Obedience

Question 1

Psychology being Investigated

Answer 1

• Social pressure: influence of a person or group on another person or group.
• May be orders, threats or demands.
• Takes the form of feeling the need to conform to the expectations.

Destructive obedience: obedience that has the potential to cause psychological or physical harm.

Question 2

Background

Question 3

Aim

Answer 3

Investigate how obedient individuals would be to orders received from a person in authority.

Question 4

Research Method and Design

Answer 4

• Controlled observation
• Laboratory setting (variables and measurements were controlled while behaviors of participants were observed and recorded)
• Independent measures design
• Operationalized as the maximum voltage given in response to orders.
• Observers noted body language and verbal comments

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

• Volunteer sampling (newspaper advertisement)
• 40 men
• 20-25 years
• New Haven, USA
• Different backgrounds and occupations

Question 6

Procedure

Answer 6

• After responding to advertisement, participant was promised $4.50 for taking part.
• Took place at Yale University, in a laboratory (location was used to make the procedure seem legitimate)
• Participants arrived individually, introduced to another man who they thought was another participant.
• This person was a stooge: playing a role in a piece of research.
• Told they would both be allocated in roles: teacher, learner
• Drew pieces of paper from a hat, it was fixed that the real participant was always allocated the role of teacher
• Participant was taken into another room where stooge was strapped to a chair with electrodes attached.
• Participant was presented with shock generator, had rows of switches labeled with voltages of 15V to 450V.
• Labeled ascending order, Moderate shock, Danger: severe shock, last two XXX.

-Participants were told that, although the shocks were painful, they weren’t dangerous.
- Given an example of 45V for demonstration.
- Seated behind a wall so they could hear but not see the stooge.
- Although learner didn’t get shocked, the machine was set up to convince the participants that they were injuring the learner.
- Experimenter remained with participant.
- Experimenter: 31 years old, teacher who wore a grey technician’s coat

• Participant instructed in memory task: reading word pairs aloud, testing the learner on their recognition.
• When learner made a mistake, participants were told to give a shock by pressing a switch on the generator.
• They were ordered to increase shock level by 15V for all errors.
• Since learner was a stooge, a pre-set plan was made, deliberately giving wrong answers.
• Until 300V, learner remained silent when receiving punishment.
• When 300V and 315V, learner began to bang the walls in protest.
• After this, learner made no noises and stopped responding to memory task altogether.
• If participants asked what to do, the experimenter insisted they should continue with reading the words out.
• No answers were considered wrong; thus, they shocked the learner.
• If learners protested to this, prods were given:
  please go on
  please continue
  the experiment requires you to continue
  it is absolutely essential you continue
  you have no other choice, you must go on
• Procedure was over when participant refused to give more shocks, or when 450V was reached.
• One-way mirror was used to record physical behaviors, and comments were noted.
• Once completed, interviews were conducted and deception was fully explained.
• Participants were asked to estimate how painful they thought 450 V shock was (0-14 scale)
• Could meet learner for reassurance that they weren’t harmed.