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Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study - Coggle Diagram
Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study
Sampling
Sampling method
Self-selecting
Assumed consent :check:
Participants may be biased :green_cross:
Guaranteed responses :check:
Unrepresentative sample :green_cross:
About the sample
40 males from New Haven (in the USA)
All aged between 20 and 50
Ethnocentric
Aims and Research Questions
Was Hitler a legitimate authority figure?
What makes people obedient?
What makes someone seem to be a figure of authoirty?
Are German people more obedient than others?
How far will people go when instructed to by authority?
Context
Based off of Nazi Germany and Adolf Eichmann's trial
Procedure
The learner provides pre-determined answers (for every correct answer, the learner provides three incorrect answers).
The teacher hears sounds of distress.
After 350 volts, the learner falls silent.
The word-pairing game is explained, in which the teacher will say a word then list four more and the learner has to choose which word from the four matches the original.
Teacher and learner are split up.
The learner is a confederate.
The participant is led to believe they have been selected as the "teacher".
The teacher is given a small shock of 45 volts so they get an idea of how it feels.
The shock level increases by 15 volts each time the learner gets a question wrong.
Research Methods
Experiment in a lab setting
Controlled environment
Example of control is that the experimenter had four standardised responses to the participant protesting
Controls
Experimenter used same standardised responses to the participant's protests
Same actors for learner and experimenter
Same questions from teacher, same responses from learner
Findings
65% of participants went all the way to 450 volts
ALL participants delivered a shock
Participants would continue when prompted by the experimenter
Conclusion and explanation
Everyone responds to those that they perceive to be figures of authority
The appearance (lab coat), setting (Yale) and holding a experiment makes you seem to be authoritative
If the participant felt they weren't responsible, they felt more comfortable to continue
Ethics
Guidelines that were broken
No informed consent
They consented to a different study
Pressure to continue
The participants could've withdrawn but were strongly encouraged to continue, adding pressure to the participant
Protection from harm
While there was no physical harm, they were subjected to a lot of emotional stress which caused three participants to have seizures
Guidelines that were upheld
Debrief
Allowed the participant to meet the learner and they were informed of what had happened. They were all offered full support for a long period afterwards
Confidentiality
The identity of the participants was not revealed
Ethnocentrism
The study was only carried out with white American males but this was due to his attempt to replicate Nazi Germany
Replications of the study have allowed an insight into other cultures; Milgram's original study is the only one considered to be ethnocentric
Reliability
Internal
Procedure was highly replicable because of the standardised procedure
External
Sample was large enough to suggest a consistent effect without being unmanageable in terms of cost and effort
Validity
Population
The sample was not representative, and therefore you cannot make a generalisation from the results.
Internal
The participant's behaviour can reflect their empathy or courage so their obedience may not be the sole reason for their results
Ecological
The scenario was not an example of an everyday occurrence so has a low ecological value.