...Questioning Authority: A Rethinking of the Infamous Milgram Experiments By Liliana Segura, AlterNet Posted on February 12, 2009 Between 1963 and 1974, Dr. Stanley Milgram conducted a series of experiments that would become one of the most famous social psychology studies of the 20th century. His focus was how average people respond to authority, and what he revealed stunned and disturbed people the world over. Under the pretense of an experiment on "learning" and "memory," Milgram placed test subjects in a lab rigged with fake gadgetry, where a man in a lab coat instructed them to administer electrical shocks to a fellow test subject (actually an actor) seated in another room in "a kind of miniature electric chair." Participants were told they were the "teachers" in the scenario and given a list of questions with which to quiz their counterparts (the "learners"). If the respondent answered incorrectly to a question, he got an electric shock as punishment. The shocks were light at first -- 15 volts -- and became stronger incrementally, until they reached 450 volts -a level labeled "Danger: Severe Shock." The actors were never actually electrocuted, but they pretended they were. They groaned, shouted, and, as the current became stronger, begged for relief. Meanwhile, the man in the lab coat coolly told the test subjects to keep going. To people's horror, Milgram discovered that a solid majority of his subjects -- roughly two-thirds -- were willing to administer the highest levels...
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...1960s, the social psychologist Stanley Milgram did a famous research study called the obedience study. It showed that people have a strong tendency to comply with authority figures. Milgram’s Obedience Study Milgram told his forty male volunteer research subjects that they were participating in a study about the effects of punishment on learning. He assigned each of the subjects to the role of teacher. Each subject was told that his task was to help another subject like himself learn a list of word pairs. Each time the learner made a mistake, the teacher was to give the learner an electric shock by flipping a switch. The teacher was told to increase the shock level each time the learner made a mistake, until a dangerous shock level was reached. Throughout the course of the experiment, the experimenter firmly commanded the teachers to follow the instructions they had been given. In reality, the learner was not an experiment subject but Milgram’s accomplice, and he never actually received an electric shock. However, he pretended to be in pain when shocks were administered. Prior to the study, forty psychiatrists that Milgram consulted told him that fewer than 1 percent of subjects would administer what they thought were dangerous shocks to the learner. However, Milgram found that two-thirds of the teachers did administer even the highest level of shock, despite believing that the learner was suffering great pain and distress. Milgram believed that the teachers had acted...
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...shocks to a learner (L), who is actually an actor and confederate. The subject believes that for each wrong answer, the learner was receiving actual electric shocks, though in reality there were no such punishments. Being separated from the subject, the confederate set up a tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator, which played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level.[1] The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,[1] and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.[2] The experiments began in July 1961, three months after the start of the trial of German Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Milgram devised his psychological study to answer the question: "Was it that Eichmann and his accomplices in the Holocaust had mutual intent, in at least with regard to the goals of the Holocaust?" In other words, "Was there a mutual sense of morality among those involved?" Milgram's testing suggested that it could have been that the millions of accomplices were merely following orders, despite violating...
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...Karen Bullen R2208481 DE 100 Investigating Psychology 1 TMA02 Outline the similarities and differences between Milgrams (1963) obedience study and Burgers (2009) replication. This essay will look at an important key psychological experiment carried out by the renowned social psychologist Stanley Milgram which was carried out in the early 1960’s (Banyard 2012) to determine how far ordinary people would go to inflict pain to a fellow human based on instruction from an authority figure, and that of the replication of the experiment which was carried out by Burger in 2009 (Byford 2014) to determine if the same level of obedience was still applicable in the 21st Century, as was observed in the original study some 40 years earlier. The essay will look at some of the key similarities and differences between the two studies. For the purpose of this essay only the base studies will be discussed. Milgram’s motivation to study this trait in human behaviour came from the atrocities that took place during WW2, and the trial of Adolph Eichmann who in his defence said he was ‘simply following orders’ (Banyard 2012) to carry out the mass murders. Milgram asked himself ‘how can ordinary people who are courteous and descent in everyday life act callously, inhumanely without limitations of conscience?’ Milgram on Milgram (part 1): Obedience experiments (The Open University, 2014) Milgram devised his obedience study. He developed a laboratory based experiment to determine how far a participant...
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...The experiment[edit] Milgram Experiment advertisement Three individuals were involved: the one running the experiment, the subject of the experiment (a volunteer), and a confederate pretending to be a volunteer. These three people fill three distinct roles: the Experimenter (an authoritative role), the professor (a role intended to obey the orders of the Experimenter), and the Learner (the recipient of stimulus from the Teacher). The subject and the actor both drew slips of paper to determine their roles, but unknown to the subject, both slips said "teacher". The actor would always claim to have drawn the slip that read "learner", thus guaranteeing that the subject would always be the "teacher". At this point, the "teacher" and "learner" were separated into different rooms where they could communicate but not see each other. In one version of the experiment, the confederate was sure to mention to the participant that he had a heart condition.[1] The "teacher" was given an electric shock from the electro-shock generator as a sample of the shock that the "learner" would supposedly receive during the experiment. The "teacher" was then given a list of word pairs which he was to teach the learner. The teacher began by reading the list of word pairs to the learner. The teacher would then read the first word of each pair and read four possible answers. The learner would press a button to indicate his response. If the answer was incorrect, the teacher would administer a shock to...
