Milgram

Question 1

key theme

Answer 1

responses to people in authority

Question 2

strengths of the social approach

Answer 2

-this approach has demonstrated the strong effect of social influences on people’s behaviour.
-The approach has explained many phenomena e.g why the Nazi’s obeyed hitler.
-Wide applications
-Scientific methodology.

Question 3

Weaknesses of social approach

Answer 3

-Reductionism, this area fails to acknowledge the role of individual differences within a social setting.
-Unethical, it’s been argued that some research is unethical (like Milgram’s)

Question 4

obedience

Answer 4

complying with the demands of an authority figure. Obedience is less likely to involve an alteration of private belief than conformity.

Question 5

conformity

Answer 5

yielding to group pressure

Question 6

why was Milgram interested in obedience to authority? (background)

Answer 6

• He had a fascination with Nazi Germany and the holocaust.
  -Milgram was jewish but born in New York.
  -Historians said that the holocaust happened because of the ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis (Milgram wanted to test this)

Question 7

Germans are different hypothesis

Answer 7

Germans have a basic character defect that causes them to blindly obey authority figures no matter what they are being told to do.
Milgram had intended to repeat his study in Germany but this became unnecessary after the surprising results he obtained.
As blind obedience was not just a flaw in German personalities but was found in a high percentage of the American sample he studied.

Question 8

Is obedience necessarily a Flaw?

Answer 8

Obedience can be used to explain some of the worst examples of human behaviour, but can also account for acts of charity and kindness.

Question 9

situational factors

Answer 9

Conditions the person is in- e.g heat

Question 10

dispositional factors

Answer 10

Conditions unique to the person- e.g personality

Question 11

Background

Answer 11

14 yale seniors (all psychology majors) were provided with detailed description of experimental situation.
They were asked to reflect carefully on it and predict behaviour of 100 hypothetical subjects.
Specifically they were instructed to plot the distribution of obedience of ‘100 americans of diverse occupations’ ranging from 20-50 yrs old.
All respondents predicted that only an insignificant minority would go to end of shock series.
-Estimates ranged from 0-3% with a class mean of 1.2%.
Most pessimistic member of class predicted 3/100 would to go 450v.
-Question was also posed informally to Milgram’s colleagues and the general feeling was that few would go beyond ‘very strong shock’.

Question 12

Aim

Answer 12

To investigate how obedient people would be to orders from a person in authority that would result in pain and harm to another person (destructive obedience).
More specifically, the aim was to see how large of an electric shock ps would give to a helpless man when ordered to by a scientist in his own lab.

Question 13

Sample

Answer 13

40 male volunteers responded to a newspaper advert asking them to take part in a study at Yale university. (volunteer sample).
20-50 years old from New Haven, America.
All had wide range of occupations, e.g teachers, engineers, labourers etc….
-ps ranged in educational level (from not finishing elementary to professional degrees)

Question 14

Method

Answer 14

-controlled observation formed part of wider experiment.
-ps were allocated roles by experimenter-either teacher or learner(confederate)
-roles were RIGGED so ps were ALWAYS the TEACHER.
-Teacher was told experiment was on ‘punishment and learning’ (lie).
-learner and teacher sat in adjoining rooms.
-teacher was seated in front of shock generator.
-teacher was asked to administer electric shocks of increasing intensity to a learner everytime they made a MISTAKE in MEMORY TEST.
-ELECTRIC SHOCKS WERE NOT REAL
-when teacher asked whether increased shocks should be given they were VERBALLY ENCOURAGED to continue by experimenter.

Question 15

Obedience was measured by…

Answer 15

Max shock administered before refusing to continue.

Question 16

Results

Answer 16

5 ps went to 300 volts max (12.5%)
BUT 26 ps went all the way to 450 volts (65%) MAX VOLTAGE

Question 17

research method

Answer 17

controlled observation

Question 18

what were ps told they were participating in?

