Paper 1 - Social Influence - Topic 1 - Obedience

Question 1

1.4 - Who designed the baseline procedure to assess obedience levels?

Answer 1

Stanley Milgram designed the baseline procedure in 1963

Question 2

1.4 What was the aim of Milgram’s baseline study?

Answer 2

The study aimed to assess obedience in a situation where an authority figure ordered the participants to give increasingly strong shocks to a learner

Question 3

1.4 - How many American men participated in Milgram’s baseline study?

Answer 3

40 American men volunteered to take part in his study

Question 4

1.4 - What roles were assigned to the participants in Milgram’s study?

Answer 4

Participants were assigned the roles of teacher and learner through a fixed draw

Question 5

1.4 - What voltage levels were participants instructed to administer?

Answer 5

Participants were instructed to administer shocks in 15V steps, up to 450V

Question 6

1.4 - What percentage of participants continued to the highest shock level of 450V

Answer 6

65% of participants continued to the highest level of 450V

Question 7

1.4 - What did Milgram observe about participants behaviour during the study?

Answer 7

Participants showed signs of extreme tension, such as sweating, trembling and stuttering

Question 8

1.4 - What did psychology students predict about participants behaviour before the study?

Answer 8

Students estimated that no more than 3% of participants would continue to 450V

Question 9

1.4 - What conclusion did Milgram draw about obedience from his study?

Answer 9

Milgram concluded that American participants were willing to obey orders even when they might harm another person

Question 10

1.4 - What was a strength of Milgram’s research?

Answer 10

Milgram’s findings were replicated in a French documentary, supporting his original findings about obedience

Question 11

1.4 What is one limitation of Milgram’s procedure?

Answer 11

Milgram’s procedure may not have been testing what he intended, as some participants may have been play-acting

Question 12

1.4 What did Charles Sheridan and Richard King find in their study related to Milgram’s?

Answer 12

They found that 54% of men and a 100% of women gave what they thought was a fatal shock to a puppy, suggesting genuine obedience

Question 13

1.4 - What alternative presentation of Milgram’s findings was suggested by Alex Haslam et al.?

Answer 13

They suggested that participants obey when they identify with the scientific aims of the research, not blindly

Question 14

1.4 - What ethical issue was raised regarding Milgram’s study?

Answer 14

Participants were deceived about the allocation of the roles and the nature of the shocks