the lost letter experiment

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Lost Letter Technique

Lost letter technique definition.

Lost Letter Technique History and Modern Usage

In one of the first studies to use the lost letter technique, Stanley Milgram and his colleagues dropped stamped letters in a variety of public locations. The letters were addressed to one of four recipients: “Medical Research Associates,” “Friends of the Communist Party,” “Friends of the Nazi Party,” or a private individual. People were less likely to return the letters if they were addressed to the Communist Party (25% returned) or the Nazi Party (25% returned) than if they were addressed to the Medical group (72% returned) or the private individual (71% returned). These results suggest that people were less likely to mail letters to organizations they did not support.

To verify that the response rates reflected people’s attitudes, Milgram conducted additional studies. In one study, the researchers were able to correctly predict U.S. presidential election results in different election wards using the lost letter technique. Letters addressed to the Committee to (a) Elect (Barry) Goldwater, (b) Defeat Goldwater, (c) Elect (Lyndon) Johnson, and (d) Defeat Johnson were dropped in various election wards. Election wards that supported Johnson in the election were more likely to return the pro-Johnson and anti-Goldwater letters than the pro-Goldwater/anti-Johnson letters. The opposite results were found in wards that ended up supporting Goldwater in the election.

Later researchers have used the lost letter technique to study helping behavior. By varying the characteristics of the letters, researchers can identify the factors that increase the chances that people will help by mailing the letter. Some of these studies have used post cards and e-mails instead of sealed letters. This modification has allowed researchers to determine the impact of the type of message on helping behavior.

The lost letter technique allows researchers to determine people’s attitudes or the factors that influence helping behavior without directly asking them (known as an unobtrusive measure). Because participants are unaware that they are participating in a study, they will not alter their behavior to “look good” for the experimenter.

References:

• Milgram, S., Mann, L., & Harter, S. (1965). The lost-letter technique: A tool of social research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 29, 437-438.
• Vaes, J., Paladino, M. P., & Leyens, J. P. (2002). The lost e-mail: Prosocial reactions induced by uniquely human emotions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 521-534.
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Social Group Prejudice

Milgram's lost letter experiment, milgram's lost letter experiment.

Classic social psychology experiments are widely used to expose the key elements of aggressive behavior, prejudice and stereotyping. Social group prejudice is manifested in people's unfavorable attitudes towards a particular social group.

This article is a part of the guide:

• Social Psychology Experiments
• Milgram Experiment
• Bobo Doll Experiment
• Stanford Prison Experiment
• Asch Experiment

Browse Full Outline

• 1 Social Psychology Experiments
• 2.1 Asch Figure
• 3 Bobo Doll Experiment
• 4 Good Samaritan Experiment
• 5 Stanford Prison Experiment
• 6.1 Milgram Experiment Ethics
• 7 Bystander Apathy
• 8 Sherif’s Robbers Cave
• 9 Social Judgment Experiment
• 10 Halo Effect
• 11 Thought-Rebound
• 12 Ross’ False Consensus Effect
• 13 Interpersonal Bargaining
• 14 Understanding and Belief
• 15 Hawthorne Effect
• 16 Self-Deception
• 17 Confirmation Bias
• 18 Overjustification Effect
• 19 Choice Blindness
• 20.1 Cognitive Dissonance
• 21.1 Social Group Prejudice
• 21.2 Intergroup Discrimination
• 21.3 Selective Group Perception

Stanley Milgram's Lost Letter Experiment displays this prejudice towards a social group and its members.

Research Problem

Stanley Milgram's Lost Letter Experiment is a technique Milgram devised to examine the prejudice toward socially undesirable groups. Milgram developed this to measure and find out how helpful people can be to strangers who are not present, as well as their attitudes towards different groups.

Methodology

Stanley dispersed 400 sealed, stamped and self-addressed envelopes in public places. The 'lost letters' were addressed to various entities including individuals like Mr. Walter Carnap, favorable organizations such as medical research institutes, and others like friends of the Communist party and friends of the Nazi Party. A hundred envelopes were addressed to each of the groups.

The envelopes presumably containing letters or donations are 'lost' throughout the designated area but nevertheless abandoned. They were dispersed in the streets, under car windscreen wipers, telephone booths, and in shops. Those who found the letters could post it, ignore it or even destroy it.

Since the rate of return is the focus of Milgram's study , it was recorded that more people mailed letters addressed to the socially desirable groups, which included those of the medical associates and the personal letter, than the socially undesirable groups like the Nazi party and the Communist party.

The medical research associates had the rate of return of 72%, the personal letter 71%, and only 25% for each for friends of the Nazi Party and friends of the Communist Party. Most of the letters for the friends of Nazi Party and friends of the Communist Party were never seen again.

One interesting finding in Milgram's experiment is that 40% of the letters to the Communist Party, 32% of the Nazi Party, 25% of the Medical Research letters, and 10% of the letters to Walter Carnap had been opened.

The results of the experiment suggest that there is an existing prejudice between different social groups. The experiment is significant as it allows prejudice to be investigated through an everyday task, where people do not realize that their prejudice is being examined, thus making it more valid and reliable.

Social group prejudice and stereotyping are actually difficult to evaluate due to social desirability, and people are not usually willing to share and express or even admit their discriminatory views of other social groups.

Milgram's Lost Letter Experiment provides for an easy evaluation and assessment of the phenomenon social group prejudice by hiding the motivation behind the lost letter. This technique was used to predict the Johnson-Goldwater election. To date, this technique has become widely used as a non-reactive measure of societal attitudes.

The Classic Experiments of Aggression, Prejudice and Stereotypes in Social Psychology by Bec Blair

Wikipedia: Stanley Milgram

Stanley Milgram

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Explorable.com (Sep 14, 2010). Social Group Prejudice. Retrieved Dec 23, 2024 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/social-group-prejudice

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