Answer 18

A study on memory and learning.

Question 19

how much did ps get paid to participate?

Answer 19

$4.50 (were told it was for coming to lab no matter what happened after arrival)

Question 20

procedure

Answer 20

• conducted on grounds of Yale University in ‘elegant interaction laboratory’.
  -The role of the experimenter was played by a 31 year old high school biology teacher. (his manner was impassive and his appearance was stern throughout the ‘experiment’.
  -experimenter wore a grey technician coat.
  -the learner was played by a 47 year old accountant trained for the role-irish American, mild mannered and likeable.

Question 21

why was a cover story devised?

Answer 21

In order to justify the administration of the electric shocks by the participants

Question 22

(cover story) After a general introduction what were ps told?

Answer 22

They were told very little is known about the effects of punishment on learning and whether it made a difference who is giving the punishment, whether an adult learns best from a younger or an older person (this is why the experimenter brought together a number of adults with a range of ages & occupations and asking some to be a learner and some to be a teacher).

Question 23

How did they determine who would be teacher and who would be learner?

Answer 23

Ps pulled slips of paper from a hat to determine who would be teacher/learner. However this allocation was rigged so that ps always got teacher and the confederate always got learner.

Question 24

what happened immediately after drawing?

Answer 24

teacher and learner were taken to an adjacent room and the learner (confederate) was strapped into an ‘electric chair’. Experimenter explained that straps were to prevent excessive movement while learner was being shocked.
An electrode was attached to learners wrist and electrode paste was applied to avoid burns and blisters.
Ps were told the electrode was attached to shock generator in adjoining room.

Question 25

To improve credibility…

Answer 25

the experimenter declared, in response to a question by the learner, that although the shocks can be extremely painful, they cause no permanent tissue damage.

Question 26

The learning task administered by the subject

Answer 26

A paired-associate learning task.
Ps read a series of word pairs to the learner and then read the first word of the pair along with four terms. Learner was to indicate which of the four terms had originally been paired with the first word.
He communicated his answer by pressing one of four switches in front of him, which in turn lit up one of the four numbered quadrants in an answer box located at top of shock-generator.

Question 27

shock generator

Answer 27

-ranged from 15-450 volts
-15 volt increment from one switch to next going left to right
-verbal descriptions clear;y indicated; slight shock, moderate shock, strong shock, very strong shock, intense shock, extreme intensity shock, danger server shock.
-2 switches after these were labeled XXX

Question 28

Sample shock

Answer 28

each ps were given a sample shock on the shock generator prior to beginning his run as the teacher. The shock was always 45 volts and is applied by pressing 3rd switch on generator. The shock was applied to the wrist of the participant and comes from an actual 45 volt battery wired into the generator.

Question 29

shock instructions

Answer 29

ps were told to administer a shock to learner every time he gives wrong response, told to move up one level higher each time its wrong. Ps also told to announce voltage level before
administering.

Question 30

ps found it hard to read words and administer shocks so practice was needed:

Answer 30

so teacher is given a preliminary series of 10 words to read to the learner, there are 3 neutral words in the practice series (words that the learner answers correctly) so that shocks are administered for the 7 words with the max shock at 105 volts. Almost all ps master the procedure by the time this preliminary run is over.

Question 31

Victim feedback

Answer 31

In all conditions the learner gives a predetermined set of responses to the word pair test based on approx 3 wrong answers to 1 correct answer. No vocal response or other sign of protest is heard from the learner until shock level 300 is reached. At 300 volt mark learner pounds on the wall of the room they’re in bound to the electric chair. Pounding can be heard by the ps, from this point on the learners answers no longer appeared on the 4 way panel.

Question 32

the experimenter instructs the subject to treat the absence of a response as a wrong answer & shock learner like usual…

Answer 32

Experimenter advises the ps to allow 5-10 seconds before considering no response as a wrong answer.

Question 33

learners pounding is repeated after which volt mark?

