obedience

Question 1

who did the study

Answer 1

Milgram

Question 2

procedure

Answer 2

40 American men given role of teacher through fixed draw

ordered to give (fake) shocks to learner (confederate) by an experimenter

shocks increased 15 volts with each mistake on memory task, up to 450V

experimenter dressed in lab coat and gave prods if they tried to disobey

Question 3

findings

Answer 3

no participants stopped before 300V

65% to 450V

many showed signs of stress, most objected but continued anyway

prior survey said only 3% would obey from 14 psychology students

Question 4

what is obedience

Answer 4

a form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order

• person issuing the order is usually a figure of authority how has power to punish

Question 5

research support

Answer 5

P - strength is Milgram’s findings supported by replication
E - French documentary focused on a game show made for the programme - participants believes they were contestants on a real pilot episode
E - paid to give (fake) electric shocks by presenter to other participants (actors) - 80% when to maximum of 460V and behaviour such as stress was also present
L - supports milgram’s original findings about obedience to authority and demonstrates findings were not due to special circumstances

Question 6

low internal validity

Answer 6

P - limitation is may not have been testing what he intended to test
E - 75% of participants believed shocks were real according to Milgram
E - Orne and Holland - they behaved as if they believed it - Perry listened to tapes of the experiment and reported that only half believed they were real and 2/3rd of these were disobedient
L - participants may have been responding to demand characteristics

P - Sheridan and King - conducted a similar study
E - students gave real shocks to puppy
E - 54% of men and 100% of women gave what they thought was fatal shock
L - suggests effects in Milgram’s study were genuine because people behaved obediently even when shocks were real

Question 7

alternative interpretation of findings

Answer 7

P - limitation as conclusion about blind obedience may not be justified
E - Haslam et al - Milgram’s participants obeyed when experimenter delivered three verbal prods
E - however every participant who was given fourth prod without exception disobeyed - according to social identity theory, participants only obeyed when they identified with scientific aim of research and when ordered to blindly obey they refused
L - SIT may provide a more valid interpretation of Milgram’s findings