milligrams study of obedience Flashcards
what is obedience
following the orders of a perceived authority figure
what did milgram aim to do
he was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction of it meant having to harm other people
what was the method used
participants were volunteers, recruited through an advertisement on a newspaper
using a lottery participants were chosen to play the teacher or learner, confederates were always the learner
teachers were instructed to shock the learner if they got a question wrong. shocks went from 15-450V and words to describe each level, they were told to keep going
what were the results
all participants went to 300V
65% lasted to 450V
what was the conclusion
people obey the instructions of those they perceive as authority figures even if it harmed the other person
What is a strength of this PEE
other research shows similar results to milgram’s study
a study was conducted where participants had to give shocks to a puppy, both males and females in the experiment administered a shock they thought to be fatal. another study showed that 80% of participants gave a 460V shock to an apparently unconscious man
this is important because it shows milgram’s findings and conclusion are valid
What is a weakness of this PEE
it’s not ethical
observations of the study showed that participants showed signs of extreme tension,
they were sweating, trembling, biting their nails etc. 3 had seizures,
the study inflicted mental and physical harm among the participants which is ethically incorrect as they were deceived
ethical issues challenge the value of the study