Answer 33

315 volts, but then is not heard from again.

Question 34

experimenter feedback

Answer 34

at various points in the experiment the ps may turn to experimenter for advice on whether he should continue and then a standardised response was given called ‘prods’.

Question 35

4 prods given to teacher (ps)

Answer 35

prod 1: “please continue” or “please go on”
prod 2: “the experiment requires that you continue”
prod 3: “it is absolutely essential that you continue”
prod 4: “you have no other choice, you must go on.

Question 36

only if prod 1 had been unsuccessful…

Answer 36

then prod 2 could be used

Question 37

if ps refused to obey experimenter after prod 4 then…

Answer 37

experiment was terminated

Question 38

how was the experiment observed?

Answer 38

one way mirror

Question 39

what happened following the experiment?

Answer 39

ps were interviewed, open ended question, projective measures and attitude scales were used. Measures were taken to ensure ps left lab in state of well being.
A friendly reconciliation was arranged between the participant and confederate (learner)

Question 40

question asked in post experimental interview:

Answer 40

“How painful to the learner were the last few shocks that you administered to him?”
Ps indicated their answers on a printed 14 point scale ranging from NOT PAINFUL to EXTREMELY PAINFUL (most ps circled 14) mean was: 13.42.

Question 41

signs of nervousness shown by ps:

Answer 41

sweat, tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their nails into their flesh, nervous laughing fits. 14/40 ps showed definite signs of nervous laughter and smiling.

Question 42

how many subjects had full-blown seizures?

Answer 42

3

Question 43

one seizure was so violent that…

Answer 43

they had to call a halt to the experiment

Question 44

effects on the ps that had the violent seizure:

Answer 44

46 year old salesman suffered embarrassment

Question 45

some ps said during the debrief:

Answer 45

ps stressed that they were not sadistic types and that the laughter did not mean they enjoyed shocking the ps.

Question 46

results

Answer 46

all 40 went to 300 volts, 5 refused to obey commands above 300 volts.
2 broke off at 330 volts, 1 each at 345, 360 and 375 volts.
A total of 14 ps defied the experimenter.
26 obeyed to the end (65%)

Question 47

ps body language that obeyed to the end:

Answer 47

sighs of relief, mopped brows and rubbed fingers over their eyes.

Question 48

what was the prediction?

Answer 48

predicted only 10 would go to 450 volts

Question 49

Discussion

Answer 49

the high levels of obedience (unpredicted) may be explained by the following:

1 -experiment is sponsored by and takes place on ground of prestigious and reputable uni (Yale).
2 -the worthy purpose of experiment-advancement of knowledge about learning and memory.
3 -ps perceive learner has volunteered and is not forced.
4 -ps entered them selves voluntarily and perceive themselves to be under obligation to aid the experiment.
5 -ps were paid.
6 -allocation of roles (teacher/learner)
7 -occured in closed setting, no discussion with others.
8 -ps assured shocks were ‘painful but not dangerous’
9 -demands of experimenter
10 -gave little time for reflection

Question 50

low ecological validity

Answer 50

task of giving electric shocks was not an everyday occurance

Question 51

deception

Answer 51

subjects thought they were taking part in a teaching and learning task to investigate the effects of punishment on learning.

Question 52

reliability

Answer 52

all went through same procedure, paid on arrival, saw ‘learner’ being strapped into electric chair and all had same task of flicking switches.

Question 53

validity

Answer 53

experimenter could note down exact voltage at which the subject stopped obeying commands.

Question 54

limited sample

Answer 54

advertisement was for males only, aged between 20-50 years old from New Haven, America

Question 55

controls made

Answer 55

screams of learner happened at the same voltage for every subject.
experimenter wore a grey technicians coat.
experimenter said only 4 prods throughout the experiment.

Question 56

influence of situation

Answer 56

cover story was made more plausible by being carried out at Yale (prestigious univeristy).