Social Influence (obedience) Flashcards
method of milgrams study
the condition was to test whether people would obey orders to shock someone in a seperate room. it took place at yale university
40 male participants, who responded to a newspaper advert seeking volunteers for a study on learning and memory. they received payment for attending.
the experimenter wore a grey technician coat. each participants was introduced to a confederate (acting like a participant but who was part of the experimental set up)
the participant witnesses the confederate being strapped into a chair and connected to a shock generator in the next room. it did not actually give electric shocks but the participants thought it was real. the switches were from 15 volts to 450 volts. if learner answered incorrectly, the participant had to administer an increasing level of shock
if participants hesitated the experimenter would of told them to continue
results of milgrams study
- 26 participants (65%) administered 450 volts and none stopped before administering 300 volts
- most of the participants showed obvious signs of stress like sweating, groaning and trembling
conclusion of migrams study
ordinary people will obey orders to hurt someone else, even if it means acting against their conscience
give examples of obedience (events)
holocaust
my lai massacre
khamer rogue, cambodia
how does milgram study internal validity
Internal validity: the degree to which the observed
effect occurred due to the manipulated IV (was the
experiment testing what it stated?)
Did the participants believe it was real?
* Realism refuted by psychologists. Experimenter
was cool & distant when learner cries out in pain.
Therefore, Ps suppose the victim cannot really be
suffering any real harm & this was why so many
administered all the shocks
milgrams evaluation: low internal validity
- Orne and Holland (1968) argued that participants behaved the
way they did because they did not really believe in the set up - Therefore it lacked internal validity
- Perry (2013) listened to tapes of Milgram’s participants and
reported that many of them expressed their doubts about the
shocks
+ evaluation: good external validity
- Central feature: relationship between authority figure and
participant - Hofling et al., (1966) studied nurses on a hospital ward and
found that levels of obedience to unjustified demands by
doctors were very high - 21 out of 22 obeyed
ethical issues of milgram study
- Baumrind (1964) was very critical about the way Milgram
deceived his participants. - They believed they were randomly allocated the roles of
teacher or learner - They believed the electric shocks were real
- This level of betrayal of trust could damage the reputation of
other psychologists
how does proximity affects milgrams study
- Milgram changed the variables in a variety of ways in order to study
the effects of proximity - One condition required the ‘teacher’ to force the ‘learner’s hand
onto an electroshock plate when he refused to answer a question –
touch proximity - In this condition the obedience rate dropped to 30%
- In another condition, the experimenter left the room and gave the
instructions to the teacher by telephone – remote proximity - In this condition the obedience rate dropped to 20.5%
- The pps in this condition also frequently pretended to give shocks or
gave much weaker shocks than they had been ordered to give
how does location affect milgrams study
a prestigious university setting - 65%
changed location to a run down office down town _ 47.5%
how does uniform affect milgrams study
- People in positions of authority often have a
specific outfit that is symbolic of their
authority. - This indicates to the rest of us who is entitled
to expect our obedience.
experimenter wore a lab coat - 65%
ordinary wearing - 20%
research of obedience that support milgrams variation (clothing) bickman
- Bickman (1974) tested the ecological validity of Milgram’s
work by conducting an experiment in a more realistic setting. - In this study, three male researchers gave direct requests to
153 randomly selected pedestrians in Brooklyn, New York. - The researchers were dressed in one of three ways:
➢ guards uniform (similar to that of a police officer)
➢ milkman’s uniform
➢ civilian clothing (sports jacket and tie) - Bickman observed that 80% of participants obeyed the
researcher who was dressed to look like a police officer,
whereas 40% of those approached by the researcher wearing
civilian clothing or the milkman’s uniform obeyed the request.
research that support milgrams variation (bushman)
Bushman (1988) carried out a study where a female
researcher, dressed either in a ‘police-style’ uniform, as a
business executive or as a beggar, stopped people in the
street and told them to give change to a male researcher
for an expired parking meter.
* When she was in uniform, 72% of the people obeyed,
whereas obedience rates were much lower when she
was dressed as a business executive (48%) or as a beggar
(52%).
* When interviewed afterwards, people claimed they had
obeyed the woman in uniform because she appeared to
have authority
control variables of research that support milgrams variables
- Controlling variables like this means that it is possible for
other researchers to replicate (repeat) the study in the exact
same way. This is important in science to make sure that
findings are not just one-off chance events. - Both Milgram’s original study, and his variations have been
replicated in other cultures and have found similar results.
Spanish students 90%. This suggest that Milgram’s findings
are not limited to American males, but are valid across all
cultures (and apply to women). This suggests a robust
phenomenon is being studied. - However, most replications have been carried out in Western
societies.
how does milgrams study lack internal validity
- The original study has been criticised as it was
suggested that the pps guessed that the shocks were
not real and therefore their ‘real’ behaviour was not
being measured. - It is even more likely that the pps in the variations
realised that this was not a real study and they were
being manipulated. Therefore their behaviour may
simply have been demand characteristics
