Milgram's Research into Obedience

Question 1

What is Conformity?

Answer 1

Yielding to group pressure - don’t necessarily have to be asked to do so

Change in behaviour/beliefs to that of another social group

We do it to be liked/accepted (NSI) or bc we think others have more knowledge (ISI)

Question 2

What is Obedience?

Answer 2

Changing behaviour to meet the demands of an authority figure - asked to do so

We do it to avoid punishment or unpleasant consequences

Question 3

Electric Shock Experiment: Participants

Answer 3

• recruited 40 male ppts aged 20-50 in a variety of professions via a newspaper advert
• offered $4.50 to take part + were told it was for a study of memory
• when they arrived took part in a rigged draw to decide their role
• naive ppt was always the ‘teacher’

Question 4

Electric Shock Experiment: Procedure

Answer 4

• ppt is shown learner in an chair w a real elec shock
• teacher was required to give the learner an increasingly severe elec shock every time they made an error on a fake memory test
• teacher would hear the learner screaming in pain from the next room until 300V where they gave no further response
• experimenter would repeatedly use prods to encourage them (please go on, the experiment requires you to continue)

Question 5

Electric Shock Experiment: Findings

Answer 5

• 65% of ppts continued to 450V
• 100% of ppts continued to 300V
• many ppts showed signs of extreme tension (sweating, trembling, stuttering + 3 had seizures)
• prior to the study psych students estimated no more than 3% would continue to 450V

Question 6

Electric Shock Experiment: Conclusions

Answer 6

• various aspects of the situation may have influenced ppt behaviour (formal setting, prods given by experimenter, fact they were getting paid)
• obedience to authority is ingrained in all of us from childhood, so ppl obey if they see the authority as legitimate