Stanley Milgram recruited 40 male participants through newspaper ads and postal flyers. the ad said he was looking for participants for a memory study. participants were aged 20 and 50 years. they were given $4.50 for turning up. ranging job skills.
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procedure- part 2
confederate was always the learner, participants were always the teacher. an experimenter wore a lab coat. they could leave at any time. learner was strapped to a chair, wired with electrodes. increasing shocks each time they got the answer wrong.
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Procedure- part 3
shocks ranged from 15 volts through 30 levels to 450 volts. learner pounded on wall gave no response after 300. after 315 volts the learner pounded on the wall again but gave no further response. the shocks were labelled on the machine.
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findings- part 1
no participants stopped below 300 volts, five stopped at 300 volts, 65% continued to 450 volts. observations showed signs of tension, many were seen to sweat, groan, dig fingernails into hands. three and uncontrollable seizures.
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findings- part 2
prior to the study Milgram asked 14 psychology students to predict the naive participants behaviour. they estimated no more than 3% of them would continue to 450 volts. therefore the findings were unexpected.
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findings- part 3
participants were debriefed, and assured that their behaviour was normal. in a follow up questionnaire, 84% reported that they felt lad to have participated. 74% felt they had learned something of personal importance.
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Limitation 1- lacked internal validity.
Orne and Holland (1968) suggest participants guessed the electric shocks were fake. so Milgram was not testing what he intended to test. However, sheridan and King's (1972) participants gave real shocks to a puppy: 54% of males and 100% of females.
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strength 1- good external validity
Hofling et al (1966) found that levels of obedience in nurses on a hospital ward to unjustified demands by doctors were very high (21 out of 22 nurses obeyed). therefore the processes of obedience in Milgram's study can be generalised.
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limitation 2- ethical issues
Baumrind (1964) criticised Milgram's deceptions. Participants believed the allocation of roles was randomly assigned, but it was fixed. deception, participants believed the electric shocks were real, betrayal of trust.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
confederate was always the learner, participants were always the teacher. an experimenter wore a lab coat. they could leave at any time. learner was strapped to a chair, wired with electrodes. increasing shocks each time they got the answer wrong.
Back
procedure- part 2
Card 3
Front
shocks ranged from 15 volts through 30 levels to 450 volts. learner pounded on wall gave no response after 300. after 315 volts the learner pounded on the wall again but gave no further response. the shocks were labelled on the machine.
Back
Card 4
Front
no participants stopped below 300 volts, five stopped at 300 volts, 65% continued to 450 volts. observations showed signs of tension, many were seen to sweat, groan, dig fingernails into hands. three and uncontrollable seizures.
Back
Card 5
Front
prior to the study Milgram asked 14 psychology students to predict the naive participants behaviour. they estimated no more than 3% of them would continue to 450 volts. therefore the findings were unexpected.
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