Milgram (1963)

Question 1

What was the background?

Answer 1

When you automatically follow orders from someone in higher authority. Gross (1992) defines obedience as ‘complying with the demands of an authority figure’. German’s are different – a dispositional hypothesis. A pilot study of Milgram variations.

Question 2

What was the aim?

Answer 2

To investigate the process of obedience, and to investigate the power of legitimate authority.

Question 3

What was the sampling method?

Answer 3

Self-selecting sampling through a newspaper article for a memory test and direct address.

Question 4

What were the methods?

Answer 4

Lab experiment.
Confederate – experimenter: 31 years old biology teacher who wore a grey lab coat.
Learner – a 47 year old mild mannered, likeable accountant. (victim).
Pre-recorded screams.

Question 5

What was the procedure?

Answer 5

2 participants entered the lab. At 300V the learner pounded on the wall, which repeated at 315V. After that, the learner no longer responded to the learning task. If they wanted to stop – they were prodded on.
Prod 1 – ‘please continue/please go on’.
Prod 4 – ‘you have no choice, you must go on’.

Question 6

What were the behaviours displayed?

Answer 6

Laughter, sweating and lip biting.

Question 7

What were the results?

Answer 7

65% went to 450V (26 participants). Lots of participants dropped out at 300V. The white lab coat (legitimate authority figure) made them move from the autonomous state to the agentic state.

Question 8

What were the conclusions?

Answer 8

‘People will obey without limitations of conscience when they believe that an order comes from a legitimate authority’.