Milgram

What was the aim of Milgram’s experiment?

To investigate the process of obedience by testing a participants will to obey an authority figure even when orders violate one’s moral code

What is the background for this study?

• World War 2

• Between 1933-45, millions on innocent people were slaughtered on command

• Obedience is such an ingrained behaviour that it overrides learning training in ethics, empathy and moral values

What is the research method and design of this experiment?

• Controlled observation

• Repeated measures design

What are the IV and DV for this experiment and how was data gathered?

• No IV

• DV- At what voltage participants stopped administering electric shocks

• Data gathered by observation of experimenter in the room as well as other observing through a one way mirror

What was the sample for his experiment and where did the study take place?

• 40 males

• 20-50 years old

• New Haven Area- USA

• Wide range of occupations but no students

• Study took place at Yale University

How were participants recruited?

• Recruited by newspaper and direct solicitation- self selected sampling

• P’s were paid $4.50 for presenting themselves at the laboratory

• P’s were told they were taking part in study of memory and learning

What was the procedure for this study?

• Participants always given the role of teacher through a fixed lottery

• They saw the learner (Mr Wallace- a confederate) strapped to a chair with non-active electrodes attached to his arms

• The participant was given a sample shock of 45 volts

• The teacher then sat in front of the electric shock generator in an adjacent room

• A paired word test was conducted on the learner and p’s were instructed to give Mr Wallace and electric shock for every wrong answer

• The shocks were from 15-450 volts, increasing in 15 volt increments

• The learner gave 2 wrong answers for every correct one

• At 300v he banged on the wall and made no further response

• The study finished when the teacher refused to go on or 450v was reached

• P’s were then fully debriefed by an interview, saying that the shocks were fake and the learner is unharmed- the purpose was to test obedience

What was the experimenter say if p’s turned to him to advice?

Verbal prods:

• ‘Please continue’

• ‘You have no choice, you must go on’

What are the results for this study?

• 100% of participants reached 300v, 65% reached 450v

• Participants showed signs of groaning, sweating, biting lips, stuttering

• Fourteen participants giggled nervously

• One participant had such a severe seizure the procedure was stopped

What conclusions can be drawn from this study?

• Inhumane acts can be done by normal people

• People will obey those who they consider to be legitimate authority even it the orders they are given violated their moral code

How does Milgram relate to the social area?

• Human thought processes are strongly influenced by the presence of individuals or groups

• Milgram aimed to investigate levels of obedience by seeing if people would administer electric shocks for wrong answers in told to by authority

• 40 male participants were told that they were conducting a test of memory and learning and were told to administer electric shocks to a learner for giving incorrect answers, from 15v to 450v

• 100% of p’s went to 300v and 65% went to 450v

• This shows the presence of an authority figure such as an experimenter causes people to obey and display an agentic state due to the perceived power the authority has over them

How does this study relate to the key theme of responses to authority?

• Responses to authority refers to studying why individuals follow the orders given by someone they believe has power over them

• Milgram aimed to investigate levels of obedience by seeing if people would administer electric shocks for wrong answers in told to by authority

• 40 male participants were told that they were conducting a test of memory and learning and were told to administer electric shocks to a learner for giving incorrect answers, from 15v to 450v

• 100% of p’s went to 300v and 65% went to 450v

• This shows that people will respond with obedience to authority, even when it violated their moral code