Obedience: Milgram’s variations (#7, #10, #13) Flashcards
What was the aim of the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation?
Variation #7
To see whether the physical distance between the experimenter and the teacher would affect obedience levels
What was the sample of the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation?
Variation #7
40 males
Describe the procedure of the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation
Variation #7
- after giving initial instructions of the original experiment, experimenter left and gave the rest of the instructions over the phone
- only reappeared when ppts disobeyed
What were the results of the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation?
Variation #7
22.5% of ppts continued to 450V
- some gave lower shocks as they believed they were not being observed
What was the conclusion made from the ‘telephonic instructions’ variation?
Variation #7
The physical presence of an authority figure is important for obedience
What was the aim of the ‘rundown office block’ variation?
Variation #10
To see whether the level of prestige of a location would affect obedience levels
What was the sample of the ‘rundown office block’ variation?
Variation #10
40 males
Describe the procedure of the ‘rundown office block’ variation?
Variation #10
Exact replication of the procedure from the original study
What were the results of the ‘rundown office block’ variation?
Variation #10
47.5% of ppts continued to 450V
What were the conclusions made from the ‘rundown office block’ variation?
Variation #10
Reduced prestige of a location led to fewer participants obeying
- setting is not as important as status of authority
What was the aim of the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation?
Variation #13
To see if the authority of the experimenter was removed by presenting him as an ordinary person would affect obedience levels
What was the sample of the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation?
Variation #13
20 males
Describe the procedure of the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation
Variation #13
- used original confederate Mr Williams from original experiment; he was the experimenter
- Mr Williams explains procedure to each ppts but is then called away
- does not tell the teachers to increase the shock by 15V
- second confederate present, seen as another ‘ppt’, who is given the job to ‘write down the timings of each test’
- 2nd confederate suggests a new way of doing the study by taking the voltage up 15V for each mistake
What were the results of the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation?
Variation #13
20% of ppts continued to 450V
What was the conclusion made from the ‘ordinary man gives orders’ variation?
Variation #13
The status of the authority figure is important but other features of the situation still create obedience