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...Practical Advice for Managers: Goals, Rewards, and Discipline E. Recognize the Power of Indirect Rewards and Punishments F. Can Managers Really Reward Ethical Behavior? G. What about the Role of Discipline? H. Practical Advice for Managers: Discipline V. “Everyone’s Doing It” A. People Follow Group Norms B. Rationalizing Unethical Behavior C. Practical Advice for Managers: Group Norms VI. People Fulfill Assigned Roles A. The Zimbardo Prison Experiment B. Roles at Work C. Conflicting Roles can Lead to Unethical Behavior D. Roles Can Also Support Ethical Behavior E. Practical Advice for Managers: Roles VII. People Do What They are Told A. The Milgram Experiments B. Obedience to Authority at Work C. Practical Advice for Managers: Obedience to Authority VIII. Responsibility Is Diffused in Organizations A. “Don’t Worry – We’re Taking Care of Everything” B. Diffusing Responsibility in Groups C....
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...Practical Advice for Managers: Goals, Rewards, and Discipline E. Recognize the Power of Indirect Rewards and Punishments F. Can Managers Really Reward Ethical Behavior? G. What about the Role of Discipline? H. Practical Advice for Managers: Discipline V. “Everyone’s Doing It” A. People Follow Group Norms B. Rationalizing Unethical Behavior C. Practical Advice for Managers: Group Norms VI. People Fulfill Assigned Roles A. The Zimbardo Prison Experiment B. Roles at Work C. Conflicting Roles can Lead to Unethical Behavior D. Roles Can Also Support Ethical Behavior E. Practical Advice for Managers: Roles VII. People Do What They are Told A. The Milgram Experiments B. Obedience to Authority at Work C. Practical Advice for Managers: Obedience to Authority VIII. Responsibility Is Diffused in Organizations A. “Don’t Worry – We’re Taking Care of Everything” B. Diffusing Responsibility in Groups C....
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...The perils of obedience "Be quiet! Write this down." How often have you heard this, or something like it? We hear or come across commands, instructions, directions and orders every day. What is it that makes us obey (or disobey) them? Millions of people were killed in Nazi Germany in concentration camps but Hitler couldn't have killed them all, nor could a handful of people. What made all those people follow the orders they were given? Were they afraid, or was there something in their personality that made them like that? In order to obey authority, the obeying person has to accept that it is legitimate (i.e. rightful, legal) for the command to be made of them. Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual acts in response to a direct order from another individual, who is usually an authority figure. It is assumed that without such an order the person would not have acted in this way. Obedience occurs when you are told to do something (authority), whereas conformity happens through social pressure (the norms of the majority). Obedience involves a hierarchy of power / status. Therefore, the person giving the order has a higher status than the person receiving the order. Adolf Eichmann was executed in 1962 for his part in organizing the Holocaust, in which six million Jewish people, as well as gypsies, communists and trade unionists were transported to death camps and murdered in Nazi Germany and surrounding countries under Nazi control. Eichmann was...
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...Discussion of the Stanley Milgram’s "Perils of Obedience" As Milgram writes in his article, for some people obedience is a deeply “ingrained behavior tendency”, which can create an impulse that can override past ideas in morality and ethics. While his experiment focused closely on the psychology behind response to obedience, his central idea conveyed substantial themes which bore on conceptions of professional ethics. One of these themes involved the previously underestimated significances of the potency of authority in influencing decision-making, even ones that go against one’s own conscientious imperatives. As most of us are “indoctrinated” in our childhood to develop a basic conception of values and virtues, one of the things we as human beings have grasped, through many phases in our evolution as societal creatures, is the importance of obedience to some form of authority. This scheme, now deeply ingrained in our psychology, plays a very strong role in the decisions we make daily, including playing a part towards trumping moral values, including possibly a code of professional ethics. [EXAMPLE] Individual morality, according to Milgram’s opinion, can be heavily compromised in the face of authority figures, in fact suggesting that in truth, in our society, individuality may be something that does not exist at all, and that the vast majority of our decision making may have sociological origins. In fact as Stanley Milgram showed, the weakening of the individual’s moral conscience...
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...Ethics in the Name of Science: A detailed Comparison Between Milgram and Zimbardo’s Internationally Renowned Attempts at Ethics in Social Science Experiments David Baxter Park University SO220 Ethical Issues in Social Science Kris Reichart-Anderson 2 October 2011 Abstract For years many experiments have been scrutinized for their ineffective use or lack of establishment of ethical principles within their research. Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram’s Obedience experiment were ridiculed for the lack of ethics involved. Although these experiments caused unnecessary harm to their subjects they also acted as the foundation for the establishment of the Belmont Report, which in itself, would change research forever. Ethics in the Name of Science Two very controversial experiments have been dissected a thousand times over by some of social science’s most amazing minds as well as the academic populous worldwide. Though the Milgram experiment of 1962 and the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 were entirely different, they both shared the groundbreaking task of identifying the affects of “Obedience to Authority” (Milgram, 1974). Both social scientists believe they had identified the possible risks but fell short in their attempt to alleviate any ethical repercussions. This paper will address the attempts made to ensure moral and ethical studies were accomplished as well as identify where both experiments had major flaws in their plans to ensure no...
