Milgram's (1963) obedience experiment Flashcards
What was Milgram’s aim?
To investigate if ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order from an authority figure and inflict pain on another as they were instructed too
How many participants were there?
40 male participants who were volunteers from an ad in a local paper
How much were participants paid?
$4.50
What were participants told the experiment was based on?
Punishment and learning
What type of experiment was it and were was it done?
Lab experiment at Yale university
How were the roles assigned?
Participant was always teacher but was told it was random
What did the participant have to do?
Read a series of word pairs and test confederates recall. Had to administrate an electric shock every-time a mistake was made with increasing voltage
What was the procedure with the learners role?
Participant watched them be strapped to chair and given a sample electric shock. The screams were pre-recorded becoming louder each time and at 300V it was silence
How long did the experiment continue for?
Until the teacher refused, 450V was reached. When they tried to stop they were told to continue. They were debriefed after
What percentage of participants went to 300V?
100%
What percentage of participants went to the full 450V?
65%
What qualitative data did Milgram collect?
Participants experienced severe psychological distress (shaking, sweating, uncontrollable seizures)
What percentage of participants said they were glad to have taken part in the study?
84%
Before the study Milgram asked 14 psychology students their predictions, what were they?
That only 3% would continue to 450V meaning the results were unexpercted.
What did Milgram conclude?
He concluded that under the right circumstances ordinary people will obey unjust orders
