Milligram

• cognitive dissonance


  when someone has two conflicting thoughts creating a state of anxiety/distress/discomfort.
• demand characteristics


  the situation where the results of an experiment are biased because the experimenters' expectancies regarding the performance of the participants on a particular task create an implicit demand for the participants to perform as expected.
• Why did Milgram conduct his experiment?

  he wanted to study obedience, as he believed that germans were an evil race because of nazi Germany
• what were the aims of his experiment

  it sought to investigate the process of obedience, to demonstrate power of a legitimate authority even when a command requires destructive behaviour
• Where did the experiment take place?

  Yale University
• what was the target population

  white males of any occupation aged 20-50
• what was the sampling method used

  advert in local paper
• how much were volenteers payed

  4.50
• what percentage of people went up to 450 volts

  65%
• what percentage didn't go up to 450 volts but went up to 300 volt+

  28%
• What signs of nervousness did participants show?

  sweat, tremble, bite their lips, dig fingernails into flesh, groan and in 3 cases have a seizure
• what conclusions were made by the researchers

  people would obey instructions from those they saw as an authority figure even if it caused destructive behaviour, eg harming someone
• 2 strengths of the experiment

  able to be replicated as highly controlled, reliable
• 2 weaknesses of the experiment

  no diversity only white males, ethics
• dependent variable


  the variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment
• what was the dependent variable in this study

  obedience
• what ethical guildlines did millgram break

  deception, right to withdraw and protection from harm.
• What were the quantitative results?

  100% of the 40 participants reached 300V, 65% went to 450 volts
• what were the qualitative results


  He observed the participants sweating, trembling, stuttering and groaning. 14 showed nervous laughter.
• how did the study relate to the social approach

  that people have two states of behavior when they are in a social situation