obedience (milgram)

Question 1

procedure

Answer 1

40 american men between 20 - 50
given role of teacher through fixed draw
ordered to give (fake) electric shocks to learner (confederate) by an experimenter
shocks increased 15 volts with each mistake on memory task
went up to 450v
shocks were fake but teacher believed they were real

Question 2

findings

Answer 2

no pps stopped before 300v
65% went up to 450v
many showed signs of stress, most objected but continued anyway
prior survey said 3% would obey

Question 3

prods

Answer 3

“please continue” or “please go on”
“the experiment requires that you go on”
“it is absolutely essential that you continue”
“you have no other choice, you must go on”

Question 4

ethics

Answer 4

limitation
deception - pps were intentionally deceived so as not to give away purpose of study
therefore could not give their informed consent
protection from harm - teachers experienced mental distress

Question 5

c - ethics

Answer 5

necessary for the aim and nature of the study

Question 6

research support

Answer 6

strength
replicated for french documentary about reality tv - ‘game of death’
pps delivering shocks were encouraged by cheering audience
were also given prods to continue
80% of participants delivered maximum capacity
increases reliability

Question 7

lack of internal validity

Answer 7

limitation
may not have been testing what he wanted to test
milgram believed only 75% of pps believed shocks were real
orne and holland stated pps didn’t really believe in the set up of the study so were ‘play-acting’
perry listened to tapes of the study and believed half of pps believed shocks were fake - 2/3 were disobedient

Question 8

c - lack of internal validity

Answer 8

sheridan & king
pps gave real shocks to a puppy
54% of males and 100% of females delivering what they believed to be fatal shocks
higher percentage than milgram’s study
pps may still obey if they know/believe shocks are real