Milgrams Experiment essays

Milgram's Experiment essays Obedience to authority is a basic tenant of any human social organization. Virtually every society has developed some sort of hierarchy in which some individuals exercise a degree of authority over others. In our society for example, teachers have authority over their students. It is hard to conceive of a society that could function without this type of arrangement, however, there are times when private belief and compliance with those in authority may come into conflict. We see how that may come into effect in Milgrams Experiment: "Technicians" urged participants to give a series of electric shocks of increasingly higher voltage to "subjects" who had incorrectly answered questions. About 60 percent complied. However, no voltage was actually applied: the subjects were actors who feigned agony and tape recorded to keep all responses the same. Milgram took the results as proof that ordinary people will inflict pain on innocent people when commanded by an authoritative figure. An individual's compliance with an authoritative person's judgment may counter his or her own judgment, and the person's resistance to the authoritative figure depends on how much that person feels responsible. Milgrams results were most shocking because they were used to explain the basic character flaw within Nazi-Germans during World War II; They were simply obeying authority. ...