milgram - obedience to unjust authority Flashcards
METHOD
- lab environment at Yale Uni (controlled)
- not experiment (well controlled obser) (no iv/dv)
PARTICIPANTS
- ad in newspaper
- 40 men 20-50
- all had variation of jobs/level of education
- paid $4.50 for showing up
PROCEDURE
- stated was experiment about memory and learning
- greeted by man in grey lab coat
- mr wallace = confederate
- drew paper to decide roles (rigged)
- learner in electric chair linked to fake shock generator
1) teacher + shock machine of 30 switches 15V-450V, every 4 = ‘slight, intense, fatal’ + sample shock to show it was real
2) p gives shock when learner wrong (on purpose), goes up every time + wallace quiet until 300V
3) experimenter 4 prods “please continue” “experiment requires you to continue” “its absolutely essential you continue” “you have no other choice but to continue”
4) debriefed + interviewed after
FINDINGS
- all went to 300V but 12.5% refused to continue beyond
- 65% continued to 450V
- many showed nervousness (sweating, stuttering)
- 14 nervous laughter and said after experiment they weren’t sadistic
- 3 had seizures, 1 violent fit = had to stop
CONC
- hard to disobey due to 13 elements e.g. obligated as volunteered, were paid
EVALUATION: METHOD
✅lab = well controlled
(standardised) same script, prods, procedure = results are pressure to obey
❌lack of ethical consideration for p’s wellbeing (physical symptoms of nerves) but were debriefed
EVALUATION: VALIDITY
✅ internally valid = control variables by prods etc
❌ lacks external validity = lab (artificial behaviour)
❌ lacks ecological validity = guessed they werent causing harm
EVALUATION: SAMPLE
❌androcentric (american men) = may not be same results for women/other cultures
❌lacked population validity = bias sample “volunteer personality” so harder to generalise
EVALUATION: ETHICS
❌hard to withdraw as prods
❌deception, said it was experiment about memory and learning but was measuring obedience
❌psychological harm = many stressed, 3 had seizures
