Essay about Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram

Stanley Milgram’s 1963 studies into obedience have provided important and shocking insights into the power of authority. The study set out to discover how obedient people really are. Debate and controversy have surrounded the study since the results were first published. Predictions made by psychologists before the experiment proved dramatically inaccurate. The experiment led volunteers to believe they were administering increasingly painful and dangerous electric shocks to another volunteer for the purposes of a study on memory. The memory study was a ploy, the real focus was on the behaviour of participants inflicting pain on another person. Participants often acted against their own moral judgements and obeyed authority, even when†¦show more content†¦The experimenter would show the participant along with a confederate a shock generator with voltages of 15v to 450v (30 switches in 15v increments). Participants were told this was connected to a chair in another room . They then drew lots to decide who would be the â€Å"teacher† in charge of shocks and who the â€Å"learner† receiving shocks (the outcome was rigged for the participant to be the teacher). The confederate was then strapped into the chair, and the participant was given a sample shock of 45v from the generator (the only real shocks given during the experiment) and the experiment would begin. Word pairs were read out which the teacher would ask questions on through an intercom. Wrong answers received a shock which increased with each incorrect response. If the participant reached 450v they would repeat that level twice before the experiment was concluded. Any questioning or refusal to continue was met with standard answers from the experimenter such as â€Å"although the shocks are painful, there is no permanent tissue damage† or â€Å"the experiment requires that you continue†. The first participants for the study were men (a later experiment tested women) recruited by adverts in the local newspapers, offering $4.50, they called on people from all back grounds and professions to take part. The results were startling, 65% of the 40 participants completed the experiment and the lowest pointShow MoreRelatedObedience And Authority, By Stanley Milgram1156 Words   |  5 Pagesbe generated. Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram, discusses various subjects such as impression, stereotypes and prejudices, attribution, attitudes, social influence, attraction, obedience and authority, groups, and helping behavior. Milgram explains, â€Å"A person does not get to see the whole situation but only a small part of it, and is thus unable to act without some kind of over-all direction. He yields to authority but in doing so are alienated from his own actions.†Ã‚  (Milgram 11). In thisRead MoreAnalysis Of Stanley Milgram s Perils Of Obedience Essay1709 Words   |  7 PagesStill, many questions still remain prevalent as to how an individual reaches his or her decision on obedience in a distressing environment. Inspired by Nazi trials, Stanley Milgram, an American psychologist, questions the social norm in â€Å"Perils of Obedience† (1964), where he conducted a study to test how far the average American was willing to for under the pressures of an authority figure. Milgram s study showed that under the orders of an authoritative figure, 64% of average Americans had the capabilityRead MoreObedience Is, As Stanley Milgram Writes, â€Å"As Basic An Element1219 Words   |  5 PagesObedience is, as Stanley Milgram writes, â€Å"as basic an element in the structure of social life as one can point to† (Milgram 1). 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Milgram used socialRead MoreThe Perils of Obedience, by Stanley Milgram1499 Words   |  6 PagesIf a person of authority ordered you inflict a 15 to 400 volt electrical shock on another innocent human being, would you follow your direct orders? That is the question that Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University tested in the 1960’s. Most people would answer â€Å"no,† to imposing pain on innocent human beings but Milgram wanted to go further with his study. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum holds a shortened edition of Stanley Milgram’s â₠¬Å"The Perils of Obedience,† where he displaysRead MoreThe Milgram Experiment1142 Words   |  5 PagesThe Milgram Experiment Stanley Milgram, a famous social psychologist, and student of Solomon Asch, conducted a controversial experiment in 1961, investigating obedience to authority (1974). The experiment was held to see if a subject would do something an authority figure tells them, even if it conflicts with their personal beliefs and morals. He even once said, The social psychology of this century reveals a major lesson: often it is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situationRead MoreThe Milgram Experiment Essay example1083 Words   |  5 PagesA researcher, Stanley Milgram, wondered how far individuals would go in following commands. In 1974 he set up a series of experiments. Describe the research methods used, together with the findings. In 1974 Stanley Milgram conducted the classic study of obedience to authority. The study looked into how far individuals would be willing to go, and were asked could they deliver increasingly devastating electric shocks to a fellow human being, as they were requested to do so by the professor inRead MoreThe Theory Of Psychology And Psychology Essay971 Words   |  4 Pagesdesign experiments to test specific hypotheses (the deductive approach), or to evaluate functional relationships (the inductive approach). One such experimental study is The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures. My paper will attempt to look at the ethics surrounding the Milgarm experiment, on the obedience to authority figures. And the reasons some psychologist misconstrued it has unethical. The experimenter (E) orders the teacher (T); the subject of the experiment, to give what theRead MoreStanley Milgram1172 Words   |  5 Pagesstructures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom.† There is a true feeling of what authority can do if placed in situations that require someone to follow instructions. What happens to someone when they follow the orders of another person in authority? An experiment conducted by psychologist Stanley Milgram reveal howRead MoreEssay on The Milgram Experiment1572 Words   |  7 PagesThe Milgram Experiment (Hart) Stanley Milgram’s experiment in the way people respond to obedience is one of the most important experiments ever administered. The goal of Milgram’s experiment was to find the desire of the participants to shock a learner in a controlled situation. When the volunteer would be ordered to shock the wrong answers of the victims, Milgram was truly judging and studying how people respond to authority. Milgram discovered something both troubling and awe inspiring about the