The Milgram Experiment

1. Ethical Issues:Deception-was an ethical issue because people actually believed they were shocking real people and it could have caused stress,Protection of participants-the participants were in very stressful situations. Many wanted to leave but could not leave., Right to Withdrawal-the participants were not told that they could leave. They where told please continue, the experiment requires that you continue, It is absolutely essential that you continue, you have no other choice, you must go on

2. Procedure: Volunteers responded to the ad. The gathered participants were 40 males, between the ages of 20 and 50. To begin the experiment they were introduced to another participant, a confederate to the experiment (Milgram). They drew straws to determine their roles -learner or teacher -although this was fixed and the confederate always ended to the learner. There was also an "experimenter" dressed in a grey lab coat, played by an actor (not Milgram). The actor (learner) was placed in an electric chair. The teacher asked the learner questions, each question that was answered wrong received a shock from the learner. The learners answered the questions wrong on purpose. The experimenter instructs the teacher to continue the experiment regardless of their resistance. (McLeod S.A. 2007)

3. Findings: From the experiment the findings were not at all surprising to Milgram. He found that when the blame can or is removed people are more likely to harm another human. If the blame is not removed people are less likely to harm another person. The test subjects are more likely to listen to figures of authority than a regular person. The experiment was very valid because the study did exactly what the hypothesis said it would do. The experiment can also be used across many cultures. The experiment was very reliable because the results can be replicated if the same test is done.

4. Aim: To determine how far people will go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming a person.

5. Target Population: Germans

6. Sampling Technique: An ad in the newspaper. This was selective sampling because the participants selected themselves.