Social- Milgram Flashcards
Background
Milgram interpreted Arendt’s work to mean that even the most ordinary of people can commit horrendous crimes if placed in certain situations and given certain incentives
Aim
To investigate what level of obedience would be shown when participants were told by an authority figure to administer electric shocks to another person
Sample
40 males
Aged 20-50 of various occupations
Self-Selecting Sample
An advertisement was placed in a newspaper for a study on ‘learning and memory’. It stated that four dollars would be paid (plus $0.50 for travel)
Experimenter
The stooges (or confederates) were:
- The experimenter – a 31 year old biology teacher wearing a gray lab coat
- Mr. Wallace ‘the learner’ – a 47 year old accountant who was trained to play the role
Apparatus
Shock generator labeled from 0-450volts in increments of 15. They were labeled from ‘slight shock’ through ‘XXX’.
the shock generator had 30 levers, each of which indicated the level of shock to be given.
There were electrodes attached to the generator and a chair unto which the learner was strapped.
Controls
The procedure was the same for all participants
Drawing for teacher learner roles
Use of equipment
Word-pairs and prods
Method & Design
Laboratory ‘experiment’
There was no IV and no variables were compared (sometimes, the command to obey has been said to be the IV)
There should be no DV since there was no IV, but some have said it was the ‘shock intensity level’.
Since there was no IV there is no design. Each participant did the one condition of the experiment.
Procedure (part 1)
~Each participant was paid $4.50
~They were told that the study concerned the role of punishment in learning.
~They were introduced to another person whom they believed was also a subject, but was really a confederate of Milgram
~The participants & the confederate drew lots to see who would “teach” and who would “learn”
~The subject always had the teacher’s roleConfederate’s task was to memorize pairs of words.
~When tested, the “learner/confederate” would indicate his answer using a system of lights.
~The “teacher/subject’s” role was to administer a shock every time the learner made a mistake.
Procedure (Part 2)
~The subject sat in front of the shock generator had 30 levers, each of which indicated the level of shock to be given.
~Levers labeled from “Slight Shock” to “Danger: Severe Shock” XXX
~Each switch is clearly labeled with a voltage designation that ranges from I5 to 450 volts. There is a 15-volt increment from one switch to the next going from left to right
~The participant watched the confederate being strapped into a chair in an adjoining room with electrodes attached to his arms
Procedure (Part 3)
~The “teachers” were given a shock of 45 volts to convince them that the shocks were real
~The “learner’s” response to the questions was scripted (and played back on a tape recorder)No ~responses or other signs of protest were heard until 300 volts
~Then the learner pounded on the wall of the other room
~The pounding could be heard by the subject
From this point on, the learner no longer answered
The learner’s pounding was repeated at 315 volts
The learner made no more sounds or protests
No shocks were actually administered
~The experiment continued either until the subject refused to continue or until 450 volts were reached and given four times
~The participant was then debriefed and taken to meet the confederate
Prods given by Confederate
If the subject objected to continuing
Experimenter prods:
-Please continue (or “Please go on”)
-The experiment requires that you continue
-It is absolutely essential that you continue
-You have no other choice, you must go on
Results
All participants went to at least 285 volts on the shock generator
65 % of participants went to the end and believed they had administered the full 450 volts
Although they dissented verbally, they continued to obey the researcher who prompted them to continue giving the shocks.
Most participants found the procedure very stressful & wanted to stop.
- Signs of anxiety.sweating, trembling, stuttering, biting their lips, groaning, digging their fingernails into their flesh, and having of nervous laughing fit.
- 3 subjects had full-blown, uncontrollable seizures
Agentic State/ Agentic Theory
All participants obeyed until the shock level reached 300 volts. It was as if, having simply agreed to take part, they were in an agentic state. This meant that they were agents of the experimenter and so obeyed his orders.
Being in an agentic state is the opposite of autonomy. Being in an autonomous state is being under one’s own control and having the power to make one’s own decisions.
Milgram used the idea of being in an agentic state to put forward his agency theory. This is the idea that our social system leads to obedience.
Conclusions
Under certain circumstances, most people will obey orders that go against their conscience
Milgram found that Germans were not different.
Explanations
-The fact that the experiment took place at the prestigious Yale University lent the study and procedure credibility and respect.
-The participant believed that the experiment was for a worthy purpose - to advance knowledge and understanding of learning processes.
-The participant believed the confederate had
volunteered to be in the study and therefore had an obligation to take part even if the procedures become unpleasant
-The participant felt himself to be similarly obligated to take part in the procedures as planned
-Being paid increased the sense of obligation.
-Believed the roles of learner and teacher had been assigned fairly
-Had never been a participant in an experiment before:Did not know the rights, Had no norms
-Believed the shocks were ‘painful but not dangerous’ (ends justifying means) This short-term pain was balanced with the possibility of long-term scientific gain.
-Learner responded to all of the questions until the 300 volts
Indicated willingness to take part
