Obedience Flashcards
Define the term obedience.
Is where an individual carries out a direct order (doing something because you have been specifically told to do so). The person issuing the order is usually a figure
What were Milgram’s aims (1963)?
To see if people will obey orders, even those requiring them to harm others.
What were Milgram’s procedures?
40 American males were recruited through a newspaper advert.
They were told that the study was to do with how punishment affects learning.
The ‘experimenter’ (a confederate) assigned the participant the role of ‘teacher’ through a rigged draw.
Whilst another person (another confederate) was given the role of ‘learner’.
The learner had to answer word-pairing questions, and if they gave an incorrect answer, the teacher was told to administer an electric shock.
The electric shocks increased in intensity, from 15-450 volts, and each time the learner answered incorrectly, the teacher was instructed to give the next highest shock.
No shocks were actually given, the learner only pretending to receive shocks.
At 300 volts the learner began banging on the wall and protesting, and after 315 he gave no further response. Four ‘prods’ were used to encourage the participant to continue- if they still protested after this, they could withdraw from the study.
What were the findings of Milgram’s study?
65% of participants went to the maximum (450 volt) shock.
None stopped before 300 volts.
Many showed signs of tension and anxiety, for example sweating, shaking, and nervously laughing, but the majority continued to the end.
What were the conclusions of Milgram’s study?
People will obey orders from an authority figure (the experimenter, who was wearing a white lab coat), potentially fatally harming a stranger in doing so.
What were the strengths of Milgram’s study?
Research support - Replicated Milgram’s findings in a French game show called Le Jeu de la Mort (The Game of Death). Participants were paid to give fake electric shocks ordered by the presenter to other participants in front of the studio audience.
80% of the participants delivered the maximum shock of 460 volts to an unconscious man.
The behaviour was almost identical to Milgram’s participants - nervous laughter, nail-biting and other signs of anxiety.
Supports Milgram’s original findings about obedience to authority and demonstrates that findings weren’t due to special circumstances.
What were the limitations of Milgram’s study?
Low internal validity - may not have tested what was.
Ethical issues.
Why may Milgram’s study have low internal validity?
Orne and Holland (1968) argued that participants behaved as they did because they didn’t believe in the set up so they were ‘play-acting’. Perry’s (2013) research confirms
She listened to tapes of Milgram’s participants and reported that only half of them believed shocks were real.
2/3 of participants were disobedient.
Suggesting that participants were responding to demand characteristics.
Give a counterpoint to the low internal validity.
Sheridan and King (1972) conducted a study using a procedure like Milgram’s. Participants (all students) gave real shocks to a puppy in response to orders from an experimenter. 54% of the men and 100% of the women gave shocks suggesting findings from Milgram’s study were genuine.
What were the ethical issues of Milgram’s study?
Deception - Participants thought the allocation of roles was random but it was fixed. They also thought the shocks were real. Milgram dealt with this by debriefing them.
Consequence of the deception was that the participants couldn’t give their fully informed consent to take part.
There was no real right to withdraw- the ‘prods’ kept the participants from withdrawing.
Participants experienced severe stress and psychological harm, thinking that they had potentially killed someone.
