Milgram's Research into Obedience (AO1) Flashcards
1
Q
What is Conformity?
A
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)
2
Q
What is Obedience?
A
Changing behaviour to meet the demands of an authority figure - asked to do so
We do it to avoid punishment or unpleasant consequences
3
Q
What was the Aim of Milgram’s shock experiment?
A
to see how far will ordinary people go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person
4
Q
Electric Shock Experiment: Participants
A
- 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’
5
Q
Electric Shock Experiment: Procedure
A
- 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)
6
Q
Electric Shock Experiment: Findings
A
- 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
7
Q
Electric Shock Experiment: Conclusions
A
- 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
