On 9 Apr 2011 at 3:31, Allen Esterson wrote: > In response to the suggestion (by Chris Green, if I understand Stephen > aright) that the results of a Milgram-like study may be vitiated by > the subjects realizing they were enrolled in a similar experiment to > the well-publicised Milgram study, Joan Warmberg wrote: >
Um, no, all I can blame Chris for is spotting the news item in the first place. Blame me for the speculation. As for Joan asking about data, my response is that I don't have to. My job, as self-appointed critic of all things psychological, is merely to raise a plausible alternative explanation of results. If the alternative seems as likely as the one advanced by the experimenters, I win. It's the job of the experimenters in discussing the results to consider all plausible alternatives and rule them out, or argue that they're less likely for various reasons. If they ignore reasonable alternatives or advance only weak arguments against them, too bad for their hypothesis. (I belive this was Allen's response as well). However, I did think (briefly) of how to distinguish my interpretation from that of the experimenters, which I assume is that a little money goes a long way in making people do despicable things. It wouldn't be easy. I'd suggest that they carry out a much more than perfunctory post-experiment interview with each of the subjects, and try to bully them into admitting that they were pretty sure all along that it was a big fake. Ask them point-blank, for example. We may not want to believe such testimony, because it too would be tainted by the interview process. But it would generate more doubt about the money makes people do bad things hypothesis (which I do believe in general, but not in this case). And actually, if the subjects thought it was all a big fake, well, they were right. Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=9903 or send a blank email to leave-9903-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
