obedience Flashcards
(11 cards)
Who researched obedience?
Milgram
whyd Milgram do the research?
He sought an answer to why such a high proportion of the German population obeyed Hitler, thinking that Germans were different to other countries.
What was the baseline procedure
40 American men volunteered to take part in a memory study at Yale. when arrived introduces to anottyer participant, a confederate. Drew lots to see who teacher and learner, set so partivu[amt always teacher, an experimenter was almost involved.
Arranged to the teacher can’t see the learner but can hear them. The learner got an electric shock with every mistake made, and these shocks increased by 15-volt step-ups until 450v(all shocks fake)
EXTRA- paid $4.50, recruited via newspaper, learner strapped in chair and wired with electrodes, teacher given small shock to experience, shocks by shock machine labelled ‘slight’ to ‘danger-severe’. When at 300v learner pounds the wall and does not respond to the next question, at 315 pounds but then complete silence, participants are given prods- ‘please continue’, ‘experiment requires you to continue’, ‘you must continue’, ‘yoy have no choice but to go on’
What did Milgram find
all delivered up to 300v, 12.5% stopped there- 65% continued to 450.
What qualitative data did Milgram find
Participants showed signs of extreme tension, many seemed to: sweat, tremble, stutter, etc and 3 had uncontrollable seizures
What did Milgram do before and after the study?
Before- asked 14 psych students to predict behaviour, they estimated no more than 3% would go to 450v- findings were unexpected.
After- debried participants and assuring them behaviour was normal, and sent a questionnaire, where 84% said they were glad to have participated
What did Milgram conclude?
Germans aren’t different, and Americans are willing to obey even if it causes harm. Suspect certain factors of situations encourage obedience
PEE
strenght
research support
P: findings replicated in French documentary
E: documentary focuses on a game show, participants believe they were contestants in a pilot episode for a new show, and were paid to give -FAKE- electric shocks to other participants(actors) in front of an audience, 80% delivered max shock 460v to an unconscious man
E: demonstrates how findings weren’t just due to special circumstances
PEE
limitation
low internal validity
P: may not have tested what was intended
E: Milgram reported 75% thought shocks genuine, ORNE and HOLLAND- participants were play acting, PERRY confirmed by listening to tape of participants reporting only ~1/2 believed shocks real, 2/3 of these were disobedient
E: participants may have responded to the demand characteristic to fulfil the study’s aim
PEE
Counter to low internal validity
P: There is research supporting Milgram
E: SHERIDAN and KING did a similar procedure where participants gave real shocks to puppies in response to orders from the experimenter, and despite the real distress of the animal, 54% of men, 100% of women delivered a ‘fatal shock’
E: effects in Milgram’s study were genuine, as people obeyed even when shocks were real
PEE
limitation
ethics
P: This research breaches many ethical guidelines
E: participants couldn’t leave easily, breaching their rights to withdraw by being given prods when wishing to leave; participants weren’t aware of the aims and, as such, did not give informed consent. Participants were lied to on numerous occasions, roles were not fixed, the learner wasn’t genuine, didn’t know the aims, and more and as much were decided. Many participants also experience harm from digging nails in their hands and seizures as a result of emotional stress.
E: These can have detrimental effects on the study and participants
