Milgram's Study AO3

Question 1

What are the strengths of Milgram’s study?

Answer 1

1. it’s supported by other research so his findings are reproducable and reliable
2. it has real world applications because it can be used to explain why the Abu Ghraib guards acted the way that they did

Question 2

What research is there to support Milgram’s study?

Answer 2

• Beauvois et al’s experiment
• where they used a psudeo game show in a documentary to repeat Milgrim’s shock study
• 80% of participants went up to the max 460 volts
• they exibited the same nervous behaviour

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of Milgram’s study?

Answer 3

1. has low internal validity as according to Orne and Holland the experiment was affected by demand characteristsic and the participants knew the learner was safe so they kept pressing the buttons
2. accoriding to Haslam that Milgram’s idea about blind obedience was incorrect

Question 4

Explain Haslam’s alternative view to Milgram’s idea about blind obedience?

Answer 4

• Haslam points out that in milgram’s experiment the participants consistently refused to obey after the 3rd prod from the experimentor : ‘You have no choice, you must go on’
• this is, according to SIT, because previously they identified with the aims of the study so when asked to blindly obey authority at prod 4 they refused
• SIT may be a more valid reason

Question 5

Explain the counter argument againsts Milgram’s study having a low validity.

Answer 5

• Sheridan and King repeated the experiment with animals and real shocks
• 54% of men and 100% of women gave what they thought was a fatal shock
• shows that milgram’s study was genuine