Milgram Summary

?
View mindmap
  • Milgram
    • Background
      • Milgram was interested in obedience during the Holocaust
      • Investigate destructive obedience
    • Explanations
      • Obedience
        • Sponsored and took place at Yale
        • Learner answered so they seemed willing
        • Thought learner was a volunteer
        • Paid so they felt obligated
        • Fake aim seemed worthy
        • There wasn't clarity about expectations
        • Told it wasn't dangerous
        • Volunteered so they were obligated
        • Thought they had chance to be learner
      • Tension
        • Had to respond to experimenter and learner demands
        • Both demands were different
        • Had little time for reflection
        • Conflict being not harming and being obedient
    • Sample
      • Paid $4.50 for taking part
      • 40 males between 20-50
      • Self-selected sample through newspaper
    • Results
      • Sweat, bit lips, trembled, stuttered
      • Typically showed extreme tension
      • 14 had nervous laughter
      • 65% reached 450V
      • 3 had uncontrollable seizures
      • All participants reached 300V
      • When stopping comments showed agitation and anger --> "this is crazy"
    • Procedure
      • Instructions
        • Say the voltage before administering it --> remind participant of increasing intensity
        • Administer shock with every wrong answer and increase it by 15V each time
      • Feedback
        • Experimenter prods
          • "It is absolutely essential that you continue"
          • "You have no other choice, you must go on"
          • "The experiment requires that you continue"
          • Told there would be no permanent damage and they should continue
          • "Please continue"
        • Learner feedback
          • Told to wait 5-10 secs then treat silence as wrong answer
          • At 315V didn't answer but kicked wall again. No further feedback after
          • At 300V kicked the wall
      • Task
        • Learner pressed switch to indicate original second word
        • Teacher reads series of word pairs then 1st word in the pair along with four others
        • If it's wrong then they get shocked, there was a predetermined order of right and wrong
      • Ending
        • The participant and learner reconcile and the tension lowers, so the participant leaves in a good state
        • Told the true aim
        • If they ended before 450V then they were a defiant participant
      • Arrival
        • Learner's wrist attached to electrode with electrode paste --> avoid burns
        • Taken to another room and the learner was put into the electric chair
        • Learner told that shocks can be painful but don't cause permanent tissue damage
        • Said aim was to find effect of punishment on learning
        • It involved one naíve participant and the learner (part of the team)
        • Both drew slips from hat, rigged as both said teacher and the participant chose first
      • Generator
        • 30 switches going up in 15V (15-450)
        • Every 4 had another label --> slightly shock, moderate shock, strong shock, very strong shock, intense shock, extreme intensity, danger: severe shock, ***
    • Conclusions
      • This is a situation that produces extremely strong tendencies to obey
      • The situation generates extraordinary tension and emotional strain

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Core studies resources »