It lacked INTERNAL VALIDITY. The participants could not have belived the shocks were real. However Milgram states that from the results of the questionnaire, most participants believed in the setup.
It lacked EXTERNAL VALIDITY. This situation was unlikely to occur in everyday life therefore the participants acted in a different way to how they would usually act and the results could not be generalised to the real world. Though Milgram states that the participants clearly believed the situation was real (shown in video footage of the experiment) so the experiment had MUNDANE REALISM.
The participants could have been affected by OTHER FACTORS such as the prestigous environment.
There is vast CROSS-CULTURAL SUPPORT from further similar studies.
Other Points: Variations of this study has been carried out to investigate the effects of:
Environment,
Proximity to the victim,
Authoritive figures,
Social support and
Other factors have on the extent of obedience.
Findings: Before the experiment began a class of psychology students were asked to estimate the percentage of participants who would continue giving shocks up to 450v, they estimated only 3%.
No one actually stopped below the level of intense shock. 22.5% stopped at 315v (extremely intense), 65% continued up until the maximum shock of 450v.
Participants showed extreme tension, biting fingernails, sweating, trembling, stuttering, groaning and three of the participants actually had full blown seizures.
During debriefing the participants completed a follow up questionnaire. 84% of them felt glad that they participated, 74% learnt something of personal importance.
Conclusion: Participants showed obedience to unjust authority beyond what anyone imagined. It showed how ordinary people could mindlessly obey orders to hurt another human being. The strengths of obedience and the tension created by social pressure were surprising.
Evaluation: It was UNETHICAL. Participants were recieved into believing it was a memory task, that the shocks were real and they did not have the right to withdraw or to give informed consent. They were also subjected to psychological harm. Milgram counteracts this argument by saying they were thoroughly debriefed and that from the questionnaire, they had been happy to have participated.
