Milgram evaluation

• Research Method

  It was a controlled observation so the standardised procedure allowed ease of replicability/ high controls over extraneous variables.

  Examples include the learner's (Mr Wallace's) standardised responses and the experimenter's prods.
• Research Method

  It was an artificial situation which used an extreme task- low ecological validity, and high risk of demand characteristics.
• Ecological validity

  A big criticism of the study is that it is such an extreme task in an artificial situation that it cannot be generalised to real life obedience (low ecological validity).
• Ecological Validity

  It could be argued that the study did have ecological validity, as while electrocuting and harming another person was a very extreme task of obedience- so too were the actions of the Holocaust.
• Sample

  Participants were drawn from a range of backgrounds such as office workers and postal workers, so representative of males from New Haven. All were male so it was reflective of the German army in WW2 which allows for the conclusion that Germans are not different.
• Sample

  Only men were used which tells us nothing about why women may or may not obey destructive orders. Also, they were all from one area (New Haven) so there may be some cultural variation in that area that makes people behave differently from elsewhere.
• Sampling Method

  The sampling method was volunteer which generally produces a varied sample i.e. a range of men would have seen and responded to the advert.
• Sampling Method

  It may have been biased as most people never volunteer for anything so by definition, volunteers are not your average person, they tend to be keen to get involved in research. Therefore, the findings of high levels of obedience may be hard to generalise to most people.
• Ethical issues

  Milgram used lots of deception, for example two false aims, confederates and the allocation of teacher/learner roles (fixed lottery).

  This deception was justified as being used to avoid demand characteristics- natural behavior means valid results.
• Ethical issues

  Qualitative data is evidence that participants were not protected from harm. Participants could be seen trembling, sweating, stuttering and laughing nervously. 3 had full-blown uncontrollable seizures. On completion of the test, many obedient participants heaved sighs of relief, mopped their brows or nervously fumbled cigarettes.

  However, Milgram did conduct a full debrief and in post experimental interviews with an independent psychiatrist participants expressed that they were glad to take part and had learnt something valuable about themselves.
• Ethical issues

  Milgram removed participants' right to withdraw via the experimenter's standardised prods. Participants felt that they were unable to leave the study when they felt uncomfortable/ concerned.

  However, participants were told beforehand that they would be paid the 4.50 and the prods were essential for testing obedience.
• Reliability

  This study can be classed as having high levels of replicability. The procedure has been replicated many times because it is easy to follow. Other psychologists can easily check for the reliability of findings about destructive obedience.
• Practical applications

  The study has increased out understanding of how atrocities cam happen. It has also had surprising applications in areas such as accident prevention... Milgram’s research may be able to help us prevent accidents by teaching people that in some circumstances they should trust their own judgement and disobey.
• Ethnocentrism

  Only Americans were used in the sample. America is generally an individualist culture where people are generally more concerned with personal needs than the needs of the community. Contrastingly, many non-western cultures are collectivist and emphasise the importance of group needs above individual needs. Therefore, members of these communities may be more likely to show concern for the learner’s wellbeing and disobey the authority figure.