The Level Of Obedience Of Participants - 999 Words

1. Milgram’s experimental aim was to measure the level of obedience of participants if an authority figure orders them to go against their moral conscience. Forty men aged between 20 and 50 were recruited using advertisements about a study of learning and memory from New Haven. In exchange for their participation, they were rewarded $4.50. Participants were introduced to another â€Å"participant† that is Milgram’s associate. They drew lots to determine their roles, but this was manipulated that the associate always received the role as the learner. Two rooms were used: one for the learner and another for the experimenter and teacher, Milgram and the participant. The â€Å"learner†, strapped to a chair with electrodes, had to learn words in pairs†¦show more content†¦2. Due to lack of informed consent, participants were unaware of the risks and consequences, considering there were deceptions in Milgram’s study. The description was misleadin g and participants believed the study was on learning and memory. Though, it may be argued that this was vital as it enabled Milgram to deceive the participants into believing they were delivering real shocks. Regarding protection from harm, participants were exposed to stressful situations and were visibly distressed (Baumrind, 2010). Three participants had uncontrollable seizures and many asked to stop the experiment. In Milgram’s defense, the effects were short-term and participants were debriefed after the experiment, which reduced stress levels (McLeod, 2007). Furthermore, it was unclear whether participants had the right to withdraw as the experimenter gave prods that discouraged withdrawal. Milgram argued that the prods were required in the study and withdrawal was possible, as 35% of participants did (McLeod, 2007). Nevertheless, Milgram’s experiments raised questions on ethics and led to developments of ethical conduct guidelines. 3. As the study explores people’s willingness to cause harm to others, participants may experience short-term