“The Obedience Experiment” Stanley Milgram “The Obedience Experiment”

Milgram’s background Completed his undergraduate degree at Queens College in Political Science Went to Harvard for a Ph.D. is Social Psychology Became a psychologist at Yale University

Obedience and Individual Responsibility His study focused on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience He examined justifications for acts of genocide offered by those accused at WWII, Nuremberg War Criminal trials Could the accomplices in the Holocaust just be following orders?

Predictions?

The experiment Offered participants $4.50/hour to participate in a psychology experiment involving memory and learning

Introduction to experiment He is introduced to a stern looking experimenter in a white coat and a pleasant and friendly co-subject (Both of them are actors) People are told they will be testing the effects of punishment on learning

The Shock The teacher (person who is being researched) is to shock the student (friendly guy they met) every time they get the answer incorrect starting at 15 volts Volts go from 15 to 450 in 15 volt increments

Teacher then witnesses the learner being strapped to a chair They are then introduced to the machine.

ACTOR Actual Participant ACTOR

Unbelievable results 2/3 of this studies participants fall into the category of “obedient” subjects and they represent ordinary people. 65% of all the teachers punished the “learners to the maximum 450 volts” No subjects stopped before 300 volts!

Other results Also tested the teacher/learner proximity and how it would effect the outcome 32% of the subjects in the proximity-touch condition held the hand of the learner on the shock plate while administering shocks in excess of 400 volts

Findings over the phone Further experiments showed that subjects were less obedient when communicated with by telephone instead of in person

Follow up experiments This experiment has been replicated by others across the world. In Germany over 85% of the subjects administered a lethal electric shock to the learner

Is this experiment ethical? In today’s times, the field of psychology would deem this study highly unethical What else does this research imply in regards to… Bullies American soldiers Mob actions