Milgrams Obedience Research

Question 1

What is meant by obedience to authority?

Answer 1

• type of social influence where indv acts in response to a direct order from figure with perceived authority
• indv who receives order may respond in a way they wouldnt have without the order

Question 2

Who investigated obedience to authority and what was his aim, method and sample?

Answer 2

Milgram investigated if indv would obey orders of an authority figure even if it led to consequences using a lab exp at yale uni on 40 american males aged 20-50

Question 3

What was milgrams procedure?

Answer 3

• gathered volunteers by placing an advert in newspapers for a paid exp researching memory
• he got volunteers from different jobs as they all may obey differently
• volunteers who were assigned the role of a teacher was introduced to a conf who was assigned role of learner
• teachers job was to carry out a learning task and deliver electric shocks to learner in other room if learner got q wrong
• shocks began at 15 volts and went upto max of 450 volts
• experimenter used prompts if teacher refused to give shocks such as the ‘exp requires you to continue’, this tested obedience to authority

Question 4

What was milgrams findings and conclusions?

Answer 4

• all ppts went to atleast 300 volts, with only 12.5% stopping after this
• 65% of ppts continued to a max of 450 volts, showing high levels of obedience
• suggesting ordinary ppl are obedient to authority when asked to bhv in an inhumane way
• it isnt necessarily evil ppl commiting evil crimes, just ordinary ppl obeying orders

Question 5

What is meant by a situational variable and what are the situational variables milgram investigated affecting obedience?

Answer 5

Situational variables are an external exp of obedience where features of env affect levels of obedience. Milgram investigated proximity, location and uniform.

Question 6

How did milgram investigate proximity as a situational variable affecting obedience?

Answer 6

• proximity is how close ppt/teacher is to learner or experimenter/authority figure
• in milgrams original exp where teacher couldnt see learner in other room and only hear them, obedience was 65%
• however when teacher was in same room as learner, obedience fell to 40%, this was bc teacher could directly see how their bhv was having neg consequence on learner
• when teacher was told to force learners hand onto electric shock plate, obedience dropped to 30% (touch proximity)
• when experimenter left room and gave instructions otp, obedience dropped to 20.5% (remote instructions)
• suggesting that the closer an authority figure is to an indv, the more obedient they will be

Question 7

How did milgram investigate location as a situational variable affecting obedience?

Answer 7

• the original exp was conducted in the prestigious yale uni, milgram tested what would happen to obedience when location was changed
• when location was a run down office in a run down part of town, obedience fell from 65% to 48%
• milgram argued this was bc the perceived legitimate authority of experimenter was reduced

Question 8

How did milgram investigate the power of uniform as a situational variable affecting obedience?

Answer 8

• wearing a uniform can give indv a perception of added legitimate authority when giving orders
• in milgrams original exp, researcher wore a grey lab coat which gave him an air of authority
• in one variation, when experimenter left to answer a phone call at start of exp and role was taken over by an ordinary member of the public who wore everyday clothes, obedience dropped to 20%
• this suggests uniform acts as a strong visual authority cue to act in an obedient manner, when indv isnt wearing uniform, perceived legitimate authority of experimenter was reduced

Question 9

What are the three AO3 PEELS to evaluate situational variables affecting obedience?

Answer 9

RTS - Bickman - diff outfits
Weakness - gender bias
Alternative exp - dispositional factors