2025 EDEXCEL A LEVEL Psychology VERIFIED DETAILD
NOTES
Obedience
obeying direct orders from an authority figure
Conforming
doing something against own inclinations, not doing it with intention of matching majority's
behaviour
Compliance
following orders, but not necessarily agreeing with them
usually done with peers
Internalising
obeying with agreement
What one of the four definitions is referred to by Milgram?
compliance
What did Milgram's research focus on?
why Nazis obeyed orders to commit genocide on Jews
What Nazi soldier stated he was only following orders when committing barbaric acts
during the Holocaust?
Adolf Eichmann
What was Milgram's (1963) aim?
to see if volunteered participants would obey orders to shock someone believed to be another
participant.
Where did Milgram advertise his experiment on 'human learning'?
Yale University
How did the confederate assist Milgram's (1963) basic study?
played 'learner' and received fake shocks.
How did Milgram convince the participant that the generator was real?
,a real shock of 45V was given to participant
How were the 'teacher' and 'learner' roles chosen in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
drew lots to see who would be learner which was rigged so confederate was always the learner
and the participant was always the teacher.
participant-teacher saw confederate learner being wired to shock generator but was reassured
shocks would cause no permanent damage.
What was the range of switches of the shock generator in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
15V to 450V with comments above switches such as 'slight shock' and 'danger' leaving no doubt
that shocks would be increasingly painful and dangerous if voltage increased - the generator was
in a separate room to confederate.
What did the procedure of Milgram's (1963) basic study entail?
participant read word pairs, then read out the key word and four possible pairs.
learners used buttons to answer - incorrect = 15V shock.
responses were pre-set and the same each time with three incorrect answers to every correct
answer.
When did signs of protest start in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
no sign of protest up to 300V.
then, learner banged on wall - eventually no answers were given to participant to see.
What did the experimenter do during Milgram's (1963) basic study?
experimenter followed a script, prompting participants to continue using verbal prods e.g. 'Please
continue'.
What was the procedure after Milgram's (1963) basic study?
interviewed using open questions and attitude scales
participants left experiment knowing confederate was unharmed, reducing any built up tension
from taking part.
How many participants continued to the end of the experiment in Milgram's (1963) basic
study?
, 26/40 (same with women in experiment 8) continued to the end.
participants often sighed with relief at the end.
How many participants stopped before 450V?
14 stopped before 450V.
65% - 450V. 100% 300V.
What was the average rating participants gave of the shocks given in Milgram's (1963)
basic study ?
13.42 - extremely painful.
most thought experiment was real.
How many participants displayed nervousness when 'giving' most painful shocks?
14/40 displayed nervous laughter and smiling.
What conclusions were made from Milgram's (1963) basic study?
social influence is strong - people obey orders even if they cause distress.
What features led to obedience in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
Yale University is a prestigious setting - unlikely to allow unethical activity.
participants thought shocks were painful not dangerous.
study had a worthy case - learning about memory.
participant had made a commitment due to volunteering.
participant was paid so felt an obligation.
participant thought learner was picked by chance.
new situation - participant had no idea what behaviour was suitable.
In what ways was Milgram's (1963) basic study a well-controlled procedure and what did
this mean for participants?
verbal prods were in a set order and confederate's responses were prepared carefully.
NOTES
Obedience
obeying direct orders from an authority figure
Conforming
doing something against own inclinations, not doing it with intention of matching majority's
behaviour
Compliance
following orders, but not necessarily agreeing with them
usually done with peers
Internalising
obeying with agreement
What one of the four definitions is referred to by Milgram?
compliance
What did Milgram's research focus on?
why Nazis obeyed orders to commit genocide on Jews
What Nazi soldier stated he was only following orders when committing barbaric acts
during the Holocaust?
Adolf Eichmann
What was Milgram's (1963) aim?
to see if volunteered participants would obey orders to shock someone believed to be another
participant.
Where did Milgram advertise his experiment on 'human learning'?
Yale University
How did the confederate assist Milgram's (1963) basic study?
played 'learner' and received fake shocks.
How did Milgram convince the participant that the generator was real?
,a real shock of 45V was given to participant
How were the 'teacher' and 'learner' roles chosen in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
drew lots to see who would be learner which was rigged so confederate was always the learner
and the participant was always the teacher.
participant-teacher saw confederate learner being wired to shock generator but was reassured
shocks would cause no permanent damage.
What was the range of switches of the shock generator in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
15V to 450V with comments above switches such as 'slight shock' and 'danger' leaving no doubt
that shocks would be increasingly painful and dangerous if voltage increased - the generator was
in a separate room to confederate.
What did the procedure of Milgram's (1963) basic study entail?
participant read word pairs, then read out the key word and four possible pairs.
learners used buttons to answer - incorrect = 15V shock.
responses were pre-set and the same each time with three incorrect answers to every correct
answer.
When did signs of protest start in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
no sign of protest up to 300V.
then, learner banged on wall - eventually no answers were given to participant to see.
What did the experimenter do during Milgram's (1963) basic study?
experimenter followed a script, prompting participants to continue using verbal prods e.g. 'Please
continue'.
What was the procedure after Milgram's (1963) basic study?
interviewed using open questions and attitude scales
participants left experiment knowing confederate was unharmed, reducing any built up tension
from taking part.
How many participants continued to the end of the experiment in Milgram's (1963) basic
study?
, 26/40 (same with women in experiment 8) continued to the end.
participants often sighed with relief at the end.
How many participants stopped before 450V?
14 stopped before 450V.
65% - 450V. 100% 300V.
What was the average rating participants gave of the shocks given in Milgram's (1963)
basic study ?
13.42 - extremely painful.
most thought experiment was real.
How many participants displayed nervousness when 'giving' most painful shocks?
14/40 displayed nervous laughter and smiling.
What conclusions were made from Milgram's (1963) basic study?
social influence is strong - people obey orders even if they cause distress.
What features led to obedience in Milgram's (1963) basic study?
Yale University is a prestigious setting - unlikely to allow unethical activity.
participants thought shocks were painful not dangerous.
study had a worthy case - learning about memory.
participant had made a commitment due to volunteering.
participant was paid so felt an obligation.
participant thought learner was picked by chance.
new situation - participant had no idea what behaviour was suitable.
In what ways was Milgram's (1963) basic study a well-controlled procedure and what did
this mean for participants?
verbal prods were in a set order and confederate's responses were prepared carefully.
