Milgram’s (1963) Study of Obedience

Question 1

What was the aim of Milgram’s study?

Answer 1

To investigate how far people will go in obeying an authority figure

Question 2

Participants:

Answer 2

40 American Males
Aged 20-50
Obtained through a volunteer sample

Question 3

Procedure summary P1:

Answer 3

• Located at Yale University
• Drew lots on who was the teacher and learner (fixed so pp always was teacher)
• Mr wallace strapped into electrodes chair
• Teacher taken to another room with a generator for electric shocks
  -Each pp given 45v to show realism

Question 4

Procedure Summary P2:

Answer 4

-Participant thought they heard Mr Wallace complaining of a bad heart (a recording)
- If pp asked to stop, experimenter gave verbal prods to continue
- finished when a participant refused to continue or reached max 450v
- fully debriefed at end

Question 5

Findings of quantitative data:

Answer 5

300v = 100%
stopped at 300v = 12.5%
450v = 65%

Question 6

Findings of qualitative data:

Answer 6

Trembling
Sweating
Stuttering
Laughing nervously
Most pleaded to stop

Question 7

Conclusion:

Answer 7

Shows how obedient people are to authority figures, even if it’s causing them huge amounts of stress to do what they’re being told to do

Question 8

Evaluation:
High levels of control

Answer 8

Key strength- ability to control variables (standardisation)
Same script by the confederate, same verbal prods
Study has been replicated many times to test reliability of the findings

Milgrams own study of variations- location and uniform importance

Question 9

Evaluation:
Internal validity

Answer 9

Weakness
Orne and Holland criticism- they believed participants only delivered the shocks because they knew they weren’t real

Limitation- Milgram wasn’t testing what he intended to

Question 10

Evaluation:
Internal validity
Counter argument

Answer 10

Sheridan and King (1972)
Replicated using real shocks on puppies- gave what was supposedly lethal shocks

100% women, 54% men- completed shocks

Question 11

What are situational variables?

Answer 11

Where features of an environment are seen as affecting obedience levels

Question 12

What are three situational variables?

Answer 12

Proximity
Location
Uniform

Question 13

What is proximity and its effect on obedience levels?

Answer 13

The physical closeness or distance of an authority figure to the person they are giving orders to

Teacher and learner in same room- 40% obeyed

Question 14

What is location and its effect on obedience levels?

Answer 14

Milgram- location was changed to a run-down office block instead Yale University

Obedience dropped from 65% to 47.5%

Question 15

What is uniforms affect on obedience rates in Milgram’s study?

Answer 15

The experimenter wore a grey laboratory coat- designed to make him look of authority

One version experimenter was replaced by person wearing normal clothes

Obedience rates dropped to 20%

Question 16

Situational Variables- Evaluation
Bickman (1974) procedure

Answer 16

Three male experimenters dressed either in uniform (milkman or security guard) told passers-by in a street in New York to complete commands

e.g. loan money for parking meter, pick up rubbish and move away from bus stop

Question 17

Situational variables- Evaluation
Bickman (1974) Results

Answer 17

Security guard = 38% obedience
Milkman = 14% obedience
Civilian= 19% obedience rates