Stanley Milgram “The Obedience Experiment”. Milgram’s background Completed his undergraduate degree at Queens College in Political Science Went to Harvard.

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 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

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