Milgram Flashcards
(46 cards)
1
Q
Background info
A
- Snow : more hideous crimes have been committed by obedience than by rebellion
- holocaust / nazis
- thought germans have a basic character deficit which makes them more ready to obey authority figures despite the task
- Milgram argued anyone put in situation as Nazis would do the same if said so by authority =situational
2
Q
aims
A
- investigate level of obedience when told by an author it figure to give electric shocks
- investigate ‘germans are different’ hypothesis
3
Q
germans are different hypothesis
A
assumption germans obeyed because of blind obedience not because of who they were
4
Q
sample
A
- 40 men
- aged 20-50
- various occupational backgrounds
- all from New Haven America
5
Q
how was sample selected
A
- self selected
- advert put in local paper asking volunteers to participate in study at Yale University
- paid $4.50 for participating no matter what happened after arrival
6
Q
typical jobs of sample
A
- postal clerks
- high school teachers
- engineers
- laborers
- subjects ranged in educational level
7
Q
experiment type
A
lab based
8
Q
Method = pre procedure
A
- experimenter played by 31yr Old high school biology teacher
- victim played by 47 yr old accountant trained for role
9
Q
experimenter characteristics
A
- impassive, stern manner
- wore gray technicians coat
10
Q
confederate characteristics
A
- irish american stock
- described as mild mannered and likeable by participants
11
Q
prof to study predictions
A
- 14 Yale psychology major seniors
- predicted only 0-3% would go to 450 V
12
Q
procedure -
A
- participants were in a room with stooge and both drew lots assigning roles
- pps always got teacher
- they were taken to a room where stooge was strapped into a chair with electrodes attached
- participant given slight shock to show equipment worked then taken to a different room with shock generator
- learning task was explained
- if learner have wrong answer teacher gave an electric shock
- each time wrong answer was given shocks would increase by 15v
- experiment stopped when all 4 prods were given or until participant reached 450 volts
13
Q
what happened in the room where stooge was getting strapped in
A
- experimenter explained straps were used to prevent excessive movement
- an electrode paste given to avoid blisters and burns
14
Q
learning task
A
- subject had to read a series of word pairs to learner then read first word of pair along with 4 terms
- learner had to indicate which of the which of 4 terms had been originally paired with 1st word
- learner showed answer by pressing one of 4 switches in front of him
- if wrong answer shock given
15
Q
when giving a shock to learner what would teacher announce each time
A
- voltage level
- to remind subjects of increasing intensity of shocks given to learner
16
Q
prods when hesitation occurred
A
‘please continue, please go on’
‘it is absolutely essential that you continue’
‘the experiment requires you to continue’
‘you have no other choice you must go on’
17
Q
how did the prods work
A
-if prod 1 was unsuccessful prod 2 was used
- if subject refused to obey after 4th prod experiment stopped
18
Q
at 300v and 315v what did learner do
A
- pound wall and after this fell silent
19
Q
when learner fell silent what was this classed as
A
wrong answer and shock was given despite learners answer no longer appearing on panel
20
Q
what is a subject termed who breaks of experiment before administering 13th shock level
A
defiant
21
Q
how was some data gathered from experiment
A
- recorded
- some photographs taken
- notes of unusual behaviors
- objective descriptions of behavior
22
Q
after experiment
A
- full debrief
- reunited with learner to see no harm
- informed their behavior was normal in this situation
- psychometric measured used to see if they were okay
- questionnaires given months after as a post check up
23
Q
post check up questionnaire results
A
- 84% they were happy to have taken part and learnt something important about themselves
- 2% were unhappy
24
Q
findings
A
- 65% went up to 450v
- all participants went to 300v
- 5 refused after 300v
25
qualitative findings
- those who went to 450v showed :
- extreme stress
- trembling
- stuttered speech
- dug finger nails into palms
- nervous laughter
- 3 had full seizures of laughter (uncontrollable)
- 1 seizure so violent experiment had to stop
26
milgrams conclusions as to why obedience occurred for 65%
- yale uni = prestigious
- looked like a worthy purpose to understand learning
- learner was viewed as another participant so could leave
- obligation to not ruin study
- reluctance to challenge experimenter as they were alone in unusual setting
- told shocks were painful but not dangerous
- seen as fair, equal chances to be learner or teacher
27
milgram overall conclusion
factor for influencing behavior is the situation a person is in
28
advantage - lab experiments
- he could control what the participants saw, heard and experienced and could manipulate their behavior over what they were exposed to
- participants watched the leather get strapped into the chair and each time at 370v heard pounding at the wall
29
30
strengths - standardized procedure
- meant replication was possible
- 25 word pairs, prods ‘it is essential that you continue’, number of volts/max number volts (15v increase, 450 v max)
31
disadvantage - demand characteristics
- pps may be behaving in a way they thought was expected if then rather than their natural behavior
- experimenter prods ‘it’s essential that you continue’
- participants may have only continued as they thought it will benefit the study and don’t want to ruin it
32
weaknesses - experimental realism
- Orne and Holland, claim the participants had worked out what was going on but pretended to act as if they suspected nothing
- participants may have
realized it was safe to shock the learner as they knew experimenter wouldn’t ask them to give real electrical shocks
- but post experiment 80% participants believed shocks were real
33
34
disadvantage - ecological validity
- participants had to complete unfamiliar shock generator task
- wouldn’t do in real life
- can’t apply to real world situations
35
orne and holland - ecological validity
- argued participants were bound to be obedient as they had volunteered to participate and would expect there to be safeguards in place
- can’t generalize to real life
- milgram argued experiment was a social situation with a social hierarchy like real life =valid
36
applications
- holocaust explained
- shows insight to power and authority
- suggests we have a natural tendency to obey authority figured even when we feel what we are being asked is morally wrong
- e.g experimenters prods made them obey
37
generalizability issues
- people are more likely to be extroverted as they volunteered
- 40 males no females
- aged 20-50
- ethnocentric - new haven america
38
deception
- experimenter lied throughout
- learned was receiving shocks for every incorrect answer
- choosing roles - drawing names to play teacher or learner
- the aims of the study
39
protection from harm
- participants who met 450v endured stress and discomfort
- nervous laughter
- nail biting
- trembling
- 3 had seizures of laughter
40
right to withdraw
- whenever hesitation to shock occured participants had 4 prods to encourage them to continue
- ‘you have no other choice you must go on’
- even though teachers could withdraw they were told they had ‘no choice’
- but we’re paid $4.50 regardless
41
consent
- participants did give consent but for a completely different aim of investigating the effects of punishment on learning
- retrospective consent= in a follow up survey 84% of participants we’re glad to have taken part
- after 1 year participants found no harmful effects
42
debrief
- participants were told what happened once experiment had finished
- were shown confederate learner to see they were completely okay
43
confidentiality
data kept private
44
45
conclusion : ethics
milgram experiment was unethical but some of the unethical decisions he made was for the validity and credibility of the experiment, and there was no long term suffering, 84% of participants were glad to be part of the experiment after in a questionnaire
46
