obedience: milgram (1963)

Question 1

state the 2 aims

Answer 1

• investigate the level of obedience when told by an authority figure to give electric shocks
• investigate whether it is just Germans who will blindly obey orders that are potentially dangerous

Question 2

describe the sample

Answer 2

• 40
• american males
• aged 20-50
  An advert was put out asking for VOLUNTEERS to take part in a study of ‘memory and learning’ at Yale University who were paid $4.

Question 3

what method?

Answer 3

lab observation

Question 4

describe the procedure

Answer 4

• A ‘learner’ and ‘teacher’ were established by a researcher in a white lab coat (the learner being the confederate) and the learner was taken into a separate room
• The teacher would experience a test of 45V real volts then watch the learner being strapped into an electric chair
• The teacher would then test him on word pairings of a list he had to to learn beforehand, giving four options of the answer
• When he would get them wrong the teacher would administer a shock, increasing by 15V for every incorrect answer, ranging from 15-450V
• The teacher would hear a ‘thump on the wall’ at 300V and the learner would stop answering
• When the teacher refuses to give the shock the experimenter would give them prompts such as “please continue, you have no other choice but to continue”

Question 5

state the DVs

Answer 5

• level of voltage
• stress

Question 6

describe the results

Answer 6

• 100% of ppts continued to 300V
• 65% of ppts continued to 450V
• signs of stress including sweating, trembling, head in hands

Question 7

what was the conclusion?

Answer 7

Due to being taught to obey authority from a young age, anyone has the capability to kill innocent people when following orders from an authority figure and so it’s not just German people who obey authority in extreme ways as the circumstances are situational.

Question 8

weakness (PEE) G

Answer 8

a weakness of the study is that it lacks generalisability. for example, it was ethnocentric and androcentric as the sample only consisted of american males. therefore, the findings are not representative of a wider population.

Question 9

strength (PEECA) R

Answer 9

a strength of the study is that it uses standardised procedures. for example, the shock levels went up by 15V to 450V for all ppts and all ppts heard the same prompts including ‘you must continue.’ therefore, the study can be easily replicated making it reliable. however, inter rater reliability is low as there was only one experimenter observing behaviours such as stress. therefore, there are elements of subjectivity in behaviour defined as stressful.

Question 10

strength (PEE) A

Answer 10

a strength of the study is the applications. for example, Milgram found that Germans aren’t the only obedient nation. therefore, this can help to reduce prejudice against Germans.

Question 11

strength (PEECA) V

Answer 11

a strength of the study is the high internal validity. Ppts were unaware of the true aim as thought it was a test of memory not obedience. therefore this reduced risk of demand characteristics and so elicited natural behaviour.
however, task validity is low due to the artificial conditions of electrocuting people. therefore, the findings are not representative of behaviour in everyday life such as being instructed to do homework.

Question 12

weakness (PEEIA) E

Answer 12

a weakness of the study is the poor ethics. for example, observations including nervous laughter and stress such as sweating and trembling. therefore, this demonstrates psychological harm which goes against the ethical guidelines. in addition, verbal prods were used when ppts hesitated. this reduced their right to withdraw as only 35% withdrew.