1a. Obedience

What was the aim of Milgram’s base study?

Aim of Milgram’s base study was to examine whether people will obey a legitimate but malevolent authority given appropriate situational encouragements

What was the baseline procedure of Milgram’s base study?

Baseline procedure of Milgram’s base study=

40 American men volunteered to take part in a study, supposedly on memory.

When each volunteer arrived at Milgram’s lab he was introduced to another

participant (a confederate of Milgram’s). They drew lots to see who would be the

‘Teacher’ (T) and who would be the ‘Learner’ (L). The draw was fi xed so that the

participant was always the Teacher. An ‘Experimenter’ (E) was also involved (also a

confederate, dressed in a grey lab coat).

The detailed procedure is explained below left and the diagram illustrates the

layout of the study. The study aimed to assess obedience in a situation where

an authority fi gure (Experimenter) ordered the participant (Teacher) to give an

increasingly strong shock to a Learner located in a diff erent room (in 15-volt steps

up to 450 volts). The shocks were fake but the Teacher did not know this.

What was the further procedural detail of Milgram’s base study?

Further procedural detail of Milgram’s base study=

Milgram’s participants were men (aged 20–50 years) who came from the area

around New Haven, Connecticut, USA. They were volunteers recruited through

a newspaper advert or mailshot, and were paid $4.50 for participating. The

Learner (called ‘Mr Wallace’) was strapped into a chair and wired up with

electrodes. The Teacher (the real participant) was given a small shock to

experience for themselves. This was the only genuine shock in the procedure.

The Learner had to remember pairs of words. Each time he made an error, the

Teacher delivered a stronger (fake) ‘electric shock’ by pressing switches on a

‘shock machine’. The switches were labelled from ‘slight shock’ through ‘intense

shock’ to ‘danger – severe shock’. When the Teacher got to 300 volts

the Learner pounded on the wall and then gave no response to the next

question. At 315 volts he again pounded on the wall but was then silent for

the rest of the procedure.

All participants in the baseline study were debriefed and assured that their

behaviour was entirely normal.

What were the four prods the Experimenter used to order the Teacher to continue?

The four standard ‘prods’ the

Experimenter used to order

the Teacher to continue

were=

Prod 1 – ‘Please continue’ or

‘Please go on.’

Prod 2 – ‘The experiment

requires that you continue.’

Prod 3 – ‘It is absolutely

essential that you continue.’

Prod 4 – ‘You have no other

choice, you must go on.’

What were the baseline findings of Milgram’s baseline study?

Baseline findings of Milgram’s baseline study=

Every participant delivered all the shocks up to 300 volts. 12.5% (five participants)

stopped at 300 volts (‘intense shock’) and 65% continued to the highest level of

450 volts, i.e. they were fully obedient.

Milgram also collected qualitative data including observations such as: the

participants showed signs of extreme tension; many of them were seen to ‘sweat,

tremble, stutter, bite their lips, groan and dig their fi ngernails into their hands’;

three even had ‘full-blown uncontrollable seizures’.

What were the predictions for Milgram’s baseline study?

Predictions for Milgram’s baseline study=

Before the study, Milgram asked 14 psychology students to predict the

participants’ behaviour. The students estimated that no more than 3% of the

participants would continue to 450 volts. This shows that the fi ndings were

unexpected – the students underestimated how obedient people actually are.