Hofling Hospital Experiment (1966)
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8 Terms
What was the aim of the study?
to investigate obedience to authority in a real-world setting, specifically within a hospital environment
What was the method for the study?
The procedure involved a field experiment involving 22 (real) night nurses. Dr. Smith (the researcher) phoned the nurses at a psychiatric hospital (on night duty) and asked them to check the medicine cabinet to see if they had the drug astroten. When the nurse checks, she sees that the maximum dosage is supposed to be 10mg. When they speak with the ‘Doctor’, they are told to administer 20mg of the drug to a patient called ‘Mr. Jones’. Dr. Smith is in a desperate hurry, and he will sign the authorization form when he comes to see Mr. Jones later.
What were the differences between Experimental and Control group?
In another hospital, 21 student nurses and 12 graduate nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire about what they would do if confronted with the experimental situation.
These participants were not exposed to the actual experimental situation (the doctor’s phone call).
Instead, they were given a questionnaire asking them how they would respond if faced with the same scenario described in the experiment.
Experimental group results
In the experimental group, 21 out of 22 (95%) nurses obeyed the doctor’s orders.
11 nurses who went to administer the drug admitted to being aware of the dosage for Astroten. The other 10 did not notice but judged that it was safe as a doctor had ordered them to do so.
Control group results
Nurses were asked to discuss what they would do in a similar situation (i.e. a control group), 31 out of 33 said they would not comply with the order.
List 3 strengths
High ecological validity- real life environment
Replicability- can be easily repeated, operationalised
Control group- matched pps and allowed for comparing the two
List 3 Weaknesses
Attrition- high dropout rate
Ethical issues- deception and high stress
Lacks reliability- variation in findings, low reliability