1. Obedience to Authority
The Human Behavior Experiments

2. Phillip Zimbardo – Stanford Prison Experiment
Stanley Milgram – Obedience to Authority
Solomon Asch – conformity line experiment

3. The Human Behavior Experiments Things to Consider
Are you evil?
Could you leave someone to suffer or die?
Would you stop a crime if you could?
Describe a situation when you helped a stranger in need.
Could you inflict mental and/or physical pain on another person?
Describe a situation when you could harm another person.
Could you kill someone?
Describe a situation when you could kill someone.

4. How would you act as a guard?

5. Stanford Prison Experiment
Stanford University
Palo Alto California 1971
Official Site Slide Show

6. Would you stop a murder if you could?

7. Would you shock another person if someone told you to?

8. Hmmm……
Have you ever done something that you knew or felt was wrong simply because someone told you to? Why?
Why is it easier to inflict emotional or physical harm on someone if a person in a position of authority tells you to?

9. The Human Behavior Experiments

10. How far would you go? When do you give in to authority?
How can we avoid blind obedience?
Should we study human behavior in these situations? Explain.
Do you consider these experiments to be ethical? Worthwhile?
Where do you draw the line?
Explain the relevance of the human behavior experiments.

11. Task Design a mock experiment to study human behavior.
Your plan should address a question you have about human behavior.
Consider: motivation, obedience, authority, deterrents to behavior, lying, etc…

12. Format 1) What is your research question?
2) Explain your hypothesis. What do you think will happen?
Describe how you would realistically conduct your experiment.
Materials needed
People?
Where?
What issues / problems will you face?
Ethical concerns
Will you be able to answer your question?
What questions will remain? How would you change your experiment in the future?