Milgram + Variations Flashcards
aim of milgram 1963
- investigate process of obedience
- see how far someone will go in obeying authority and if they’ll hurt someone against their will
- investigate ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis
sample of milgram 1963
40 white male volunteers from the New Haven area
aged 20-50
recruited via newspaper ad and paid $4.50 before experiment
procedure of milgram 1963
- stern ‘Experimenter’ and confederate pretending to be a participant ‘Learner’
- fake coin toss - naive participant becomes ‘Teacher’, given 45V tester shock to prove it was ‘real’
- if Learner’s answers were incorrect they received a shock that went up 15V each time
- all Learner’s answers were preset, got 3/4 wrong then at 300V they banged on the wall and became unresponsive
- 4 pre-scripted prods given by Experimenter if the Teacher protested, after these 4 prods were exhausted the study would be stopped
results of milgram 1963
- moral strain was demonstrated, sweating, nervous laughter, 3 had seizures
- 100% were obedient until 300V
- 65% were obedient until 450V (26/40 ppts)
conclusions of milgram 1963
you don’t have to be a psychopath to obey immoral orders, Americans would have behaved the same as Germans
generalisability of milgram 1963
Low
- narrow sample, androcentric due to the use of only 40 males
- therefore not generalisable to a wider population as we cannot tell if females would be more or less obedient
- the use of a volunteer sample is also biased
- volunteers more likely to be obedient and take instructions seriously
reliability of milgram 1963
High
- standardised procedure was used
- e.g. pre-scripted prods, banging on wall at 300V then silence, tester shock
- means it can be replicated to check for consistency of findings - Burger followed Milgram’s script wherever possible to gather similar results
validity of milgram 1963
High
- use of observation from behind a one-way mirror increases validity as demand characteristics are less likely to occur
- controlled extraneous variables such as ppts guessing the aim by giving a ‘tester shock’ of 15V
- quantitative data gathered so highly objective, more credible
Low
- ecological validity reduced due to highly controlled lab experiment
- task is artificial, administering electric shocks lacks mundane realism
- this may cause demand characteristics
- however Milgram argues that events like the Holocaust were just as unusual and those in the situation would’ve felt similar
- demand characteristic caused by the incentive of $4.50, ppts may have felt obligated to obey as they had been paid
- cannot measure moral strain objectively, subjective and biased
ethics of milgram 1963
Low
- ppts deceived as they thought they were involved in a memory test and didn’t know they were being observed
- right to withdraw was not communicated properly as the 4 prods e.g. “it is essential that you continue” made them believe they couldn’t leave
Fair
- extensively debriefed ppts and they met the Learner straight after to show he was safe
application of milgram 1963
- can be used to increased obedience in schools, workplaces and prisons
- explains My Lai Massacre and Holocaust
- can help prevent future war crimes
Variation 7
Telephonic Instructions
Variation 10
Run-down Office Block
Variation 13
Ordinary Man
Telephonic Instructions procedure
studied proximity
1. experimenter gave instructions face-to-face with the 40 male participants
2. then left the room so the Teacher was alone and gave instructions and verbal prods over the phone
Telephonic Instructions results
- most administered lower shocks than required as it was easier to give false info over the phone
- obedience dropped to 22.5% complying to 450V (9/40)
Run-down Office Block procedure
studied location/prestige
1. exact same procedure as Milgram’s original study but in an office block in Bridgeport instead of Yale Uni
Run-down Office Block results
- ppts more sceptical of motives of experimenter
- obedience dropped to 48% complying to 450V
Ordinary Man procedure
- 3 participants, 2 of which are confederates - participant allocated Teacher in rigged draw, confederates had to record time from a clock
- delivered unspecified voltage of shocks to Learner if incorrect
- staged phone call for Experimenter to leave room
- confederate in ordinary clothes tells Teacher to continue and shock should increase by 15V with each incorrect answer
Variation 13A results
same as Ordinary Man (13) except when ppts were defiant the confederate acted angry and said he’d take control of shock generator while the participants watched
Ordinary Man results
- obedience dropped to 20%
in 13A when the confederate tried to take control:
- 5 ppts used physical means to stop the experiment (4 restrained him and 1 threw him across room)
- 68.75% didn’t interfere with ordinary man
