Milgram's Study

• Obedience: Type of social influence where somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority. (1) The person who receives the order may also respond in a way that they would not have done without the order. (1)
• Aim: To investigate if individuals would obey the orders of an authority figure even if this led to negative consequences.
• Method: Lab experiment at Yale university
• Sample: 40 American males aged 20-50
• Procedure:

  • Milgram placed an advert in a newspaper seeking volunteers for an experiment researching memory on learning - were paid $4.50
  • Participant was introduced to another 'participant' (confederate). They drew lots which were rigged so the participant was assigned the role of a teacher and the confederate was always the learner
  • The teacher's job was to administrate a learning task and deliver electric shocks to the learner in another room if they got the question wrong
  • The shocks began at 15 volts and increased 15 volts until they reached a maximum of 450 volts
• The experimenter delivered prompts if the teacher refused to carry on giving shocks (tested their obedience):

  • "Please continue"
  • "The experiment requires that you continue"
  • "It is absolutely essential that you continue"
  • "You have no other choice, you must go on"
• Findings: All participants went to at least 300 volts, 12.5% stopped at that point. 65% of participants continued to 450 volts
• Conclusion: Ordinary people are obedient to authority when asked to behave in an inhumane way, they are not necessarily evil but are just obeying orders