Milgram

• Reicher and Haslam (2006) & Milgram.

  they investigated the social roles of prisoners and guards and provided evidence that people did live up to the expectations and social roles. Milgram’s work on obedience showed that people listened more to an authority figure rather than an ordinary person.
• What was the aim of Milgram's obedience study regarding telephonic instructions?

  To test the physical distance between the participant and teacher.
• What was the procedure of Milgram's obedience study with telephonic instructions?


  • Teacher was in the same room as participants (PPs).
  • Teacher gave instructions and then left the room.
  • PPs were left alone with a telephone and shock generator.
  • If the teacher was concerned about PPs not following instructions, the phone would ring and deliver 4 prods.
• What was the result regarding the obedience of participants when given telephonic instructions?

  Some participants delivered lower shocks, with only 9 continuing to 450V (22.5%).
• What does the result of Milgram's study suggest about obedience when participants are not being watched?

  Obedience dropped significantly when participants thought they weren't being watched.
• What conclusion can be drawn from Milgram's obedience study regarding situational factors?

  Situational factors, such as the shock generator and telephone in the room, still created obedience.
• Aprc of variation 10: rundown office (Milgram’s obedience variation)

  Aim - to see if location would impact obedience.

  Procedure- the same as milgram’s original study, location was just different. Happened in a rundown office block in bridgeport.

  Results - obedience dropped to 19 people continuing to 450V (45.5%)

  Conclusion - the location is not as important for obedience as n Authority Figure, milgram didn’t believe it was significant. but PPs showed more doubt, with one claiming it was heartless.
• What was the aim of Milgram's variation study (13 and 13a)?

  To disentangle whether people obey orders due to the strength of the command or the status of the person giving the demand.
• How did Mr. Williams' role change in the procedure of Milgram's variation study?

  Mr. Williams no longer wore the lab coat and was called away after explaining the procedure.
• What was the role of the second confederate in Milgram's variation study?


  The second confederate suggested a new way of increasing the shocks by 15V with each wrong answer.
• How many participants were involved in Milgram's variation study (13)?

  20 participants were involved.
• What percentage of participants obeyed in Milgram's variation study (13)?

  Only 4 participants, or 20%, obeyed.
• What happened in Milgram's variation study (13a) with the 16 participants who disobeyed?

  They protested by trying to unplug or physically restrain the confederate.
• What was the obedience rate in Milgram's variation study (13a)?

  11 participants, or 68.75%, went to 450V.
• What conclusions can be drawn from Milgram's variation studies (13 and 13a)?

  • Very low rates of obedience were observed.
  • An authority figure was present in the background.
  • Rates of obedience would have been lower if commands came from an ordinary person.
• What inspired Milgram's study on obedience in 1963?

  It was inspired by the televised trial of Adolf Eichmann.
• What hypothesis did Milgram aim to test in his study?

  He wanted to test if ordinary people could be put in a situation where they would obey orders like Eichmann did.
• How did Milgram's students perceive the likelihood of Americans obeying orders?

  They believed that only 1% would obey such orders.
• What was the aim of Milgram's study?

  To find out if naive participants would obey orders from an authority that went against their values.
• What specific action did Milgram want to see if participants would take?

  He wanted to see if they would electrically shock someone powerfully enough to kill them.
• How many participants were involved in Milgram's study?

  40 participants.
• What was the age range of the participants in Milgram's study?

  25 to 50 years old.
• How were participants recruited for Milgram's study?

  They were recruited through volunteer sampling via newspaper ads.
• What compensation did participants receive for their involvement in the study?

  They were paid $4 for turning up.
• Why did Milgram set up a controlled environment for the study?

  To reduce obedience with no interference from outsiders or a relationship between the person obeying and their victim.
• How did Milgram observe the participants during the experiment?

  He watched them through a one-way mirror.
• What role did Mr. Williams play in the experiment?

  He acted as the stern biology teacher and experimenter.
• Who pretended to be another participant in Milgram's study?

  Mr. Wallace pretended to be another participant.
• What was the procedure for assigning roles in the experiment?

  After a faked coin toss, Mr. Wallace became the learner and the participant became the teacher.
• What voltage shock did the participant feel at the beginning of the experiment?

  They felt a 45V shock.
• What was the purpose of the shocks delivered by the teacher?

  To punish the learner for incorrect answers during a word pair task.
• How did the voltage increase during the experiment?

  The voltage increased by 15V each time the learner answered incorrectly.
• What happened when the learner reached 300V?

  The learner banged the wall and stopped responding.
• What instruction did participants receive regarding the learner's lack of response?

  They were instructed to take no answer as a wrong answer.
• What were the four pre-scripted prods used if participants questioned orders?

  The prods were: 'please continue', 'the experiment requires you to continue', 'it is absolutely essential that you continue', and 'you have no other choice but to continue'.
• What percentage of participants continued to 450V?

  65% of participants continued to 450V.
• What qualitative data did Milgram collect during the study?

  He noted that 14 participants showed nervous laughter.
• What conclusion did Milgram draw from his study on obedience?


  Ordinary people will obey immoral orders in the right situation.
• What situational explanations did Milgram provide for the high levels of obedience observed?

  Factors included the prestigious setting of Yale, the perceived worth of the study, the willingness of Mr. Wallace, and the participants' commitment.
• What was the setting of Milgram's study?

  The study was conducted at Yale University.