Milgram's Study into Obedience

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Aim
To see if people will obey orders, even those requiring them to harm others.
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Procedure
40 American males were recruited through a newspaper advert. They were told that the study was to do with how punishment affects learning.

The 'experimenter' (a confederate) assigned the participant to the role of 'teacher' through a rigged draw, whilst
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Findings
65% of participants went to the maximum (450 volts) shock. None stopped before 300 volts. Many showed signs of tension and anxiety, for example: sweating, shaking, and nervously laughing, but the majority continued to the end.
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Conclusions:
People will obey orders from an authority figure (the experimenter, who was wearing a white lab coat), potentially fatally harming a stranger in doing so.
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Evaluation - Validity
(Weakness)
Participants must have known that the situation can't have been real, so were stressed by having to act along with the situation (although, when questioned, participants did say they thought it was real).
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Evaluation - Validity
(Strength)
Sheridan and King (1972) suggests participants would have acted the same with real shocks - when instructed to give real (non-lethal) shocks to a real-life puppy, most participants obeyed.
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Evaluation - Validity
(Strength)
Hoffling et al (1966): nurses were told over the phone by a 'doctor' to give twice the advised dosage of a made-up drug to patients - 21 out of 22 obeyed (95%), supporting Milgram's findings that people are obedient and strengthening the external validity
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Evaluation - Validity
(Weakness)
Rank and Jacobsen (1975): same set up as Hoffling, but the drug was familiar (Valium), and the nurses could consult with others. This time, only 2 out of 18 obeyed (11%). This challenges Milgram's findings that people are obedient, weakening the external
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Evaluation - Ethics
(Weakness)
Participants were deceived and there was a lack of informed consent - they didn't know the shocks weren't real, and didn't know what they were letting themselves in for.
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Evaluation - Ethics
(Weakness)
There was no real right to withdraw - the 'prods' kept the participants from withdrawing.
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Evaluation - Ethics
(Weakness)
Participants experienced severe stress and psychological harm, thinking that they had potentially killed someone.
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Evaluation - Ethics
(Strength)
Milgram claimed that the results could not have been forseen - it was predicted that only 3% of participants would go to 450 volts.
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Evaluation - Ethics
(Strength)
Milgram debriefed his participants afterwards, telling them what really happened. When questioned, 84% felt glad to have taken part.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Procedure

Back

40 American males were recruited through a newspaper advert. They were told that the study was to do with how punishment affects learning.

The 'experimenter' (a confederate) assigned the participant to the role of 'teacher' through a rigged draw, whilst

Card 3

Front

Findings

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Conclusions:

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Evaluation - Validity
(Weakness)

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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