milgram

aim

assess obedience levels

procedure

40 american men given the role teacher through a fixed draw

they were ordered to give fake shocks to learners (these were confederates)

the shocks increased 15 volts with each mistake on the memory task

the volts went up to 450V

findings

no participant stopped before 300V and 65% went all the way up to 450V

many participants showed signs of distress but continued anyway

a prior survey said that only 3%would obey (showing situational pressures)

evaluation strength- research support

milgram’s findings were replicated on a french documentary

80% of participants gave shocks up to 460V, so supports milgram’s original findings

evaluation weakness- low internal validity

participants may have been responding to demand characteristics as half of the participants didn’t believe the shocks were real

evaluation weakness- social identity theory

participants were given verbal prods to continue giving electric shocks, but the pps only obeyed when they identified with these prods (eg, the experiment requires you to continue)

SIT may be a more valid interpretation of milgram’s findings, as the participants identified with the experiment

evaluation weakness- ethical issues

participants were not protected from psychological harm and were also deceived as they were made to believe they were administrating real electric shocks