Obedience - Milgram (1963)

Question 1

Obedience

Answer 1

Stanley Milgram wanted to know why ordinary Germans obeyed Nazi orders during the Holocaust. Many theorists, including Adorno, argued that Germans inherently possess a more obedient disposition. Milgram, however, believed that the tendency to obey authority is a universal human behaviour, suggesting that in the right situation most people would likely show high obedience.

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

To investigate whether ordinary American citizens would obey an unjust order from an authority figure and inflict pain on another person because they were instructed to.

Question 3

Procedure

Answer 3

• Sample of 40, American, male volunteers.
• They had responded to an advert in a local paper, which offered $4.50 to take part in an experiment on ‘punishment and learning’.
• They were all invited to a laboratory at Yale University, and upon arrival they met with the experimenter and another participant, Mr Wallace, who were both confederates.
• The experimenter explained that one person would be randomly assigned the role of the teacher and the other, a learner. However, the real participant was always the teacher.
• The experimenter discussed that the teacher would read the learner a series of word pairs and then test their recall and the learner, who was positioned in an adjacent room, would indicate their choice using a system of lights. The teacher was instructed to administer an electric shock every time the learner made a mistake and to increase the voltage by 15 volts after each mistake.
• The teacher watched the learner being strapped to the electric chair and was given a sample electric shock to convince them that the procedure was real. However, the learner wasn’t actually strapped to the chair and gave predetermined answers to the test.
• As the electric shock increased, the learner’s screams, which were recorded, became louder and more dramatic. However at 300 volts, the teacher could only hear silence from the learner’s room, creating implications of severe harm or death.
• The experiment continued until the teacher refused to continue, or 450 volts were reached. If the participant questioned their responsibility, the scientist would say that he (the scientist) was responsible for the experiment. If the teacher tried to stop the experiment, the experimenter would respond with a series of scripted prods, such as, ‘The experiment requires that you continue’.
• Following the experiment, the participants were debriefed.

Question 4

Findings

Answer 4

• 100% of the participants went to at least 300 volts.
• 65% continued until 450 volts.
• Footage from the experiment shows that the participants were visibly stressed.

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

The majority of people will follow the orders of an authority figure, even if that order is unjust and will lead to harm.

Question 6

Situational variables affecting obedience as investigated by Milgram

Answer 6

Situational variables affect the level of obedience but don’t explain why people obey. They include:

1. Proximity
2. Location
3. Uniform

Question 7

1. Proximity

Answer 7

In Milgram’s original study, the teacher and learner were in separate rooms, they were not in close proximity.

1) Proximity to victim
- In order to test the power of proximity, Milgram conducted a variation where the teacher and learner were seated in the same room (in close proximity). In this variation, the % of participants who administered the full 450 volts dropped from 65% to 40%. Here obedience levels fall, as the teacher was able to experience the learner’s pain more directly.
- In another variation, the teacher had to force the learner’s hand directly onto the shock plate (extremely close proximity). In this variation, the % dropped even further to 30%
- In these 2 variations, the closer the proximity of the teacher and learner, the lower the level of obedience.

2) Proximity to authority
- In one variation, after the experimenter had given the initial instructions, they left the room (not in close proximity).
- All subsequent instructions were then provided over the phone.
- In this variation, participants were more likely to defy the experimenter and only 21% of the participants administered the full 450 volts.
- Milgram argued that due to the increased distance, participants were less likely to remain in an ‘agentic state’ and more likely to return to an ‘autonomous state’

Question 8

2. Location

Answer 8

• Milgram conducted his original research in a laboratory at Yale University, which is a prestigious, high status institution.
• In order to test the power of location, Milgram conducted a variation in a run down building in Bridgeport, Connecticut, reducing the status of the location.
• The experiment was no longer associated with Yale University and was carried out by the Research Association of Bridgeport.
• In this variation, the % of participants who administered the full 450 volts dropped to 47.5%.
• This highlights the impact of location on obedience, with less credible locations resulting in a reduction in the level of obedience.
• The status of the location increased the scientist’s legitimacy of authority by making them seem more genuine. The low-status location reduced the legitimacy of authority and therefore the level of obedience.

Question 9

3. Uniform

Answer 9

• In most of Milgram’s variations, the experimenter wore a lab coat, indicating his status as a University Professor.
• Milgram examined the power of uniform in a variation where the experimenter was called away and replaced by another ‘participant’ in ordinary clothes, who was another confederate.
• In this variation, the man in ordinary clothes came up with the idea of increasing the voltage every time the learner made a mistake.
• The % of participants who administered the full 450 volts when being instructed by an ordinary man, dropped from 65% to 20% demonstrating the power of uniform.
• This occurred as the new experimenter reduced the legitimacy of authority, therefore lowering the rate of obedience.