obedience: milgram's variations Flashcards
what was variation 13?
ordinary man
How does the aim differ from the original in the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation?
(expt 13)
To investigate the impact on obedience when the authority of the experimenter was removed by presenting him as an ordinary person (with no lab coat).
What was the sample of the ordinary man variation?
20 ppts
Briefly describe the procedure of the ordinary man variation.
- There is a teacher and learner (the first confederate) as in the original but the experimenter does not tell the teacher to increase the voltage
- A rigged phone call then calls the experimenter away and he acts eager to leave but tells the others to continue
- The confederate timing things then announces he has a good idea, to increase the level of shocks by 15V for every wrong answer
What were the results of the ordinary man and experiment 13a variation?
- 16/20 left the experiment (80%)
- 5 used physical means to stop confederate- lifted him and threw him
- 68.75% did not interfere with ordinary mans actions of flicking the switch.
What can we conclude from the ordinary man variation?
- When the authority figure is taken away, people are more likely to disobey (especially if the person isn’t legitimate in power).
- when presented with an authority figure we become passive- otherwise free to criticise ordinary mans judgement
what was variation 7?
telephonic instructions
How does the aim differ from the original in the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation?
(expt 7)
To investigate level of obedience when the experimenter isn’t present due to giving instructions over a phone.
What was the sample of the telephonic instructions variation?
40 males
Briefly describe the procedure of the telephonic instructions variation.
- After giving the initial instructions of the original experiment, they left and gave the rest of the instructions over the phone
- ONLY communicated by telephone.
What were the results of the telephonic instructions variation?
22.5% continued to 450V (9/40)
- some lied about shock level, never informed experimenter of their deviation.
What can we conclude from the telephonic instructions variation?
- Lower obedience levels due to lack of experimenter and so stress/pressure from being watched.
- physical presence of authority was important factor in influencing ppt obedience or defiance.
How does the aim differ from the original in the ‘run down office block’ variation?
(expt 10)
To investigate level of obedience in relation to the setting that the orders from authority are being given.
What was the sample of the office block variation?
40 males
Briefly describe the procedure of the office block variation.
- The procedure that was carried out in the original study was replicated exactly.
- study was moved to an office in a nearby industrial city, Bridgeport, with no visible ties to Yale.
- room was shabby, sparsely furnished, but clean.
- if questioned study, ppts told that they were a private firm conducting research for industry.
What were the results of the office block variation?
- 47.5% continued to 450V
- 2 ppts refused lowest shock of 15v
What can we conclude from the office block variation?
- The environment that an individual is in affects their level of obedience
- More prestigious settings are considered ‘safer’ to the ppts and so they are more likely to obey
Why did Milgram carry out the other variations of his experiment?
Milgram wanted to test whether situational factors are more important than dispositional in regards to the level of obedience.
