Social influence - situational factors affecting obedience (Milgram) Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is meant by obedience?
A type of social influence whereby one person follows the orders of another (an authority figure - higher social status)
Why did Milgram want to investigate obedience?
After WW2, Milgram wanted to investigate the belief that Germans had a personality defect, where they blindly obeyed and committed horrific acts. He wanted to test the ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis
What are the differences between obedience and conformity?
Obedience - direct instruction / from / one or a single / higher authority figure
Conformity - indirect instruction or request / usually from a majority group / without authority over us
What was the aim?
To test the ‘Germans are different’ hypothesis which claimed that Germans are a highly obedient race
What was the sample?
40 USA ppts. aged between 20-50 years old
What was the rigged random allocation?
Confederate (Mr Wallace) was always the learner whereas the naïve ppt. was always the teacher. Experimenter was always the authority figure and wore a grey lab coat
What false aim were the ppts. given?
They were told it was a study into learning and memory
What were the details of the shock machine?
Teacher (ppt.) was given a small, real shock to improve realism. Each time Mr Wallace made a mistake, shock voltage rose by 15 volts. The reaction was a pre-recorded series of verbal responses that complained of a heart problem at 300 and fell silent at 330 volts
What were the 4 prods given by the experimenter?
If ppt. refused to continue, experimenter gave standardised verbal prods
- Please continue
- The experiment requires you to continue
- It is absolutely essential that you continue
- You have no other choice, you must continue
What did 14 psychology students predict would be the outcome of the study?
They predicted that no more than 3% of ppts. would continue to 450V
What % of ppts. fully obeyed up to 450V?
65%
How many ppts. stopped below 300V?
None
What were the qualitative findings?
Many ppts. showed signs of distress (twitching, sweating, giggling, digging nails into flesh and verbally attacking experimenter) . 3 ppts. had ‘full blown seizures’
How did Milgram attempt to cover ethical issues?
All ppts. were debriefed and sent a questionnaire. 84% of ppts. said they were glad they had participated
What did the research conclude?
People do obey authority and go against their conscience when situational factors encourage it. German people aren’t ‘different’. These findings can help to explain the horrific acts from WW2
When did Milgram conduct his shock study?
Milgram (1961)
