Milgram's A01

Cards (15)

Milgram's Shock Experiment
Psychological experiment conducted at Yale University
Participant Characteristics
40 male participants aged 20-50 with various jobs
Compensation
Participants were offered $4.50 for their participation
Experimental Location
Milgram's lab at the University of Yale
Experimental Setup
Participants were assigned the roles of teacher and learner even though the assignments were rigged
Confederates
Mr. Wallace (learner) and experimenter in a grey lab coat
Participant Freedom
Participants were allowed to leave the experiment at any time
Learner's Condition
Learner was strapped to a chair with electrodes
Task
Participants were required to match word pairs
Shock Levels
Shocks ranged from 'slight shock' (15) to 'danger severe shock' (450v)
Prods
Experimenter provided 4 prompts to encourage participants to continue. 1) 'please continue' 2)'The experiment requires that you continue' 3)'It is absolutely essential that you continue' 4)'You have no other choice, you must go on
Participant Response
No participant stopped below 300v, 12.5% stopped at 300v and 65% went to 450v
Qualitative Data 
Participants exhibited physical signs of distress
Debriefing
Participants were informed about the true nature of the experiment and 84% of them were happy to have been part of the experiment
Prediction vs. Reality
14 psychology students predicted only 3% would go to 450v, but 65% did