Milgram's Obedience Study

Aim of Milgram’s study

Milgram aimed to investigate obedience by seeing how far Americans would go in giving electric shocks to another person when instructed by an authority figure.

Research method of Milgram’s study

A controlled observation at Yale University. This meant Milgram could keep the procedure the same for everyone while making it seem realistic.

Sample of Milgram’s study

40 American men, aged 20–50 - with different jobs and education levels. They were each paid $4.50 to take part.

Procedure of Milgram’s study

Participants were always given the role of “Teacher,” while a confederate acted as the “Learner” in another room.

The Teacher had to read out word pairs, and the Learner gave answers by pressing a button.

If the Learner gave a wrong answer, the Teacher had to give an electric shock, starting at 15 volts and increasing step by step up to 450 volts. In reality, the shocks were not real, but the Learner pretended to feel pain.

If the Teacher wanted to stop, the experimenter gave prompts such as “Please continue” and “You have no other choice, you must go on.”

Findings of Milgram’s study

All participants went up to 300 volts, and 65% obeyed fully to 450 volts, showing high obedience.

However, 35% stopped before the maximum shock.

Participants showed extreme stress, such as sweating, trembling, nervous laughter, and even uncontrollable seizures.

Conclusion of Milgram’s study

Most people will follow orders from authority figures, even if it means doing something harmful or against their own conscience. Obedience is a strong social influence, not just something seen in extreme cases like the Nazis.