Critically discuss Milgram's (1963) obedience experiment

Milgram (1963) conducted a labatory experiment, using an independent methods design, which aimed to investigate whether ordinary people would obey authority when instructed to administer an electirc shock to an innocent person. The study used a sample of 40 men aged 20-50 years of age. The participants were told they would be the 'teachers' for a memory test and every time their 'learner' (a confederate) got an answer wrong they were to give them an electric shock, increasing the voltage for each wrong answer. The voltage ranged from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 volts (deadly shock). If the participant refused or began to question the test, the experimenter would use prompts such as "the experiment requires you to continue". The study found that 63% of participants administered 450 volts and 100% of participants administered at least 300 volts. The study showed that ordinary people will obey authority when instructed to administer an electirc shock to an innocent person.Milgram's (1963) study has sample bias. This is because the sample only uses male participants. This means that the results can not be generalised to females in order to explain their behaviour and their obedience to authority. Therefore applying Milgram's obedience study to explain female behaviour should be done cautiously.Furthermore, Milgram's (1963) study lacks ecological validity. This is because it was a labatory experiment, meaning it was conducted in a controlled environment. This means it can not be applied to explain obedience to authority in everyday situations. Application of this study to explain everyday behaviour should therefore be done cautiously.