Milgram (1963) - Obedience To Authority

Question 1

What type of experiment were Milgram’s experiments?

Answer 1

Lab experiments

Question 2

What was the sample for Milgram’s study?

Answer 2

40 American men who volunteered after responding to newspaper adverts

Question 3

What did the participants of Milgram’s experiment think they were doing a study on?

Answer 3

‘learning and memory’

Question 4

How were the roles of a ‘teacher’ and ‘learner’ assigned?

Answer 4

The participant was always assigned the role of teacher through a rigged draw. A confederate was always assigned the role of the learner.

Question 5

Before going into separate rooms, what did participants see happening to the ‘learner’?

Answer 5

They would get strapped into a chair and connected up to a shock generator in the room the participant would be in

Question 6

What was the task in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 6

The learner had to answer word pairing questions, and if they gave an incorrect answer, the teacher was told to administer an electric shock in increasing intensity

Question 7

What was the range of volts in Milgram’s experiment?

Answer 7

15 - 450 V

Question 8

What would happen if a participant asked to stop during Milgram’s study?

Answer 8

The experimenter would read from a series of prods, implying that it was essential to continue

Question 9

What was the learner doing at 300 V?

Answer 9

Banging on the wall and protesting

Question 10

What happened to the learner after 315 V?

Answer 10

He gave no further response

Question 11

How many prods we used to encourage each individual participant continue?

Answer 11

4

Question 12

What would happen to participants if they still protested after 4 prods?

Answer 12

They were allowed to withdraw from the study

Question 13

What did Milgram find from his study?

Answer 13

65% of participants went to the maximum shock (450V). None stopped before 300 V.

Question 14

What signs of stress and anxiety did participants exhibit?

Answer 14

Sweating, shaking and nervously laughing

Question 15

What was the conclusion from Milgram’s study?

Answer 15

People will obey orders from an authority figure, even if it means acting against their conscience

Question 16

What was included in the debrief of Milgram’s study?

Answer 16

An interview, questionnaires and being reunited with the ‘learner’

Question 17

Where did Milgram’s study take place?

Answer 17

Yale University

Question 18

Which study supports Milgram’s findings and strengthens the external validity of Milgram’s study?

Answer 18

Hofling et al (1966) - Nurses

Question 19

What was the procedure of Hofling’s study?

Answer 19

Nurses were told over the phone by a ‘doctor’ to give twice the advised dosage of a made up drug to patients

Question 20

How many nurses obeyed in Hofling et al’s study?

Answer 20

21 out 22 (95%)

Question 21

Which study challenges Milgram’s findings and weakens the external validity of them?

Answer 21

Rank and Jacobsen (1975)

Question 22

What was the procedure of Rank and Jacobsen’s study?

Answer 22

The same set up as Hofling, but the drug was familiar (Valium) and the nurses could consult with others

Question 23

How many nurses obeyed in Rank and Jacobsen’s study?

Answer 23

2 out of 18 (11%)

Question 24

Limitation of Milgram’s study - Deception & Lack of informed consent

Answer 24

Participants didn’t know the shocks weren’t real and didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for

Question 25

Limitation of Milgram’s study: Psychological harm

Answer 25

Participants experienced severe stress and psychological harm, thinking that they had potentially killed someone

Question 26

What were the three situational variables that Milgram changed?

Answer 26

Proximity, location and uniform

Question 27

When Milgram put the teacher and the learner in the same room, what happened to obedience?

Answer 27

It dropped to 40%, because the teacher could see the consequences of their actions

Question 28

When the experimenter was not in the same room, instead giving orders by phone, what happened to obedience?

Answer 28

It dropped to 20.5% as the teacher did not feel the pressure to obey.

Question 29

What happened to obedience when the experiment was moved from Yale University to a rundown office block?

Answer 29

It fell to 47. 5% because the lack of prestige of the location made it seem less important to obey.

Question 30

What happened in the uniform variable experiment of Milgram’s study?

Answer 30

The experimenter was called away to answer an ‘important telephone call’ and replaced by a member of the public (confederate) wearing ordinary clothes, rather than a lab coat.

Question 31

What happened to obedience in the uniform variable experiment of Milgram’s study?

Answer 31

It dropped to 20% because participants did not see the authority figure as legitimate

Question 32

Why are the findings of Milgram’s situational variables high in validity?

Answer 32

He controlled his variables closely, only altering one at a time in his variations, increasing the validity

Question 33

Why is it possible that Milgram’s variations lack internal validity?

Answer 33

Participants may have worked out that the procedure was fake, specifically in the uniform variation, which was very artificial

Question 34

Which study supports the influence of uniform?

Answer 34

Bickman (1974)