social area classic studies (milgram) Flashcards
what was the historical background to milgrams study
nazi germany
wanted to test obedience
wanted to discover the point at which participants would refuse to go on
what was the AIM of milgrams study
to investigate what level of obedience participants would show when an authority figure told them to administer electric shocks to another person.
why is milgrams study controlled
kept multiple variables the same
who were the participants who took part
40 males aged 20-50
new haven Connecticut
variety of job backgrounds
how were participants recruited
self selecting sample
local advertisment $4.50
said it was an experiment about memory
how was the procedure carried out
1)experiment involved one naive participant and the victim
2) experiment told the the purpose of the experiment was to find out the effect of punishment on learning
3) experimenter declared although the shocks can be extremely painful then cause not permanent tissue damage
4) learner was strapped onto an electric shock generator and was told to match up words in a word pair task
5)sample shocks- teacher given and 45v shock too convince the participant of authenticity.
6)teacher was instructed to shock the learner every time they gave the wrong answer
7)when the 300v shock was administered the learner kicked the wall after that he gave no answer
8) 315v kicked the wall again after that no further feedback from the victim
9) standardised prods if participant deemed to be defiant
quantitive findings
65% of all participants went up to 450v
all 40 participants went up too 300v
5 refused to continue after 300v
9 more had stopped by 375v
qualitative findings
sweating
trembling
stuttering
lip biting
groaning
biting their nails
crying
nervous laugh
conclusions milgrams findings
he concluded that this is a situation that produces extremely strong tendencies to obey
why the high levels of obedience
experiment took place at Yale
experiment obtained worthy purpose
being paid to come to the lab made the participant feel obliged to continue
assumed shocks were painful not dangerous
why the high levels of tension experienced
participant was placed in a position in which he had to respond to completing demands from two people - both people had very different demands
equipment required
generator
chair
lab coat
microphone
answer sheet
45v battery
what were the prods
please continue
the experiment requires that you continue
it is absolutely essential that you continue
you have no other choice you must go on
strengths of the study
lab experiment- controlled
self selecting sample- willing g volunteer
quantitive and qualitative data
decent age range
didnt know the purpose of the study
different jobs - generalisable
weaknesses of the study
lack of ecological validity
ethnocentric - just in the USA
self selected keen volunteers more confident
just men - less generalisable
