Milgram's social core study on obedience

Question 1

Assumptions of the social approach and how they relate to this core study

Answer 1

How our behaviour are influenced by presense of others. Milgram was obediance in the task when an authoity figure gave insturction to continue shocks

Question 2

The 2 main assumptions of the social approach

Answer 2

• Behaviours, cognitions, and emotions are influence by groups and social enivroment
• Behaviours, cognitions, and emotions are influence by actual, implied, or imagine presence of other

Question 3

The psychology that is being investigated

Answer 3

Investigate the psychological mechanisms of obedience, specifically how far individuals would go in obeying an authority figure, even when the orders given are against their ethical standards.

Question 4

The background

Answer 4

Research in how the holocaust had a dictor and caused a world wide death of Jews. If others under similar situatio could harm other wanted to know if this was just a german culture that lead to high obedience.

Question 5

The aim

Answer 5

Overall: how obedeint people are to orders form person authority to result in pain or harm of another ]
Specific: how large elctric schock a ps would hive to a helpless man when order by a scientist

Question 6

The procedures

Answer 6

• $4.50 given at time of showing up
• introduced to Mr. Wallace who was a confederate
• Drew slips to be assigned learner or victim but was rigged
• learner sat in electric chair and straped
• Ps was in adjecent room
• ps was shocked with 45 volts
• wallace needed to memorize word pairs and ps would say 1 word and he needed to group it in the right one
• if wrong he would get shocked
• at 300 wallace would hit the wall and stoped answereing
• no answer was considered a wrong answer

Question 7

what is agentic state

Answer 7

• give up our free will to serve as an agent

Question 8

what is autonomous state

Answer 8

act on our own free will and choose to be obedient or not

Question 9

Sample variation of workers

Answer 9

37.5% manual labour
48% white collar

Question 10

how was obediene operationalised

Answer 10

obedince was the max voltage given

Question 11

Describe what before and after ps at 450v called

Answer 11

before 450V - defieant participant
up to 450V- obedient

Question 12

what was said when particapants asked if shocks caused injury

Answer 12

although shocks maybe painful will no cause perment tissue damage please go on

Question 13

prods researcher said

Answer 13

• please continue
• you have no other choice you must go on

Question 14

How did the teacher test the learner

Answer 14

• gave him one word with four other words and had to choose the right one
• If wrong would be shocked and starting at 15V and +15 every time

Question 15

The research method used

Answer 15

not clear of lab or controlled observation

Question 16

The number of participants and where they are from

Answer 16

40 men
ages 20-50
from new haven

Question 17

Features of the “experimenter”

Answer 17

• 31 year old
• American man
• Dressed in a lab coat

Question 18

The sampling method used

Answer 18

vounteer sampling

Question 19

The controls used

Answer 19

Prods given to ps from researcher and answer when they asked if it was harming the learner

Question 20

Data collection method used

Answer 20

• Kept count of where particapnts stoped as there final shock
• noted behaviours and quotes from particpants

Question 21

how were ps decived

Answer 21

told it was to investiage the effects of punishment as well as believed they were shocking Mr wallace

Question 22

time allowed to respond

Answer 22

5-10 sec

Question 23

when did mr wallace stop responding

Answer 23

315V

Question 24

Ethical issues

Answer 24

• ps thought they were admistring electric shock and were told study was for memory not obedience
• ps were follwed up 6 months to check for psychologocal issues
• prods kept convincing ps to continue the study

Question 25

Results

Quantitative/qualitative data & how it is represented and interpeted

Answer 25

• when asked how painful were the last few shocks particapant socred a mean of 13.43 (1-14 scale)
• 26 particapants were cosnider obedient

Question 26

what were signs of tension?

Answer 26

sweating
biting lips
stuterring

Question 27

Conclusions drawn

Answer 27

• people are much more obedient to destrucitve orders then we think
• people find reciving destrucive orders stressful by triggering obeying authority and not harming others

Question 28

Strengths
Methodological issues:

Reserach method, reliabilty,validty,generalibily,& control of variables

Answer 28

Validty
* The study did have a degree of mundane realism (1 mark). All participants received 45 v sample shock before the study began (1 mark) meaning that the participants were more likely to believe that the shocks they were giving were real (1 mark).

• reliabilty as lab have high staderisaiton and be replicated. drawing of who was learner and teacher and the timing of scripted resposes

Question 29

Weakness
Methodological Issues

Reserach method, reliabilty,validty,generalibily,& control of variables

Answer 29

Validty
* The study lacked ecological validity (1 mark). This is because the set-up of shocking a stranger during a memory test is not a real situation (1 mark) so the responses may only be what people would do in this unreal situation / might not be what people would do in a real-life destructive obedience situation (1 mark).

• lack mundane realism as particapnts took part in task that are nothing like real one. Giving people shocks by getting the wrong word pari is not an everyday task

Question 30

Everyday life

The issues of application of psychology and how it realtes to the study

Answer 30

explain why humans engage in destructive obedience. and people follow authority when placed in certain morally straning situations

Question 31

Individual and Situational explanations debate

how it relates to the study

Answer 31

• it was at a prestigious univeristy and a man in a coat standing behind particpants, prods were given when ps attemped to back out

Question 32

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

how it relates to the study

Answer 32

Nurture as obeted the experiment was expected of them due to socialisation