Situational Variables Affecting Obedience AO3

• What was a weakness identified in Milgram's study regarding participant beliefs?

  Some of the participants knew that the shocks were not real.
• What did Perry (2012) find about Milgram's participants?

  Many of Milgram’s participants were sceptical about whether the shocks were real.
• How did Taketo Murata categorize Milgram's participants?

  He categorized them into 'doubters' and 'believers'.
• What distinguished 'believers' from 'doubters' in Milgram's study?

  'Believers' thought they were delivering real shocks, while 'doubters' believed the shocks were fake.
• What was the finding regarding the obedience levels of 'believers' in Milgram's study?

  'Believers' were more likely to disobey the experimenter and give only low intensity shocks.
• Why is the presence of 'doubters' significant in Milgram's study?

  It meant that Milgram could not see true levels of obedience when participants were instructed to administer shocks.
• What was a weakness of Milgram’s study?

  There were several ethical issues.
• What does the presence of 'doubters' suggest about the internal validity of Milgram's findings?

  It suggests that Milgram’s findings may have lacked internal validity as he wasn’t able to measure what he intended to.
• Why was the advertisement for Milgram's study considered misleading?

  It was advertised as a 'study of memory', preventing informed consent.
• What were some of the signs of stress exhibited by participants in Milgram's study?

  Participants showed nervous laughter, sweating, and even seizures.
• Why is it significant that Milgram did not adhere to the code of ethics?

  It led to participants experiencing great amounts of stress and making uninformed decisions.
• What was the conclusion regarding the ethical issues in Milgram's study?

  The ethical issues may have outweighed the benefits of the study.
• How was participant health evaluated after Milgram's study?

  Participant's health and wellbeing were evaluated months later, and all were found to be mentally stable.
• What percentage of participants in Milgram's study expressed that they were glad to have taken part?

  83.7% of participants said they were glad that they took part.
• What are the ethical issues associated with Milgram's study?

  • Misleading advertisement as a 'study of memory'
  • Difficulty for participants to withdraw
  • High levels of stress experienced (nervous laughter, sweating, seizures)
  • Lack of informed consent
• What are the implications of the findings regarding participant wellbeing in Milgram's study?

  • Participants were evaluated months later
  • All participants found to be mentally stable
  • Majority expressed satisfaction with their participation (83.7%)
• P -Strength – similar findings have been found in recent years.

  E - Burger (2009) – Found levels of obedience almost identical to those found by Milgram some 46 years earlier. Additionally, other researchers have found no correlation between each study’s year of publication and amount of obedience found in it.

  E -This matters because similar results have been found regardless of the period in time. This means that these high levels of obedience did not just occur due to a specific situation or event.

  L -This suggests that Milgram’s study is high in temporal validity