Lesson 5 - Obedience to Authority Flashcards
What is obedience?
Behaving as instructed by an authority figure
What was the procedure of Milgrams study?
Ad was placed in newspaper for a study about effect off punishment on learning. PPS came to Yale Psych department and met a man in white lab coat and ‘Mr Wallace’ who complained about weak heart. Both were confeds. Mr Wallace and PP done a draw for roles which was rigged for PP to be teacher. PP told to punish wrong answer with shock, which rose by 15 volts every time. PP saw Mr Wallace strapped into machine and was taken into room with a realistic fake shock machine. As shocks became worse, Wallace screamed and cried until eventually went silent. Whenever PP tried to stop, researcher used 1 of 4 prompts to make them keep going.
What were the findings?
100% of ups gave shocks up to 300 volts (which was when Wallace stopped responding). 65% went to 450 volts. PPS were sweating and trembling, but most obeyed even to this extreme
What is an example of the prompts used?
‘You have no choice, you must continue’
What is a weakness of this study? (Rights)
Several PPs asked to withdraw but weren’t allowed, this is a vio of their right to withdraw.
What is a drawback of this study? (Harm)
During experiments PPs were exposed to high levels of psychological harm and weren’t protected. However Milgram didn’t expect the, to obey, so couldn’t have been anticipated
Is there an issue with bias in this study?
Yes as only white American males, therefore cultural and gender. However was repeated with women and results weren’t too different
What is a strength? (CBA)
Many psychologists believe that when doing a cost benefit analysis it was worth it. Helped people become more responsible. Also, 84% of PPs said they were happy they took park
