4. AQA A-Level Psychology Key Content

what % of pts stopped at 300v

12.5%

what % of pts got to 450v and what does this make them

65%, fully obedient

what observations were made

pts showed signs of extreme tension, stuttering, sweating and full blown seizures

what conclusion was made

Germans and Americans are no different as 65% went the full way

what 5 variables were there to test obedience

proximity, touch proximity, reducing experimenters authority, making the location less credible and refusal to obey

proximity

when the teacher and learner were in the same room obedience dropped to 40% from 65%seeing learners distress created empathy

touch proximity

teacher had to force the learners hand onto the shock plate, obedience dropped to 30%,physical contact made the harm undeniable

reducing the authority of the experimenter

experimenter gave orders over the phone, obedience dropped to 20.5%, many pts pretended to give shocks

making the location less credible

took place in a rundown office rather than prestigious yale, obedience dropped to 47.5%

refusal to obey

when pts is given a confederate who refuses to obey, obedience dropped to 10%

why did Orne and holland suggest Milgram’s experiment lacked experimental realism (criticism)

they believe that pts cpuldn’t have believed in the setup since the experimenter would’ve shown concern for the learners welfare

when interviewed after holland replicated Milgram’s study what did he find

75% didnt believe the deception

why did Milgram argue that there was experimental realism (criticism)

when he interviewed the pts after the experiment they said they did believe the experiment and this is shown through the behaviour shown in recordings

why did Orne and holland critique experiment saying there were demand characteristics (criticism)

pts only agreed to give shocks since they believed that you obey in an experiment

why does Milgram’s experiment have high ecological validity (criticism)

his study had been replicated in other countries and in natural settings e.g. Bickman in the hospital

what support is there for situational variables (strength)

Bickman found that pts were more than 2x as likely to obey the confederate if he was dressed as a security guard rather than a jacket and tie

what is a flaw with situational variables

if a figure of authority asked someone to do something dangerous since they are assumed to know better and would likely lead to disobedience

how does Hofling’s study contradict the idea that reduced proximity to the authority figure decreases obedience

he called nurses via telephone and 95% obeyed

Milgram’s research suggests reduced proximity decreases obedience but since the environment was a hospital where orders are supposed to be taken it has more validity

deception

was needed for internal validity as if they were told there would be demand characteristics

right to withdraw

they were told they could leave at the START of the study, 1/13 did withdraw

protection from psychological harm

Milgram has a psychiatrist interview pts a year after the study and there was no evidence of psychological harm

value of research

research oepened up our eyes to the possibility that we are all capable of performing the same way as the Nazi’s