Milgram's Research Flashcards
What is obedience?
Type of social influence whereby somebody acts in repsonse to direct order from a figure (percieved authority)
They conform to order from another to carry out action
What is the aim of Milgram’s research?
Wanted to investigate the effects of obedience on authoirty even if there was potential consequences
What is the procedure of Milgram’s research?
Particpants drew lots for their role -fixed
A confederate was always the ‘learner’ as the true particpant was always the ‘teacher’ - an experiemnter wore a lab coat and particpants told they could leave the study at any time
Learner in room and wired with electrodes and teacher had to give learner an increasing electric shock each time there was a mistake
What was the confederate really in Milgram’s research?
Particpant told that …:
Mr Wallance
It is an actor
Also electric shocks were fake
PROCEDURE
How did the volt system go?
- Shocks start from 15 volts - ‘slight schock’ on machine
- Rose from 30 levels to 450 bolts ‘danger electric shock;
- At 300 volts ‘intense shock’ - learner pounded on wall and gave no response to next question
At 315 volts the learner pounded on the wall again but furthermore no response
PROCEDURE
What happens when the particpant ‘teacher’ turned to the experimenter for gudiance
given following standaird instructors
- SEQUENCE OF PRODS
- (PROD 1) ‘Please continue’ or ‘Please go on’
- (PROD 2) ‘The experiment requires you to continue’
- (PROD 3) ‘It is abolsutely essentail that you continue’
- (PROD 4) ‘You have no other choice, you must go on’
What is the findings of Milgram’s study?
- No particpants stopped at 300 volts
- No particpants stopped below 300 volts
- Five (!12.%) stopped at 300 volts
- 65% continued to 450 volts
*
What type of observations (qualitative data) indicated about the particpants?
FINDINGS
Participants showed extreme tension
Many seen to ‘sweat’ , tremble , bit their lip, groan and dig their fingertips into their hands
Three had ‘full -blown uncontrollable seizures’
How did Milgram recuit his particpants?
Recuited 40 male particpants through newspaper ads and postal flyers. He said he was looking for participants for a memory study
They were aged between 20-50 (job rankings from unskilled to professional)
Given $4.50 for just turning up
Where did the experiment take place?
Yale University
What is the conclusion of Milgram’s study?
This shows that people tend to obey orders from people by the authoirty figure ‘experimenter’
What is the Germans different hypothesis?
Germans have a basic characteristic that they have the readiness to obey people in authority dispotional explanation -regardless of what act is carried out
Limitation of Milgram’s study
Lacked internal validity
- Orne and Holland (1968) suggest that particpants guessed the electric shocks were fake. So Milgram was not testing what he intended to test (i.e.obedience)
- However, Sheridan and king’s (1972) particpants gave real shocks to a puppy; 54% of males and 100% of females delivered what they thought was a fatal shock.
- Obedience in Milgram’s study might be genuine, 70% of partipcants thought the shocks were genuine
A strength of Milgram’s research
Good external validity
- Argued that the lab-based relationship between experimenter and particpant reflected wider real-life authority relationships
- Holfing et al (1966) found levels of obedience in nurses on a hospital ward to unjustified demands by doctors were high (21 out of 22 nurses obeyed)
- Therefore, the processes of obedience in Milgram’s study can be generalised
Limitation
There is ethical issues associated with Milgram’s research
- Baunmrid (1964) cristied Milgram’s deceptions. Particpants believed the allocation of roles were randomly assigned but it was fixed
- Significant deception was that particpants believed the electric shocks were real. Baunrind objected because deception is a betrayal of trust that damages reputation of psychologists and their research
- Deception of particpants may also make less likely to volunteer for future research
Strength
Replications supported Milgram’s findings
- In French documentry, contestants in a reality TV game show were paid to give (fake) electric shocks - when he ordered by the presenter- to other particpants (actors)
- 80% gave the maximum 450 volts to an apparntly unconscious man. Their behaviour was like that of Milgram’s particpants e.g many signs of anxiety
- Supports Milgram’s orignal conclusions about obedience to authority shows his findings were not just one-off
Discuss research into obedience
- Milgram
- Evaulate
What are the three situational variables varied in comapred to Milgram’s original experiment?
- Proxmity
- Location
- Uniform
What happened in Milgram’s orignal study in terms of proxmity?
Teacher and learner were in adjoining rooms.
Teacher could hear the learner but not see him
What happened in proxmity variation?
Teacher and learnwer were in the same oom
Obedience dropped from 65% to 40%
What happened in touch proxmity variation?
Teacher had to force the learner’s hand onto the shock plate
Obedience dropped to 30%
What happened to ‘remote-instruction’ proxmity variation?
- Experimenter left the room and gave instructions by telephone
- Obedience rate dropped rate dropped again to 20.5%
- Particpants also frequently pretended to gvie shocks or gave weaker ones when they were ordered to
What happened to the location of the original Milgram’s experiment?
- Location of obedience was in Yale - prestigous university setting
What was the location variation of Milgram?
- Location of obedience study was in a run-down building
- Obedience fell to 47.5%
- Indicates the experimenter had less authority in this setting
What happened to uniform in this original study?
- Experimenter wore a grey lab coat as a symbol of his authority (a kind of uniform)
What was the uniform variation of Milgram?
- Experimenter called away because of inconvenient telephone call right at the start of the procedure
- The role of experimenter was taken over by ‘ordinary member of the public’ in everyday clothes than a lab coat
- Obedience rate dropped to 20% - lowest
- Suggests lab coat does act as a strong visual athuroity symbol and a cue to behave in an obedient manner
