Milgram - Obedience Flashcards
Apparatus
2 lab rooms at Yale university
1 room = learner with electric chair and answering device
2nd room= authentic looking but stipulated electric shock generator. Looked real with labelled switches.
“Slight shock”, “danger: sever shock”, “XXX”
Experimenter = actor
Learner (electrocuted) = actor
Teacher = participant
Aim
To investigate whether participants would show obedience to an authority figure who told them to administer electric shocks to another person.
Findings 1:
- Sheer strength of obedient tendencies that were displayed
- Learns from childhood - breach of moral conduct to hurt someone against their will… 26 abandon this under authority who had no special powers to enforce his commands
- From remarks and behaviours… Clear that many were acting against their own values. Displayed deep disapproval but most completed.
- Observers uttered expressions of disbelief as more powerful shocks administered.
Findings 2:
- extraordinary tension generated by the procedures… Striking tension and emotional strained displayed
- mature and initially poised business entered lab smiling and confident. Within 29 minutes was reduced to twitching and stuttering wreck.
- rapidly approaching a point of nervous collapse.
- constantly pulled his earlobe and twisted his hands.
- one punched his fist into his forehead and muttered ‘Oh God, let’s stop it’. Yet continued to respond to experimenter and obeyed till the end.
Conclusions
Findings show obedience to authority is due to situational factors….
1: experimental setting
2: status of the experimenter
3: pressure exerted on participants
….rather than dispositional factors eg. Deviant personality
Agentic state… Participant acts as ‘tool of the experimenter’= ‘I was only following orders’. This passes the responses for the consequences of his actions to the experimenter.
Results
Subjects accepted situation.. Mostly convinced.
Signs of extreme tension (qualitative data)
14/40 nervous laughter
Sweating, trembling, stutter, groan, bite lips
3 subjects = violent convulsions and uncontrollable seizures.
Subjects in highly agitated state. “The guys suffering in there”
Some get up and indicate they wanted to leave.
Did administer shocks under extreme stress.
Those who continued still expressed the reluctance of those who dropped out.
Heaved sighs of relief, rubbed their fingers, mopped brows when all shocks completed. Shook head in regret.
Some calm throughout.
Debriefed at end… Reunited with the victim and answered that there were no shocks.
84% glad to have participated. 74% learnt something. = questionnaire results.
1 person sorry to have participated.
What levels did people drop out?
All gave shocks to 300V.
At 300V learner kicked wall and gave no response.
Distribution of scores: 300V = 5 315V = 4 330V = 2 345V = 1 360V = 1 375V = 1 14 defied experimenter.
1/3 dropped out.
65% to 450V (26/40).
Design
Controlled observational study as there is no true IV.
Each participant experienced the same thing.
Method
Lab experiment
Sample
Volunteer 40 male New Haven USA Age 20/50 Recruited via newspaper $4.50 (50 cent carfare) Range of occupations and educational backgrounds. YALE
Background
I humane actions during holocaust.
German SS officers and Nazis in WW2.
Example that obedience bonds men to systems of authority.
Hypothesis
German men are different to American men.
IV
No independent variable
DV
Obedience.. Max shock subject willing to administer before refusing to continue.
Changes
1: use alternate locations
2: change sample used
3: improve ethical issues
4: sample not just from America, other countries.