Psychology Stanley Milgram study

Aim, why

- Participants told they were involved in a study looking at the effects of punishment, with financial payout once the excitement was over

- Split into pairs where there was a teacher (participant) and a learner (actor)

Method

- In separate rooms the teachers would read the questions but if the learner got it wrong the learner would be shocked by an electric pulse, or so the teacher thought

- after each incorrect answer the teacher would increase the voltage all the way up to 450 volts (lethal) but before this the learner would have been unresponsive

- if the participant (teacher) would protest against shocking the learner the experimenter would say:

1. please continue

2. the experiment requires you to continue

3. it's essential that you continue

4. you must continue

results

65% of participants continued through to 450 volts even after hearing the learner shouting and asking them to stop

most participants administered 300 volts

Milgram's factors influencing obedience

proximity to the victim, proximity to the experimenter, authority of the experimenter

proximity to the victim

if the teacher (participant) could see the learner (actor), obedience dropped

proximity of the experimenter

removing the experimenter from the room with the teacher (participant), decreased obedience

authority of the experimenter

how legit they look wearing a lab coat and in a university setting vs, casual and in a non-university setting

criticisms/limitation

lack validity as it was carried out in a lab under artificial conditions

it might not be possible to generalise the finding to a real life setting, as people don't want to hurt another person in real life

gender bias, he only used males

strengths

-gives insight into why people under Nazi reign would kill Jews when given order, also highlights how we can be blind to obedience often doing things without question

- it used a standardised procedure because it was a lab experiment, this is good because it improves the reliability of the study and also helps establish a casual relationship

conclusions on obedience

people will be more obedient if they:

- believe the authority figure is legitimate

- are committed to the success of the task at hand

- lack a disobedient role model (no one to follow/find confidence in)

- lack a personal responsibility (when an authority figure/someone else accepts all consequences as their own)

ethical considerations

deception, protection of participants

deception

participants actually believed they were shocking a real person, and were unaware the learner was an actor

- 87% said that they were "glad to be in the experiment" and 1.3% said that they wished they had not been involved

protection of participants

participants were exposed to extremely stressful situations that may have potential psychological harm

e.g. sweating, trembling, stuttering etc.