Obedience- MILGRAM Flashcards
What is obedience
A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order. Usually a figure of authority, who has the power to punish.
What did milgram do
Recruited 40 male participants aged 20-50
In a lab had to ask a student Q’s if they got it wrong then had to issue electrical volt.
Naive was always given role of teacher but didn’t realise they weren’t being randomly selected
Shock started from 15 and went to 450 (lethal)
There was one confederate, Mr Wallace in science uniform who gave 4 profs if necessary
Findings
No participants stopped below 300 Volts
65% continued to issue highest level of 450 volts
Ps were seen to swear, tremble, vote their lips and groan
Evaluation- low internal validity
Orne and Holland (1968) argued that p’s only issued such voltage because they didn’t really believe it was real. - low internal
However, Sheridan and kings (1972) experiment gave real electric shocks to a puppy - 54% of males and 100% of females gave full fatal shock.
Suggests that they are actually genuine
Evaluation- good external validity
Milgram argued that the relationship between authority figure and participant replicated real life relationships with authority.
This is supported by holfling et al (1966) showing that 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed unjustified demands from doctors.
Can be generalised to forget situations
Good external validity
Evaluation- supporting replication
Le Jeu de la Mort French tv 2010
Replication if milgrams study.
80% delivered maximum voltage of 450 volts.
Behaviour was identical to that seen in milgrams
Showing support for reliable results across time and cultures ( although US and French are western and similar)
