Obedience / P1

It is following orders to carry out an action. Orders are usually given by people with power or authority

Aim- to find whether people would be obedient to authority even if it meant physically hurting others

Method- he advertised for make volunteers, they were informed that they were taking part in a “memory and learning experiment’. 40 men from different range of occupations and backgrounds were selected. They were greeted by a 31 year old teacher in a white coat. Next they were introduced to a middle-aged man who was actually a confederate

The experiment explained to both men that one participant was to be the teacher and the other the learner this was decided by a lot system which has been rigged hence the real participant was always the teacher. Both were shown the shock generator which had a series of switches ranging from 15v- 450v which increases in 15v increments. The ranges were:

•slight shock - 15-60v

• moderate shock- 75-120v

• strong shock 135-180v

•intense shock- 375-420v

•xxx - 435-450v

Method- experimenter explained to the teacher that it was the job to teach the learner a series of word pairs and then test their recall. The learner was to indicate via a switch which words had been originally paired. If he answered correctly they would proceed, if not the teacher was instructed to administer an electric shock starting from 15v, increasing one increment at a time

Both were seated in separate rooms, teacher was given a sample of the electric shock to convince them that the procedure was real.

The learner was strapped onto the chair, electrodes were attached to his wrists and the electrode paste was applied to prevent burns.

When learner asks about the danger of the shocks, he is informed that the shocks may be painful but that are not dangerous. Now the learner is placed in another room where the teacher can hear the learner only

A predetermined set of responses ie roughly 3 incorrect answer for every correct answer. As the shocks got higher, so did the screams(pre recorded)

At 180V he complained of a weak heart, at 300v he banged on the wall and demanded to be allowed to leave. At 315v he refused to answer and became silent. When the teacher objected, the experimenter responded with a standardized series of prods:

•please continue

• the experiment requires that you continue

•it is absolutely essential that you continue

• you must continue

Observations: participants shown signs of extreme tension. They shook, sweated, stuttered with having nervous laughing fits

Result- All participants went up to 300v (where learner banged on the wall and said wanted to leave)

But 65% administered maximum shocks

Presumptive consent: before milgram carried out the experiment, he had asked a variety of groups, including psychiatrists and students how many people they thought would completely obey. Psychiatrist had predicted only 2.6 would continue to administer shocks of 240v

Note there was 14% who resisted the pressure and backed out between 300 and 450v

Holland 1968- argued that the study lacked internal validity, participants did not believe that the shocks are real. And so if participants did not believe if the shocks this would decrease internal validity

Milgram- countered and said that the participants were given sample shocks to convince . He also pointed out the video evidence of participants stress to prove that they were fooled

Orne and Holland- countered and said that this could be because participants wanted to please the experimenter

Orne and Holland- argued that the task of administering electric shocks was not encountered in daily life

Baumrind- leveled a number of charges at milgram research

Failed to take informed consent

Coerced them to continue and made it difficult to withdraw

Put in an extremely stressful situation

May have resulted in serious psychology harm

Milgram noticed that the proximity of the teacher and the learner affected obedience

Learner in the same room: obedience levels dropped

Milgram noticed that location of the experiment could have contributed to obedience

Yale university is a prestigious institute. It was likely that the high obedience rates was because of this factor

Variation: Milgram conducted the study in a seedy office above a shop. Calling themselves research associates LTD, only 48% continued upto 450v

• the agentic stage

•legitimate authority

People at view themselves as agents of other people usually those with power or authority, they assume little to no responsibility

The shift from an autonomous individual to an agentic state is called the agentic shift

Refers to the power held by the person giving instructions.

Legitimate power is associated with social roles and social status

22 nurses were phoned who were working alone in hospital wards by a Dr smith (there was no smith working in any hospital)

Dr smith instructed each nurse to check the drug cupboard for a drug called ‘Astroten’. When they had done this, he ordered them to administer 20mg of the drug to a patient on the ward

This order breaks several hospital rules:

•nurses should wait for the doctor to visit the ward and sign the prescription

• should not take orders from unknown doctor

•dosage was twice the maximum

Results- 21 out of 22 nurses were prepared to obey and administer it to the patient

They were stopped on the way and debriefed by member on the research team

Several nurses responded that an order of that kind was not unusual and many doctors expect obedience

Studied the effects of clothing on obedience to a series of requests, including giving a stranger a small sum of money for a parking meter

Result- he found that 92% obeyed when a man dressed as a security guard made a request compared to 49% obeying when the same man was dressed in ordinary clothing