Cobblers
- Labourers
- Highschool teacher
- engineers
Describe the experimenter from the study by Milgram
the role was played by a 31yr old high school biology teacher
He was called “Mr William”
his manner was impassive and his appearance was stern throughout the experiment
he is dressed in a grey lab coat
Describe the Confederate from the study by Milgram
The role was played by a 47 year old accountant
Has been trained for the role
He was of irish American decent
Most observers found him mild mannered and likeable
He was called “Mr Wallace”
He was a stooge and played the role of the learner
What is the aim in the study by Milgram
1) to investigate how obedient individuals would be to orders given by a person in authority
2) To investigate whether ppl would show obedience even when it involved harming another person
What is the background of the study by Milgram
11 million people were gruesomely killed by Nazis. Milgram being Jewish sought to find if anyone under a similar situation would harm or murder others under an authoritative figure’s orders.
Milgram suggested a situational explanation for obedience.
Milgram had conferred with his psychology students and colleagues, and they predicted that less than 3% of participants would deliver the maximum voltage shock of 450 volts
What was the false aim given to the ss in the study by Milgram
to investigate the effect of punishment on learning
What was the pretext used to justify the aim in the study by Milgram
“we know very little about the effect of punishment on learning
because almost no truly scientific studies have been made for it on human beings.
we do not know how much punishment is best for learning and we do not know how much difference it makes as to who is giving the punishment.
whether an adult learns better from a younger or older person than himself or many things of that sort
For this study we are bringing together a number of adults of different occupations and ages and totest this out
we want to find out what effect people have on each other as students and teachers and what effect punishment will have on learning in this situation.
therefore both of you can decide if you want to be a teacher or learner.
does either of you have a preference? “
What is the experimental method in the study by milgram
Controlled observation because the context was changed in order to observe obedience
How were the roles assigned in the study by Milgram
Mr wallace and the ss selected their roles from a hat with two papers.
The experimenter told them that they both had a fair chance of being either the teacher or learner.
However the drawing had been rigged and both papers were written “teacher”
Describe what happened in the study by Milgram after role picking
The ss and Mr Wallace were taken to an adjacent room and mr wallace was strapped in an electric chair apparatus \
The experimenter explained that the straps were to prevent excessive movement and make it impossible for the learner to leave the situation
An electrode was attached to the learners wrist and an electrode paste was applied to “avoid blisters”
Subjects were told that the electrodes were attached to the shock generator in the adjacent room
The learner was told, “Although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no tissue damage”.
the participant was given a sample shock of 45 volts (from an external battery since the shock-generator wasn’t supposed to work).
Describe the shock generator used in the study by Milgram
-It consisted of 30 lever switches
-Each switch was clearly labelled with a voltage designation from 15v to 450v
- From one switch to another was a 15 volt increment
-Every group of 4 switches had a verbal designation
What were the 8 voltage levels on the shock generator
slight shock
moderate shock
strong shock
very strong shock
intense shock
extreme intensity shock
danger : severe shock
xxx
What happened after pressing a switch in the study by Milgram
a pilot light corresponding to each switch is illuminated in bright red
an electric buzzing is heard
an electric blue light labelled “voltage energizer” flashes
The dial on the voltage meter swings to the right
Describe the learning task in the study by Milgram
the teacher read word pairs to the learner , and the learner had to memorize these pairs.
The teacher then read the first word of the pairs along with four other words.
the learner had to correctly identify which of the four words was originally paired with the 1st word.
if the answer was correct then the teacher moved on to the next word on the list.
if it was wrong the teacher stated the correct word then administered an electric shock starting from 15v.
In the study by Milgram the teacher was given a sample shock.
Describe this procedure
Each ss was given a sample shock before beginning his role as a teacher.
The shock was 45v
The shock was applied to the wrist and the source was a 45v battery attached to the shock generator.
What were the shock instructions given to the teacher in the study by Milgram
The ss was told to administer a shock to the learner each time he gave a wrong response
The ss was instructed to move one level higher on the shock generator each time the learner gave a wrong answer.
The ss was told to announce the voltage level before administering a shock
How was the learner trained to answer the questions asked by the teacher in the study by Milgram
The learner gave a predetermined set of responses to the learning task
He was trained to give 3 wrong answer for every correct answer.
What were the prods administered by the experimenter in the study by Milgram
1)”Please go on”
2)”The experiment requires that you go on”
3)”It’s absolutely essential that you go on”
4)”You have no other choice but to continue”
