Psychology - Social Approach (Milgram (1963) - Obedience)

Aim of Milgram’s study

Examine whether ordinary people would obey an authority figure even when the instructions conflicted with their personal conscience

Participants of Milgram’s study

40 men, aged 20-50 with a wide range of occupations and education level

Sampling for Milgram’s study

Volunteer sampling, advertised in the newspaper as a memory experiment with $4.50 for showing up

How were the roles chosen in Milgram’s study

Random selection that was rigged so participant was always the teacher

What was the voltage administered to Ps to prove authenticity? (Milgram)

45V

What was the ‘teacher’ testing on the ‘learner’ (Milgram)

The Ps would read word pairs, and the learner had to memorise them, learner was then tested on the pairs

What would occur when the ‘learner’ was incorrect? (Milgram)

Administer a shock starting from 15V and increasing by 15V each time (maximum 450V)

What occurs at 300V? (Milgram)

The ‘learner’ would pound on the wall

What occurred at 315V? (Milgram)

The ‘learner’ is no longer heard from

What did the experimenter do when the Ps wished to withdraw? (Milgram)

The experimenter had 4 prods of responses which was polite but firm

When did the experiment end? (Milgram)

After 4 failed prods or a 450V shock

What were the visual characteristics of participants? (Milgram)

Showed signs of nervousness, sweat, trembling, groaning and nervous laughter

How many participants gave the full 450V? (Milgram)

65% or 26/40

How many participants administered at least 300V? (Milgram)

100% or 40/40

How many participants left at 300V? (Milgram)

5

How many participants left at 315V? (Milgram)

4

How many participants left at 330V? (Milgram)

2

At which voltages did 1 participant leave each respectively? (Milgram)

345, 360, 375

Factors of reason for results (Milgram)

Perceived legitimacy, financial obligation, belief that the learner had volunteered

What was the initial prediction of obedience? (Milgram)

1.2%

Generalisability (Milgram)

Low in generalisability due to all male participants and location of origin

Reliability (Milgram)

Extraneous variables were controlled, and the procedure was standardised

Applicability (Milgram)

Contained insight towards the actions of Nazi soldiers following authority in WW2

Validity (Milgram)

Authenticity applied through legitimacy of shock generator and initial 45V shock, participants believed it was real

Ethics (Milgram)

Ps did not provide informed consent, denied right to withdraw, not protected from harm (psychological), lack of debrief