Milgrams research Flashcards
milgrams baseline test, 3 variations
Why did Milgram want to study obedience?
he wanted to understand tragedies such as the holocaust and was interested in the case of Adolf Eichmann who denied killing anyone and that he was just following orders- even though it lead to the death of millions
how was the sample selected in Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
self-selected, responded to advertisements through the newspaper and post advertising a study into learning and memory. They were offered payment of $4.50 for participation
what was the sample of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
40 male participants aged 20-65, all white and from Connecticut, USA
what was the aim of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
to investigate the extent to which ordinary people would obey an authority figure, even when instructed to harm another person
how were the roles of learner and teacher decided in Milgram’s baseline study (!963)
a fixed draw as the participant was aways the teacher and the other (confederate) participant was the learner
1)What kind of experiment was Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
2)where did it take place?
1) Lab experiment
2) Yale university
How were the rooms in Milgram’s baseline study set up?
in one room the ‘learner’ (confederate) was strapped to a chair with electrodes and in the other room there was the ‘teacher’ and an experimenter (also a confederate) who wore a grey lab coat
Describe the method of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)
The teacher was given a 45V test shock and watched the learner get strapped into the chair.
the learner was given lists of word pairs to learn, the teacher had to test the learner on these word pairs from a list of 4 options. Wrong answers resulted in the teacher being instructed to deliver an electric shock. The learner purposefully gave wrong answers.
If the teacher hesitated, the experimenter gave 4 verbal probs.
Afterwards participants were debriefed and reassured no one was harmed.
What were the 4 verbal prods given by the experimenter in Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
- “please continue”
- “the experiment requires that you continue”
- “it is absolutely essential that you continue”
- “you have no other choice, you must continue”
what percentage of participants went to 300V in Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
100%
what were the conclusions of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
- ordinary people are highly obedient to authority figures, even when their actions conflict with personal morals
- situational factors such as presence of an authority figure, setting and uniform influences behaviour
what percentage of participants went to 450V in Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
65%
between 300-450V how many participants dropped out after all 4 verbal prods were exhausted during Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
14
what qualitative data was collected during Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
sweating
trembling
nervous laughter
what were the issues with the generalisability of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)? (G.r.a.v.e)
sample was ethnocentric, they were all male and all white so it’s hard to generalise results to whole population
what is a strength in the generalisability of Milgram’s baseline study (1963)?
volunteers tend to listen to instructions and take the procedure seriously which is representative of people in real life situations of power being misused
what criticism did Milgram’s baseline study (1963) receive? (g.R.a.v.e)
Gina Perry said Milgram did not follow standardised procedures. The experimenter (John Williams) admitted to Perry that Milgram was only strict about the pre-scripted prods in the first study and afterwards William was free to improvise. This made obedience in the variations seem higher than it really was
what was good in terms of reliability about Milgram’s baseline study (1963)? (g.R.a.v.e)
high reliability as it can be replicated- between 1961-62 he carried out 19 variations of his baseline study. Burger (2009) replicated aspects of variation #5 , #17 and #8, he followed Migram’s script wherever possible indicating high reliability
How was there inter-rate reliability in Milgram’s baseline study (1963)? (g.R.a.v.e)
Milgram filmed parts of his study allowing viewers to review his findings.
how can the findings of Milgram’s baseline study (1963) be applied to real-life?
understanding how obedience to authority works and how this can be used to increase obedience in settings such as schools and prisons. Authority figures should wear symbols of authority (uniform) and justify their authority with reference to the “greater good”
What historical tragedies can the findings of Milgram’s baseline study (1963) be applied to? (g.r.A.v.e)
Milgram’s findings can be linked to the My Lai massacre. In 1968, a group of US soldiers (“Charlie company”) killed the 800 inhabitants of a Vietnamese village killing old men, women and children. One of the soldiers was jailed with a 20year sentence but this was halved and then he was later released on parole. He said he was only following orders from his superiors.
how can the findings of Milgram’s baseline study (1963) be useful? Give an example (g.r.A.v.e)
A better understanding means tragedies such as the holocaust/Nazi Germany and the My Lai massacre can be possibly prevented in the future. For example, solders can be trained to refuse and report orders that would be war crimes.
What was the main problem in terms of validity with Milgram’s baseline study (1963)? (g.r.a.V.e)
The study lacked ecological validity because the task was artificial- in real life teachers aren’t asked to electrocute students.
How does Milgram respond to the criticism of the validity of his baseline study (1963)? (g.r.a.V.e)
Milgram counters by saying events like the Holocaust were just as unusual and strange and people in these situations had felt similarly to his participants “they had been dropped into an unfamiliar situation and didn’t know how to respond”
