Social Area- Milgram Flashcards
Background of Milgrams study
Adolf eichmann organised the holocaust during ww2 and when put on trial said “I was only following orders”
Wanted to understand how Germans killed innocent Jews
Prove/test the idea that obedience is more likely in the presence of a legitimate authority figure
Aim of Milgram’s study
To investigate what level of obedience participants would go to when asked to deliver electric shocks to someone by an authority figure
Research method of Milgram study
Lab experiment
Sample used in Milgram study
40 males aged between 20 and 50 wide wide range of occupations
From new haven in USA
What sampling method did Milgram use to obtain his sample
A self-selecting sample, he did this by putting an advert in the newspaper asking people to take part in an experiment into memory and Learning, which had incentive for $4.50
Weaknesses and strengths of Milgram sample
Important gender differences missed
Range of occupations and a sample replicated soldiers in World War II
Strengths and weaknesses of the way Milgram obtained his sample
School and college students were not included also more confident people turn up
Consent was assumed and there is less chance of a bias as there is a range of occupations
Procedure of Milgram
Each participant assigned a role of teacher which was rigged so that was they were always the teacher
They sat in adjacent rooms and the teacher sees the learner strapped into an electric chair
They were given a word pairing task to complete
That was a shock generator placed in front of the teacher ranging from 15 to 450 V
The participant would be given a sample shock before the experiment began of 45 vaults to convince the authenticity of the generator
Every time the learner gave a wrong answer the participant was instructed to administer a shock and each time it increased by 15 v
At 300 V a pre-recorded sound of a pain and kicking the wall was heard,afterwards there was no response and the victim was silent
There were four standardised prods used every time the participants said they don’t want to continue this included “please go on “
Controls used in Milgram study
The participant was always the learner, they’re always males aged between 20 to 50, the 4 prods were the same, the experimenter wore a lab coat, The learner always had a sample 45v shock before.
Quantitative results from Milgram study
65% went all the way to 450 v
All participants went to 300 V
Five refuse to continue after 300 V
Nine more stopped at 375 v
Qualitative results from Milgrams study
Signs of stress included; sweating, stuttering, crying, nervous laughing etc
Comments like “I don’t think this is very humane “also were recorded by the experimenter
Conclusion of Milgram study
Germans aren’t different, obedience comes from the situation you find yourself in
It’s situational and not individual
Explanation as to why obedience levels were so high
It was a prestigious university making the study seem important
The participants believed the learners had volunteered
Experimenter was wearing white lab coat which reinforced it was a scientific study
Because the learner didn’t complain until 300v they felt it was okay to continue
Due to the internal conflict of the participant
Ethics in Milgram
Consent – they were not informed about the experiment
Withdrawal- they weren’t given the option to although they could
Deception- lied to about what they would be doing
Psychological harm
It was confidential as of names were given
They were debriefed at the end and told truth
Ethnocentrism in Milgrams
Was ethnocentric as he only did one culture and you can’t generalise
