Milgram

• A legitimate authority is a person that we obey because we have been socialised to know there are consequences if we don't.
• Agency theory says that we have 2 states:

  • Autonomous state - where we act independently and use our own free will.
  • Agency state - where we enter a state of obedience and believe the authority figure will bear responsibility for our behaviour.
• The "Germans are different hypothesis" says that Germany obeyed Hitler because they are more obedient than other cultures. Milgram wanted to prove or disprove this hypothesis.
• Milgram aimed to investigate what level of obedience would be shown to an authority figure telling them to administer electric shocks to another person.
• Milgram studied 40 males between the age of 20 and 50 who were from the New Haven. They were collected by volunteer sampling through an advert in the local newspaper looking for volunteers for research into memory at Yale University. They were paid $4.50 for participation.
• Milgram employed 2 confederates:

  • Jack Williams , the experimenter - he wore a white lab coat and acted stern and emotionless.
  • Mr Wallace, the person being shocked - he was mild-mannered and likeable.
• Milgram used a controlled observation as there was no IV and they were observed through a 2 way mirror in a psychology laboratory in the prestigious Yale University.
• • Learner and teacher was chosen (participant was always teacher),
  • Mr Wallace strapped to electric chair with electrodes and cream to prevent blisters,
  • The ppts were given a test shock of 45 volts,
  • Fake word task where learner had to remember the word pair and if they did not answer correctly the ppt would shock him in increasing increments of 15 volts,
  • If ppt showed hesitation, Jack WIlliams gave standardised prods e.g. "please continue",
  • Ppts who shocked al the way to 450 volts were classified as obedient,
  • Ppts were fully debriefed after and reunited with Mr Wallace.
• • All 40 ppts shocked up to 300 volts,
  • 65% of ppts went fully to 450 volts,
  • Ppts showed signs of nervousness and tension e.g. sweating trembling and 14 participants had nervous laughing fits.
• Milgram concluded that there is no such thing as an obedient type and that in the wrong situation we all enter an agentic state to obey authority. Germans are not different as situational factors led to the rates of obedience that anyone could be susceptible to.