Obedience: Milgram's shock study Flashcards
What was Milgram’s aim for the study?
How do people obey authority figures even when having to put others in harm’s way.
Describe Milgram’s study
40 Male participants answering an advertisement in the newspaper, learner and experimenter are confederates. Learner has to memorise paired words and if it isn’t right, participant (teacher) shocks them which increases by 15v.
What were the results for Milgram’s baseline study?
100% went up to 300v
65% went up to 450v (baseline)
Describe the variables for Milgram’s study and their results from the baseline (65%)
Uniform- Experimenter becomes normal member of the public with no uniform
Decreased to 20%
Location- From Yale to run down office building
Decreased to 48%
Proximity- Learner and Teacher same room
Decreased to 40%
-Teacher puts learner hand on shock plate
Decreased to 30%
-Teacher calls Experimenter, he’s not in the room
Decreased to 21%
Suggest a limitation for Milgram’s research
(Lacks internal validity)
Perry reviewed tapes and reported that many voiced doubts that the shocks were not real. Subjected to demand characteristics as they did what they were told just to please the researcher.
Suggest a limitation for Milgram’s research
(Culturally biased)
Only American men were involved in the study, deliberately ethnocentric, lacks population validity and cannot be generalised.
Suggest a limitation for Milgram’s research
(Biased sample)
Only using men in the study shows how it lacks population validity and is a form of beta bias. Cannot be generalised to everyone, lacks universality.
Suggest a limitation for Milgram’s research
(Ethical issues)
Milgram lied to participants- deception, no informed consent. Whilst putting them in extremely stressful situations where they showed visible distress. Some may have experienced a lot of guilt and psychological harm.
