Milgram

• Milgram (1963)

  Sample:

  • 40 volunteers (men age 20-50)
  • For human memory study
  • Offered $4.50
  • Many occupations, educational level + age
  • Volunteer sample

  Procedure:

  • Participants met Mr Wallace in rigged role allocation
  • Participant = “teacher”, Mr Wallace = “learner”
  • Separate rooms, Wallace heard, not seen
  • Naïve participant given initial shock (45v) at start
  • Shocks went up 15V up to 450V (‘XXX’)
  • Mr Wallace script
  • ~3 wrong answers to each correct
  • 180V; Complained of weak heart
  • 300V; Bang on wall
  • 315V; Silent
  • 'Teacher' objected, research gave 4 prods
• Evaluation

  Strengths:

  • Generalisability:
  • US male
  • Wide background range
  • Similar results w/ females + cross-cultural
  • Experimental validity:
  • 45V shock given to naïve participants
  • Equipment + screams were realistic
  • Participants in clear distress; imply belief

  Weaknesses:

  • Eco validity:
  • Give electrical shocks to strangers unlikely in real life
  • High internal but low external value
  • Pop validity:
  • Volunteer sample use
  • Participants more compliant/authoritarian
• Ethics

  • Withdrawal
  • Difficult, replicated real-life
  • Disobedience possible; 35%
  • Protection from harm
  • Argued distress was more 'momentary excitement' than harm (cost-benefit analysis)
  • Maintained people would not have cared for ethical issues had there been lower obedience levels
  • Obedient participants told behaviour normal
  • Disobedient participants told behaviour was desirable
  • Questionnaire:
  • 92% responded
  • 84% glad to have done it
  • 2% regretted
  • 74% learned personal importance
  • Independent psychiatrist assessed psychological damage a year post-experiment (found nothing)
• Results

  • Expert predict <1% go to max, 2.6% to 240V
  • 65% to max (450V), 100% to 300V
  • Participant showed extreme stress (shook, sweat + stuttered)
  • 14/40 nervous laughing fits + argued (obey anyway)
  • 35% resisted pressure (stopped 300-450V)
  • Most people default to truth, assume can trust
  • Doubters:
  • 56% fully believe
  • 24% some doubts, still believed
  • 6% unsure
  • 11% some doubts, didn’t believe
  • 2% sure untrue

  Conclusion

  • Social situation behaviour determinant
  • Socialised from young age recognise authority + obey those w/ perceived power