Obedience Flashcards
Define obedience
A persons compliance when given a direct order from a person in a position of power
Outline Milgram’s study
Aim was to assess obedience levels and see how easy it was to get Germans to obey the nazi regime.
Used 40 American male volunteers between ages of 20 and 50
Volunteers became teachers and confederates were learners.
Teachers asked learners questions, when they got the question wrong, teachers gave the learners a shock (shock was actually take but teachers didn’t know this).
Shock level increased each time, until they became fatal.
When participants (teachers) asked to stop, they were given prompts such as “please continue” and “the experiment requires you to continue”
What were the findings of Milgram’s original study?
All participants delivered shocks up to 300 volts.
12.5% of participants stopped at 300 volts.
65% of participants continued until the maximum of 450 volts.
70% of participants said afterwards that they thought the shocks were real.
Participants showed extreme tension, sweating and trembling.
What were the conclusions of Milgram’s original study?
German people were not ‘different’ —> the public in Germany obeyed Nazi regimes for similar reasons to this experiment.
Participants were willing to obey orders even if they inflicted harm on others.
Haslam (2014) said they obeyed due to social learning theory: participants only obeyed when they agreed with the aims of the study and when told to blindly obey, they stopped. E.g all participants stopped when told “the experiment requires you to continue” because they no longer identified.
What were the strengths of Milgram’s original study?
Replicated by others: on a French TV show, 80% of participants delivered shocks the maximum of 460 volts to an apparently unconscious man. They displayed similar anxious behaviours as in Milgram’s study.
High control.
Systematic.
What were the weaknesses to Milgram’s original study?
Issues of deception- Milgram’s dealt with this by debriefing participants after. 84% said they were glad to have taken part.
Original study lacked generalisability: American men. Gender and cultural bias, however his later variations had women and people from ‘all walks of life.’
Issues around right to withdraw: participants were lead to believe they could not stop.
Lacks ecological validity: lab setting.
Orne and Holland (1968) argued people only behaved as they did because they knew the setup was fake, so responded to demand characteristics.
Perry (2013) found that 50% of participants did not believe the shocks were real and 2/3 of these people disobeyed.
Seen as an excuse/ alabi for Nazis.
What did students and psychiatrists expect about levels of conformity in Milagros study?
Students expected 3% to shock to 450 volts.
Psychiatrists expected 1% to shock to 450 volts.
Said only those with a sadistic personality would shock to 450 volts.
This justifies some ethics all issues as it shows Milgram’s was not expecting it.
