Aim, Background,& Research Method
What was the aim of the study?
To test whether people will obey authority even if it meant harming another individual
How many participants? Gender? Age?
40 male participants from 20-50
Who were the confederates?
The experimenter and Mr. Wallace. The experimenter wore a coat and had a stern manner while Mr. Wallace played the role of the learner
How many participants went to 450V? How many stopped before?
14 stopped beforehand
One strength in Ethics and One in weakness
Strength:
Debriefed
Weakness:
Deception
Arguably denied right to withdraw
Psychological harm and distress
What type of experiment is this? And where was it conducted?
Laboratory Experiment and it was conducted at Yale University
How were they recruited?
Through a Newspaper Advert
-Please continue/Please go on
-It is essential you continue
-You must go on
What was the mean voltage given? What was the mean estimate of the pain of the 450V?
368 V and 13.42
One strength in Generalizability and One weakness.
Strength:
Different occupations
Wide age range
Weakness:
All males
All from same area
What was the Research Design? IV and DV?
Independent Measures
What type of sample was it?
Volunteer Sample
Describe the Shock Generator
The shock generator had volts from 15v to 450v, increasing by 15v. The machine did not administer shocks.
What is the conclusion?
That people will obey authority figures even if it meant causing harm to others.
One strength in Applicability and One weakness
Strength:
Administrative office
Military
Weakness:
Only men so cannot be applied to women
Real life scenarios could yield different outcomes
What was the psychology being investigated?
Where were they from?
New Haven
What behavior did the participant show?
During: Sweating, shaking, nervous laughter, trembling
After: signs of relief, wiped faces, sighed and shook heads
Does this support the individual or situational explanation?
Situational
One strength in Validity and One weakness.
Strength:
Detailed design of shock generator
Weakness:
Lack of ecological validity
What is the background of the study?
These men all have different educational backgrounds. Why is this important?
We are testing people who are and aren't used to taking orders, which increases the validity of the study.
Explain the Procedure in Full detail.
Each participant was paid $4.50 for their willingness to participate. The participant was always given the role of 'teacher' and Mr Wallace the role of 'learner'. The participant was told that the study was focused on memory and learning (deception). The participant was given a mild electric shock of 45v to the wrist to convince them that the shocks were genuine. Milgram watched through a one-way mirror. Memory tasks involved reading pairs of words aloud to the learner to test their recognition of words. Each mistake was given a voltage shock 15v higher than the previous one. After they were debriefed and interviewed and as part of the interview were asked how painful they believed the 450 V shock to be on a scale of 1-14.
What situational factors affect obedience?
The legitimacy of the institution/context
Feeling of financial obligation
Proximity to authority figure and victim
Personal responsibility
Authority figure's sternness and appearance
Lack of responsibility for damage
One strength in Reliability and One weakness.
Strength:
Controlled Observation
Standardized Procedures
Weakness:
Lacks mundane realism