Social area: Milgram Flashcards
What is the ‘germans are different’ hypothesis?
An idea which was assumed post ww2 that German’s had a character defect which made it possible for them to carry out the holocaust
What was Milgram’s aim?
To investigate what level of obedience participants would go to when asked to deliver electric shocks to someone by an authority figure
What was Milgram’s research method?
Lab experiment, Observation
Describe the sample used in Milgram’s study
40 white males from New Haven aged 20-50 in varying ‘white collar’ jobs
What sampling method did Milgram use?
Self selecting
How did Milgram obtain his sample?
They responded to a newspaper ad which offered $4.50 just for showing up
What is a weakness of Milgram’s original sample?
It didn’t include women and people over the age of 50
What is a weakness of Milgram’s method of obtaining his sample?
Only a certain type of people will volunteer and therefore it isn’t representative of the general population
What is a strength of Milgram’s sample?
Good sample size and represents the people in Germany at the time
What is a strength of the way that Milgram obtained his sample?
He could tailor his advert to get p’s that suited his criteria
What were participants told that the experiment was investigating?
The effect of punishment on memory and learning
What role did the participant play?
Teacher
Who was strapped into the chair?
The learner (a confederate)
What were P’s told about the shocks?
That they were not harmful
What was the strength of the sample shock that p’s received?
45V
What was the name of the task that the learner had to complete?
Word-pair task