Milgran Experiment

 

The Milgram Obedience Experiment
The Perils of Obedience
The Milgram Experiment

If a person in a position of authority ordered you to deliver a 400volt electrical shock to another person,would you follow orders? Most people would answer this question with an adamant no, but Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of obedience experiments during the 1960s thatdemonstrated surprising results. These experiments offer a powerful and disturbing look into the power of authority and obedience. Introduction to the Milgram Experiment Milgram started his experimentsin 1961, shortly after the trial of the World War II criminal Adolph Eichmann had begun. Eichmann’s defense that he was simply following instructions when he ordered the deaths of millions of Jewsroused Milgram’s interest. In his 1974 book Obedience to Authority, Milgram posed the question, "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Couldwe call them all accomplices?" Method Used in the Milgram Experiment The participants in the Milgram experiment were 40 men recruited using newspaper ads. In exchange for their participation, eachperson was paid $4.50. Milgram developed an intimidating shock generator, with shock levels starting at 30 volts and increasing in 15-volt increments all the way up to 450 volts. The many switches werelabeled with terms including "slight shock," "moderate shock" and "danger: severe shock." The final two switches were labeled simply with an ominous "XXX." Each participant took the role of a "teacher"who would then deliver a shock to the "student" every time an incorrect answer was produced. While the participant believed that he was delivering real shocks to the student, the student was actuallya confederate in the experiment who was simply pretending to be shocked. As the experiment progressed, the participant would hear the learner plead to be released or even complain about a heart...