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Milgram Experiment - Coggle Diagram
Milgram Experiment
Results
Obedience rates: Milgram found that 65% of participants were willing to administer shocks up to the maximum voltage of 450 volts, even after the person in the other room had stopped responding. This suggests that people are highly obedient to authority figures, even when it conflicts with their own moral beliefs.
Signs of distress: Many participants showed signs of distress during the experiment, such as sweating, trembling, and nervous laughter. Some even protested or refused to continue, but ultimately, the majority of participants still obeyed the experimenter.
Gender differences: There were no significant gender differences in the level of obedience displayed by participants.
Replication: Milgram's findings have been replicated in other studies, with similar levels of obedience observed across cultures and time periods.
Variables
Independent variable: The independent variable was the level of authority exerted by the experimenter. In each trial of the experiment, the experimenter would instruct the participant to administer an electric shock to the "learner" (who was actually an actor), and the level of shock would increase with each incorrect response. The experimenter would also provide verbal cues to encourage the participant to continue administering shocks, such as "Please continue" or "You have no other choice, you must go on."
Dependent variable: The dependent variable was the level of obedience displayed by the participant. The main measure of obedience was whether or not the participant continued to administer shocks up to the maximum voltage of 450 volts, even after the learner had stopped responding.
Control variables: There were several control variables used in the experiment to ensure that the results were not affected by extraneous factors. For example, the "learner" was always an actor and the shocks were not actually administered, so the participant's response was not influenced by the actual pain or harm caused to another person. The experiment was also conducted in a controlled laboratory setting, with consistent instructions and procedures for each participant.
Participant variables: Milgram also recorded several participant variables, such as age, gender, and occupation, to see if these factors had any influence on the level of obedience displayed.
Method of assesment
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Observations: Milgram observed and recorded the behavior of the participants throughout the experiment.
Self-report measures: Milgram used self-report measures such as questionnaires and interviews to collect data on the participants' attitudes and perceptions of the experiment.
Physiological measures: Milgram also used physiological measures such as heart rate and blood pressure to measure the stress response of the participants during the experiment.
Ethical considerations
The ethical considerations were not upheld as Milgram did not debrief them on the experiment,
Deception: Participants in the experiment were not fully informed about the true purpose of the study. They were led to believe that the experiment was about the effects of punishment on learning, when in fact the main focus was on obedience to authority. This deception could have caused psychological harm or distress to the participants.
Informed consent: Participants were not fully informed about the risks and potential harms of the experiment, and may not have given their full and informed consent to participate.
Psychological harm: The experiment could have caused psychological harm or distress to the participants, especially those who were more obedient and felt guilty about administering shocks to the "learner".
Right to withdraw: Although participants were told that they could withdraw from the experiment at any time, they may have felt pressure to continue from the authority figure (the experimenter).
Debriefing: Although Milgram conducted a debriefing session with the participants after the experiment to explain the true purpose of the study and address any concerns or questions they had, some participants may still have been left feeling distressed or ashamed about their behavior.
Aim and Hypothesis
Aim: To investigate the extent to which people are willing to obey authority, even if it conflicts with their personal moral beliefs.
Hypothesis: Milgram hypothesized that ordinary people would be willing to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to another person if instructed to do so by an authority figure. Specifically, he predicted that a large proportion of participants would continue to obey the experimenter even when the shocks became painful or dangerous.