Milgram baseline #5 Flashcards
(13 cards)
What was the aim of Milgrams study?
To investigate the level of obedience when told by an authority figure to give electric shocks to an individual
investigate “germans are different”
hypothesis = assumption they obeyed due to blind obedience and not because of who they were
What was the hypothesis of Milgrams study
people would obey an authority figure even when asked to perform actions that conflicted with their personal conscience
what was the sample of Milgrams study
40 men aged 20-50
all from “new haven” area of america
all paid $4.50 for taking part
volunteer sampling = advert in local newspaper
what was the method of milgrams study
Lab experiment
conducted at Yale university
experimenter = 31 year old man dressed in grey technician’s coat
learner = 47 year old man
what was the procedure of milgrams study
- PILOT STUDY = milgram asked psychology student how far they thought participants would go = estimated ve r few would go past 150v
- pots told upon arrival they could take the money and drop out at any time
- rigged lots were drawn = ppt made the teacher, confederate made learner
- “teacher” told his job was to give the “learner” a shock got every mistake on a word pairing task
- teacher saw learner strapped into chair in a different room
- teacher communicated through intercom but couldn’t hear learner, who used buttons
- teacher administered shocks to learner
- when 300v was delivered intense pounding was heard on wall
- after 315v no more sound was heard = presumed dead
- prods were given to encourage participation if hesitation was shown
- a debrief was given a short time after the experiment had finished
what were the prods in milgrams study?
4 prods given
after all 4 had been said participant could drop out if insistent
“
what were the findings of Milgrams study
65% of ppts administered full 450v shock
100% of ppts administered 300v shock
ppts observed to tremble, sweat, bite their lips, 35% exhibited nervous laughter, 3 ppts had seizures
what where the conclusions of milgrams study
- ordinary americans are quite obedient to legitimate authority
- milgram suggested that a range of factors may affect obedience: perceived competence, prestigious location, idea that participant was somehow advancing science
G for milgram
- limited generalisability
- sample consisted of 40 men from same “new haven” area of america
- not representative of a broader population including women and other cultures
R for milgram
- procedures where highly standardised
- experimenter gave the same 4 prods “it is absolutely essential that you continue” + all same procedure + same sounds from learner were heard
- experiment could be replicated to check reliability
- was replicated by Burger who found similar results
A for milgram
- significant real world applications
- understanding how people comment harmful actions under the influence of authority
- relevant in explaining events such as wartime atrocities = the homocaust
V for milgram
- lacks ecological validity
- the nature of the task was artificial = administering shocks to individuals
- may be difficult to generalise to more common situations involving in obedience and authority
E for milgram
- highly unethical
- broke deception (ppt told aim was to investigate learning and punishment) + informed consent + protection from harm
- may prevent ppt from taking part in future research
