Obedience - Milgram Flashcards
What was Milgram’s baseline procedure?
40 American men, participant designated Teacher, confederate Learner and confederate Experimenter. Aimed to assess obedience in a situation where the experimenter ordered the participant to give an increasingly strong shock to a Learner up to 450 volts.
What were Milgram’s baseline findings?
Every participant went up to 300 volts, 12.5% stopped there and 65% continued to 450. Also collected qualitative data - participants showed extreme tension such as sweating, trembling, stuttering, lip biting, groaning and 3 had seizures.
How did Milgram assess ethical issues?
All participants were debriefed and assured their behaviour was normal then sent a follow-up questionnaire - 84% glad to have participated.
What was the expectation for the experiment?
The 14 psychology students Milgram asked beforehand estimated only 3% would continue to 450 volts.
What were Milgram’s conclusions?
He concluded Germans were not ‘different’, the Americans did the same thing as they did..
What is the strength - research support?
A French tv show, la Jeu de la Mort replicated this live on air - 80% gave 460 volts to an unconscious man and had other behaviour that matched Milgram’s qualitative data. This supports Milgram’s original findings and suggests they were not just due to special circumstances.
What is the limitation - low internal validity?
Milgram’s procedure may have not been testing the intended target - Milgram said 75% believed the shocks were genuine. Orne and Holland argued the participants didn’t believe the set up and play-acted. Perry confirmed this by reporting only half believed it, and two-thirds of those participants were disobedient. This suggests demand characteristics could have come into effect.
What is the strength - Sheridan and King?
They did the same thing with a puppy and 54% of men and 100% of women gave a fatal shock, suggesting the effects in Milgram’s study were real.
What is the limitation - alternative interpretation?
Hallam showed Milgram’s participants obeyed when give the first 3 prods but every participant given the 4th prod disobeyed, because the first 3 were in the name of science and the 4th was a simple command. This is as a result of Social Identity Theory, which may offer a better alternative.
What was Milgram’s proximity variation?
The teacher and learner were in the same room, obedience dropped to 40%.
When the teacher had to force the learner’s hadn’t onto the plate, obedience dropped to 30%.
When the experimenter gave telephone instructions, obedience reduced to 20.5%.
What is the explanation for Milgram’s proximity variation findings?
Decreased proximity allows people to psychologically distance themselves, in the baseline study the Teacher was less aware of the harm they were causing to another person.
What was Milgram’s location variation?
He conducted a variation in a run-down office block rather than Yale University. Obedience fell to 47.5%
What is the explanation for Milgram’s location variation findings?
The prestigious university gave his experiment legitimacy and authority. Participants were more obedient because they perceived the Experimenter shared the legitimacy and obedience was expected.
What was Milgram’s uniform variation?
In the baseline study, the experimenter wore a lab coat. In one variation, the experimenter was called away and replaced by a member of the public in everyday clothes. Obedience fell to 20%.
What is the explanation for Milgram’s uniform variation findings?
Uniforms encourage obedience because they are widely recognised authority symbols. We expect someone in a uniform to be entitled to obedience because their legitimate authority demands it.
