milgram (obedience) + social approach Flashcards
describe some of the main assumptions of the social approach
- Behavior, cognitions, and emotions are influenced by social contexts, environments, and groups.
- Behavior, cognitions, and emotions are influenced by the actual, implied, or imagined presence of others.
aim of the milgram study
To examine how far individuals would obey an authority figure when instructed to administer physical harm to another person.
what was the research method of the study?
it was a CONTROLLED OBSERVATION in a laboratory SETTING
what experimental design was used?
independent measures design - each participant took part in only one condition (teacher)
describe the sample (gender, age, number,..)
40 male volunteers
aged 20-50 years old
from the New Haven area
no university students could participate
came from a variety of educational and job backgrounds (white and blue collar workers, professors, drivers, construction workers, etc.
what was the sampling method of the study
it used volunteer sampling through an ad in a newspaper offering 4.50dollars for participation
describe the “experimenter”
Jack Williams (31)
he was a high school biology teacher
trained for the role
wore a grey lab coat to evoke authority
describe the “learner”
Mr. Wallace (47)
an accountant trained for the role
likable and mild mannered
how were the participants assigned roles?
through a draw of papers from a hat
it was manipulated as both papers had “teacher” written on them so that the participant would always end up as the teacher and mr. wallace as the “learner”
what was the teacher’s role?
he had to read word pairs to the learner and give an electric shock if he answered incorrectly/didn’t remember the other word in the pair
what was the shock range
15V-450V
increasing by 15V each time
what happened at 150V?
mr wallace, the learner, protested and refused to continue
what happened at 300 to 315V?
at 300V mr wallace began pounding on the wall but stopped responding through the switches
no response was treated as an incorrect response
what were some verbal prods the experimenter used?
“please continue”
“the experiment requires that you continue”
“it is absolutely essential that you continue”
what was the preliminary run?
a practice run of 10 trials so the participants familiarize themselves with the procedure
shocks couldn’t go above 150V here
what were some signs of distress expressed by the participants?
nervous laughter - unexpected - further developed into uncontrollable seizures
sweating
trembling
stuttering
what happened to the participants as a result of distress?
3 had a seizure
1 had a violent seizure and the experiment had to be stopped as a result of this for him
percentage of participants that obeyed until 450V - predicted + real?
percentage predicted by yale students: 3%
real percentage: 65% (26 out of 40)
what percentage of participants obeyed up to at least 300V?
100% (all of them)
what did milgram conclude relating to the history (holocaust)?
people will obey authority figures even if it goes against their values or morals
name and explain two strengths of the milgram study
high internal validity (controlled setting, lab, eliminated extraneous variables)
high reliability + easily replicable (standardized procedure, mr wallace reacted exactly the same + jack williams used the same prods in the same order w/ every participant)
high amount of qualitative and quantitative data (pictures, notes, shock number scale)
name and explain weaknesses of the study
low ecological validity (lab setting, artificial task)
highly unethical (extreme deception of participants)
unrepresentative sample (all men, 20-50, New Haven)
how were the demand characteristics minimized?
participants got paid upon arrival so they wouldn’t feel pressured to participate, continue or anything else
what ethical guideline did they stick to?
debriefing - all participants were debriefed afterwards and met w/mr wallace to ensure he is alright
what ethical guidelines did milgram break?
deception (duh)
right to withdraw (prods made it hard to leave)
psychological harm (participants showed and experienced extreme distress)
what are some real world applications of the results of the study?
in the military - soldiers obeying orders from authorities even if it includes harming innocent people
workplaces/office - shows the impact of authority figures enforcing rules for example during unethical corporate practices