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...M3. Explain why conformity and obedience are important in the public services, with reference to research studies. Conformity and obedience are forms of social influence which strongly affect our behaviour is social situations, from following fashions and unwritten social norms which organise our behaviour, to committing immoral acts because we are commanded to by someone who appears to be in a position of authority. This essay looks at the similarities and differences between the three, looking specifically at the factors that influence each two. Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitudes and beliefs in order to match those of others within the group. Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant. In order to conform, the group member must attribute someone as having the legitimacy and credibility to lead or influence the group's behaviour. Without this "leader", conformity toward the group's goals will be less prevalent. If a member of the group fails to conform to the groups needs, he/she would lose credibility with the rest of the group. Conformity is a change in an individuals behaviour according to certain accepted standards within society as well as the influence of others whether this be a real or imaginary influence. There are 2 key concepts of conformity, acceptance or compliance. People plan to join a specific public service because they want to belong to that team because they may like the sentiments of the service etc. Hence...
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...Dustin Rim Mrs. Bartlett Psychology PY177M1 January 20, 2016 The Milgram Experiment: Obedience The Milgram Experiment were based on obedience to authority figures. A series of notable social psychology experiment conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s. It measured the willingness of participants to obey an authority figure when put in unconformable position. Stanley asked himself “How far will a human being go if an anonymous authority orders him to torture or even to kill a fellow human”. As many of the participants were approached in the streets to become a part of the experiment. Many of the participants didn’t know what was going to go on during the experiment. As they were pulled into the area where the experiment was being performed. After the psychologist is done explaining the experiment they would start the experiment. Two participants were done at the same time but one of the participants was a part of the experiment which was the person that wasn’t the teacher in the experiment. The teacher would sit outside of this other room and read off a set of words and the person in the room had to answer them correctly or get an electric shock as a punishment. With ever answer wrong the shock went up in voltage. The voltage started about 15 volts and went up to 300 volts. If you reached 300 volts and the person wasn’t done answering all the question right, than the person would just kept getting shocked at 300 volts. As the experiment...
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...No one dreams of being a fast food worker for the rest of their live. It is human nature to set our expectations high and try to achieve them at the highest level. The problem is, not everyone can be the president; no matter how big or small, each individual plays a crucial role in functioning everyday life. Stanley Milgram’s, “The Perlis of Obedience” and Philip Zimbardo’s, “The Stanford Prison Experiment” both show when humans are given a specific role; they will compete to meet the expectations given to them by their authoritative figure. In the movie, A Few Good Men, both Milgram and Zimbardo’s experiments simplified the actions shown by the soldiers. The movie A Few Good Men relates to the experiments by exemplifying that the expectations of one’s role, leads to obedience of authority. In “The Perlis of Obedience,” Milgram was interested to see how far...
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...obedience. Blind obedience is when a person follows authority without even thinking about the consequences that the order to which they are obeying carries. It’s as if the authority figures are puppeteers and the people blindly obeying them the puppets. Puppeteers and their puppets best illustrate the relationship between the authority figure and the people doing horrendous actions, because being obedient is the right thing to do. So many events in history have proven how inhumane human beings can be when following authority. Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted one of the most controversial experiments in history, in attempt to demonstrate how individuals can lose themselves to an authority figure. Milgram’s experiment was called “Obedience to Authority.” Theodore Dalrymple wrote an article titled, “Just do What the Pilot Tells You,” and in this article he said that Milgram “asked ordinary people to come to the psychology laboratories of Yale University to take part in an experiment to determine the effects of punishment on learning. The subjects were told to deliver electric shocks of increasing severity, from 15 to 450 volts, whenever a man who was supposed to learn pairs of words made a...
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...Behavior D. Practical Advice for Managers: Goals, Rewards, and Discipline E. Recognize the Power of Indirect Rewards and Punishments F. Can Managers Really Reward Ethical Behavior? G. What about the Role of Discipline? H. Practical Advice for Managers: Discipline V. “Everyone’s Doing It” A. People Follow Group Norms B. Rationalizing Unethical Behavior C. Practical Advice for Managers: Group Norms VI. People Fulfill Assigned Roles A. The Zimbardo Prison Experiment B. Roles at Work C. Conflicting Roles can Lead to Unethical Behavior D. Roles Can Also Support Ethical Behavior E. Practical Advice for Managers: Roles VII. People Do What They are Told A. The Milgram Experiments B. Obedience to Authority at Work C. Practical Advice for Managers: Obedience to Authority VIII. Responsibility Is Diffused in Organizations A. “Don’t Worry – We’re Taking Care of Everything” B. Diffusing Responsibility in Groups C. Diffusing Responsibility by Dividing Responsibility D....
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