Milgram

One of Milgrams aims was to test the germans are different hypothesis. suggests germans have basic character deflect which means they follow orders without questions. meant as a pilot to test levels in America to create baseline for Germany.

Milgrams key aim was to study the mechanisms of prepared fears

Milgrams key aim was to investigate tendency to obey authority. if people would go against moral consciences and obey to cause pain and harm

One of the context was the issue of obedience- an important factor of our lives. in order to live successfully with people around us we learn to obey authority to ensure no chaos. it is taught to use from a young age by parents and teachers.

another one of Milgrams context was to see how depth perception develops through life

another context is obedience gone wrong- 1933-45 obedience was questioned as nazi concentration camps killed millions of innocent people. it could only have been carried out if people obeyed authority. Adolph Eichman- claimed he was 'only following orders', was found guilty and hung. recent history and observations suggest for many obedience is an ingrained trait and over rides training in ethic, sympathy and moral conduct.

It was a controlled observation at Oxford university

there were 44 male participants

participants were aged 20-50 years and obtained through an advertising placement in a newspaper

they were paid $4.50 and could keep the money when they arrived no matter what happened

one naive participant and one confederate- names drawn out a hat but was rigged

researcher explained they were taking part in a study of obedience

the learner was strapped to a chair and electrodes attached to his wrists in front of the teacher. the teacher was then shown to a shock generator in the next room and the task was explained to him

the task was a word pairing task- the learner calls out word pairs and later just the 1st word in the pair. the teacher has to call out the word associated with it.

the shock machine is a set of switches each labelled with a voltage that went up in 15v increments to 450. the voltages were assigned catagories such as slight/severe/danger severe

the confederate was given a real shock to fool the participant the machine was real

the teacher was asked to give a shock when the learner got the answer right and to increase the shock by 15v for every subsequent correct answer

the teacher had to continue with the pairings and the shocks until the learner suffered a heart attack

the learner gave the same responses of correct and wrong asnwers and the same complaints and screams which started at 300v following a script

if the participant became unwilling to continue four prods were given
-please continue
-the experiment requires you to continue
-it is absolutely essential to continue
-you have no other choice you must go on
these were called out in sequence so if prod 1 didnt work prod 2 would be called out and so forth

none of the participants were interviewed or debriefed

all participants were introduced to the confederate

milgran concluded the high levels of obedience could be cause by a variety of factors:
1) the status of yale= place of importance/authority- presumes personel are competent and reputable
2) payment/obligation= strengthens obligation but stating the money is yours simply for coming cancels this out
3) little time for reflection = only mins seated at shock generator before the victim protests.

Milgram found all Ps delivered shocks from 15-200 volts

Milgram found 5 stopped after 300v

26 participants went to 460v 'xxx shock'

No participants were convince the high shocks were extremely painful

participants showed tension in the low voltages= sweating,trembling and stuttering

14 participants had nervous laughter and smiling

3 participants had seizures