Milgrams Shock Study

• Milgram wanted to see if people would obey a legitimate authority figure when given instructions to hurt another human

  • Lab experiment
  • Teacher always true participant but participant was made to believe that they were ,randomly allocated' as either teacher or learner
  • Shocks increased each time learner gave wrong answer
  • Experimenter gave standardised prompts when the participant refused to administer a shock
• What were the results of the Milgram Shock Study?

  • All participants went to 300 volts
  • 65% were willing to go to the max 450 volts, despite hearing ,screaming'
  • When experimenter wasnt wearing uniform obedience was 20%
  • Obedience dropped to 47.5% when experiment was in run-down office
  • When instructions given over the phone, obedience dropped to 20.5% and many participants lied
• Give three strengths and three limitations of Milgrams shock study

  STRENGTHS:

  • Gives insight as to why people under nazi reign did what they did
  • Standardised experiment (can be replicated)
  • Participants were debriefed

  LIMITATIONS:

  • Lacks ecological validity
  • Androcentric sample
  • Ethical issues (deception)