Milgram's social core study on obedience Flashcards
Assumptions of the social approach and how they relate to this core study
How our behaviour are influenced by presense of others. Milgram was obediance in the task when an authoity figure gave insturction to continue shocks
The 2 main assumptions of the social approach
- Behaviours, cognitions, and emotions are influence by groups and social enivroment
- Behaviours, cognitions, and emotions are influence by actual, implied, or imagine presence of other
The psychology that is being investigated
Investigate the psychological mechanisms of obedience, specifically how far individuals would go in obeying an authority figure, even when the orders given are against their ethical standards.
The background
Research in how the holocaust had a dictor and caused a world wide death of Jews. If others under similar situatio could harm other wanted to know if this was just a german culture that lead to high obedience.
The aim
Overall: how obedeint people are to orders form person authority to result in pain or harm of another ]
Specific: how large elctric schock a ps would hive to a helpless man when order by a scientist
The procedures
- $4.50 given at time of showing up
- introduced to Mr. Wallace who was a confederate
- Drew slips to be assigned learner or victim but was rigged
- learner sat in electric chair and straped
- Ps was in adjecent room
- ps was shocked with 45 volts
- wallace needed to memorize word pairs and ps would say 1 word and he needed to group it in the right one
- if wrong he would get shocked
- at 300 wallace would hit the wall and stoped answereing
- no answer was considered a wrong answer
what is agentic state
- give up our free will to serve as an agent
what is autonomous state
act on our own free will and choose to be obedient or not
Sample variation of workers
37.5% manual labour
48% white collar
how was obediene operationalised
obedince was the max voltage given
Describe what before and after ps at 450v called
before 450V - defieant participant
up to 450V- obedient
what was said when particapants asked if shocks caused injury
although shocks maybe painful will no cause perment tissue damage please go on
prods researcher said
- please continue
- you have no other choice you must go on
How did the teacher test the learner
- gave him one word with four other words and had to choose the right one
- If wrong would be shocked and starting at 15V and +15 every time
The research method used
not clear of lab or controlled observation
The number of participants and where they are from
40 men
ages 20-50
from new haven
Features of the “experimenter”
- 31 year old
- American man
- Dressed in a lab coat
The sampling method used
vounteer sampling
The controls used
Prods given to ps from researcher and answer when they asked if it was harming the learner
Data collection method used
- Kept count of where particapnts stoped as there final shock
- noted behaviours and quotes from particpants
how were ps decived
told it was to investiage the effects of punishment as well as believed they were shocking Mr wallace
time allowed to respond
5-10 sec
when did mr wallace stop responding
315V
Ethical issues
- ps thought they were admistring electric shock and were told study was for memory not obedience
- ps were follwed up 6 months to check for psychologocal issues
- prods kept convincing ps to continue the study
Results
Quantitative/qualitative data & how it is represented and interpeted
- when asked how painful were the last few shocks particapant socred a mean of 13.43 (1-14 scale)
- 26 particapants were cosnider obedient
what were signs of tension?
sweating
biting lips
stuterring
Conclusions drawn
- people are much more obedient to destrucitve orders then we think
- people find reciving destrucive orders stressful by triggering obeying authority and not harming others
Strengths
Methodological issues:
Reserach method, reliabilty,validty,generalibily,& control of variables
Validty
* The study did have a degree of mundane realism (1 mark). All participants received 45 v sample shock before the study began (1 mark) meaning that the participants were more likely to believe that the shocks they were giving were real (1 mark).
- reliabilty as lab have high staderisaiton and be replicated. drawing of who was learner and teacher and the timing of scripted resposes
Weakness
Methodological Issues
Reserach method, reliabilty,validty,generalibily,& control of variables
Validty
* The study lacked ecological validity (1 mark). This is because the set-up of shocking a stranger during a memory test is not a real situation (1 mark) so the responses may only be what people would do in this unreal situation / might not be what people would do in a real-life destructive obedience situation (1 mark).
- lack mundane realism as particapnts took part in task that are nothing like real one. Giving people shocks by getting the wrong word pari is not an everyday task
Everyday life
The issues of application of psychology and how it realtes to the study
explain why humans engage in destructive obedience. and people follow authority when placed in certain morally straning situations
Individual and Situational explanations debate
how it relates to the study
- it was at a prestigious univeristy and a man in a coat standing behind particpants, prods were given when ps attemped to back out
Nature vs. Nurture Debate
how it relates to the study
Nurture as obeted the experiment was expected of them due to socialisation
