1.1.12

Analysing Milgram's Experiment

Test yourself on Analysing Milgram's Experiment

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Analysis of Milgram's Experiment

Milgram's (1963) experiment showed that ordinary people are obedient to authority. There were pros and cons to the experiment.

Pros

Pros

  • Strict control of variables - variables could be controlled because the experiment was done in a laboratory. We should be able to establish cause and effect.
Cons

Cons

  • Low ecological validity - participants were in an artificial situation (they wouldn't naturally be in a situation of shocking people). This means the study has low ecological validity (can't be generalised easily).
  • Deception - participants weren't able to give informed consent because they didn't know the real nature of the experiment. They weren't told they could withdraw.
  • Lack of protection - participants were visibly stressed during the study.
    • In Milgram's defence, no formal ethical guidelines existed at the time.
Cons (continued)

Cons (continued)

  • (Potential) low internal validity - Internal validity is a measure of how valid results are. It's a measure of whether results are just affected by changes in the independent variable in a cause-and-effect relationship or other variables too. Participants might have known they weren't actually inflicting real shocks and just gone along with what the experimenter wanted.
    • Milgram backed up his results by saying that participants' displays of stress showed that they thought the experiment was genuine.
Jump to other topics
1

Social Influence

2

Memory

3

Attachment

4

(2026 Exams) Psychopathology

5

(2027 Exams) Clinical Psychology & Mental Health

6

Approaches in Psychology

7

Biopsychology

8

Research Methods

8.1

Research Methods

8.2

Scientific Processes

8.3

Data Handling & Analysis

8.4

Inferential Testing

9

Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

10

Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10.1

Relationships: Sexual Relationships (A2 only)

10.2

Relationships: Romantic Relationships (A2 only)

10.3

(2026 Exams) Relationships: Virtual (A2 only)

10.4

(2027 Exams) Relationships: Online (A2 only)

11

Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

12

Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

13

Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

14

Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

15

Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

16

Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

17

Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

18

Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

Practice questions on Analysing Milgram's Experiment

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
Answer all questions on Analysing Milgram's Experiment

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium