Milgrams research into obedience Flashcards
define obedience
a type of social influence where an individual complies with or follows a direct order, usually from a figure of authority
What was Milgram’s aim?
To see if people would obey when the authority was destructive
(causing damage)
What inspired Milgram to study obedience?
How and why people obeyed to the nazis in the holocaust
Outline the sample
How many
How were they recruited
What reward did they receive
How diverse were they
40 males from a variety of different backgrounds. They were obtained via volunteer sampling from ads and were paid $4.00
What was the procedure of Milgrams study?
-Each ppt allocated role of teacher seemingly random but an experiment was set up to do this
-teachers shown a learner who was a Confederate strapped to a chair and attached to electrodes
-The teacher asked questions and if the learner got the answer wrong teacher told to electric shock them and they made fake pain sounds (volts ranged from 15-450)
-throughout the procedure, the experimenter provided prompts if the teacher seemed reluctant to go any further
eg- experiment requires you to continue
What were the results of Milgram’s study?
Include both quantitative and qualitative data
(3 quantitative, 1 qualitative)
-Every PPT shocked the Confederates up to 300v (when the learner stopped responding)
-65% of ppt continued to 450v these showed full obedience
-PPT showed signs of being under extreme stress, sweating, biting lips
-in the follow-up questionnaire, 85% said glad to participate
What was Milgram’s conclusion to his study?
Germans aren’t unique as most people obey destructive authority even when they know it’s wrong to do so
What are 2 strengths of Milgrams study?
High external validity
High internal validity
Explain how Milgram’s study has high external validity
why is this a strength?
-His findings have been reflected in other research.
-Hofling found that 21/22 nurses obeyed to unjustifiable orders given my doctors
- Strength because similar effects were observed in Milgrams study so results can be generalized to real life situations
Explain how Milgram’s study has high internal validity
why is this a strength?
Milgram found 70% of ppt thought shocks were genuine so their emotional responses to the study were real meaning the study measured what it intended to
What is a counterpoint to Milgram’s study having high internal validity
why is this a limitation?
Orne argued that PPT will have guessed it wasn’t real and was simply responding to demand characteristics
limitation because this means the results deviate from the truth therefore we cannot draw any conclusions
What are 2 limitations of Milgrams study?
Lacks generalisability
Ethical issues
Explain how Milgram’s study lacks generalisability.
why is this a limitation?
All participants were American which is an individualist country so the results may differ for collectivist countries
All men so study doesnt explain women in obedience. Sheridon found women obeyed more than men
This is a limitation because Milgrams findings may not apply to everyone therefore we cannot draw any conclusions
Explain how Milgram’s study lacks ethical issues.
why is this a limitation?
Consent and deception- ppt not able to give full informed consent because they didn’t know the full nature of the study
protection of harm - 3 ppt had seizures from extreme stress
limitation because it may damage psychology’s reputation then people may not take part in new research
Give 3 differences between conformity and obedience
Conformity can occur between 2 people of equal status whereas obedience occurs within a hierarchy
In conformity the emphasis is on acceptance whereas in obedience the emphasis is on power
In conformity behaviour is similar to the source whereas in obedience behaviour may be different from the source
