Social Approach
● Investigates how the social context impacts how people behave
Milgram (obedience) (1963)
Background
● During the WW2 Holocaust, many people were killed by the Nazis under the
instruction of Hitler
○ But the people who killed said they were “just following orders”
● Milgram attempted to justify the obedience in a similar situation and see if they
would harm or murder under the orders of an authority figure
Aim
● To investigate whether people would still be obedient to orders from an authority
even if it would result in physical harm to others
○ Laboratory-based procedure to involve administering electric shocks to a
victim under the orders of a researcher
Method
● Controlled observation in a lab setting
○ All variables and measures were controlled
○ While the behavior of participants was observed & recorded
● Originally intended a laboratory experiment
○ But due to procedure being identical for all participants & no control group
used, it would rather be considered a controlled observation
Observation
● Participant’s levels of obedience were measured through observation
● Operationalized as the maximum voltage given in response to the orders
● Observers also noted the participants’ body language & any verbal comments or
protests made throughout the procedure
Sample
● 40 men
○ Age 20-50
○ Volunteer sampling from a newspaper ad
, ○ Lived in same area
○ Various backgrounds from unskilled to professionals
● Given $4.5 for taking part regardless if they complete the study or not
Procedure
● Took place in a modern laboratory at Yale University
○ Location chosen to make the procedure look professional
■ Important situational factor for obedience
● Arrived at lab, introduced to another participant who was actually a stooge
● They were told to draw 2 pieces of paper to allocate roles of ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’
● But the roles were predetermined & participants always ended up as a teacher
● They were taken to the ‘student’ room where the stooge was strapped to a chair
& attached electrodes to
● Participant was introduced to the shock generator
○ Which had voltage sessions ranging from 15 - 450 V
○ Labeled from moderate to severe shock & XXX
○ They were given a 45V shock sample for credibility
● Participant was told that although the electric shocks were painful, they do not
produce permanent physical damage
● Participant was taken to the ‘teacher’ room & instructed by the experimenter (a
man in lab coat) about the ‘memory’ task they were about to perform on the
‘learner’
● Task consisted of reading pairs of words aloud & testing whether the ‘learner’
would recognize it
○ If they fail, participant had to shock them, increasing 15V for every mistake
● Starting with 300V, stooge performed protesting behavior, implying how much
they were hurt
○ Such as screaming, pounding on the wall
● After a while, the stooge made no more noise
● If participant refused to continue, they were given verbal prods such as:
○ You have no other choice, you must go on
○ It’s essential that you continue
, ● The procedure ended when max 450V was achieved OR participants refused to
go on
● Participant’s behavior was observed through a one-way mirror & comments
made by participants were also noted
● Finally, the participants were debriefed & allowed to meet the stooge to be
convinced they didn’t get harmed
● They were also interviewed & asked to estimate how hurtful a 450V shock would
be on a scale from 0-14
Results
● Prior to the study, Milgram asked psychology students & his colleagues to
estimate how many participants would apply the max voltage shock
○ They believed that less than 3% would
● The mean estimate of painfulness for 450V shock = 13.42
○ Shows that participants were fully aware they were causing pain
● All participants went at least 300V shock
● 65% went up to the max of 450V
● There were signs of nervousness & tension exhibited by participants
○ Sweating, shaking
● 14 participants exhibited nervous laughing or smiling
● 1 participant had a violent seizure & couldn’t continue the procedure
● However, a small minority seemed to be strangely calm
● Some comments made
○ I can’t do it, this is inhumane
○ I will hurt his heart
● But the prods managed to convince the participants to continue
● Participants showed visible signs of relief after being debriefed
Conclusion
● Supported the situational explanation of obedience
● Factors contributed to the high obedience might have been:
○ Professional academic environment - legitimacy of the study
○ Use of uniform
● Investigates how the social context impacts how people behave
Milgram (obedience) (1963)
Background
● During the WW2 Holocaust, many people were killed by the Nazis under the
instruction of Hitler
○ But the people who killed said they were “just following orders”
● Milgram attempted to justify the obedience in a similar situation and see if they
would harm or murder under the orders of an authority figure
Aim
● To investigate whether people would still be obedient to orders from an authority
even if it would result in physical harm to others
○ Laboratory-based procedure to involve administering electric shocks to a
victim under the orders of a researcher
Method
● Controlled observation in a lab setting
○ All variables and measures were controlled
○ While the behavior of participants was observed & recorded
● Originally intended a laboratory experiment
○ But due to procedure being identical for all participants & no control group
used, it would rather be considered a controlled observation
Observation
● Participant’s levels of obedience were measured through observation
● Operationalized as the maximum voltage given in response to the orders
● Observers also noted the participants’ body language & any verbal comments or
protests made throughout the procedure
Sample
● 40 men
○ Age 20-50
○ Volunteer sampling from a newspaper ad
, ○ Lived in same area
○ Various backgrounds from unskilled to professionals
● Given $4.5 for taking part regardless if they complete the study or not
Procedure
● Took place in a modern laboratory at Yale University
○ Location chosen to make the procedure look professional
■ Important situational factor for obedience
● Arrived at lab, introduced to another participant who was actually a stooge
● They were told to draw 2 pieces of paper to allocate roles of ‘teacher’ or ‘learner’
● But the roles were predetermined & participants always ended up as a teacher
● They were taken to the ‘student’ room where the stooge was strapped to a chair
& attached electrodes to
● Participant was introduced to the shock generator
○ Which had voltage sessions ranging from 15 - 450 V
○ Labeled from moderate to severe shock & XXX
○ They were given a 45V shock sample for credibility
● Participant was told that although the electric shocks were painful, they do not
produce permanent physical damage
● Participant was taken to the ‘teacher’ room & instructed by the experimenter (a
man in lab coat) about the ‘memory’ task they were about to perform on the
‘learner’
● Task consisted of reading pairs of words aloud & testing whether the ‘learner’
would recognize it
○ If they fail, participant had to shock them, increasing 15V for every mistake
● Starting with 300V, stooge performed protesting behavior, implying how much
they were hurt
○ Such as screaming, pounding on the wall
● After a while, the stooge made no more noise
● If participant refused to continue, they were given verbal prods such as:
○ You have no other choice, you must go on
○ It’s essential that you continue
, ● The procedure ended when max 450V was achieved OR participants refused to
go on
● Participant’s behavior was observed through a one-way mirror & comments
made by participants were also noted
● Finally, the participants were debriefed & allowed to meet the stooge to be
convinced they didn’t get harmed
● They were also interviewed & asked to estimate how hurtful a 450V shock would
be on a scale from 0-14
Results
● Prior to the study, Milgram asked psychology students & his colleagues to
estimate how many participants would apply the max voltage shock
○ They believed that less than 3% would
● The mean estimate of painfulness for 450V shock = 13.42
○ Shows that participants were fully aware they were causing pain
● All participants went at least 300V shock
● 65% went up to the max of 450V
● There were signs of nervousness & tension exhibited by participants
○ Sweating, shaking
● 14 participants exhibited nervous laughing or smiling
● 1 participant had a violent seizure & couldn’t continue the procedure
● However, a small minority seemed to be strangely calm
● Some comments made
○ I can’t do it, this is inhumane
○ I will hurt his heart
● But the prods managed to convince the participants to continue
● Participants showed visible signs of relief after being debriefed
Conclusion
● Supported the situational explanation of obedience
● Factors contributed to the high obedience might have been:
○ Professional academic environment - legitimacy of the study
○ Use of uniform
