Obedience To Authority Summary
Only Obedience or the Beginnings of a Cult?
In a magazine article titled Obedience to Authority, published in 1974 by Harper’s magazine, Dr. Stanley Milgram studied the effects of authority on “ordinary” people. His findings were astonishing. The obedience to authority figures, with no threat of repercussion, was not only underestimated, but unimaginable. The constant willingness to comply with what was asked of them reminded me of the cult led by Charles Manson, specifically the Sharon Tate murders.
Dr. Stanley Milgram administered an experiment in which he took subjects and asked them to be the “teachers.” Next, he hired actors, without telling the teachers, to be the students or learners. After watching the learner being strapped …show more content…
She said it was “because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, so that the world would have to stand up and take notice.” Some might contend that the followers of Charles Manson, and other cult leaders, cannot be considered comparative to the “ordinary” people used in the Milgram study. I would refute that comparison. Yes the followers of Charles Manson had many more emotional issues than the average person, however nothing but faith kept them willing to obey. Many of the followers were young women with troubled lives, rebelling against their parents and society. All of Charlie’s followers were weak willed people who were naïve, gullible, and easy to lead. Manson also used LSD and amphetamines to alter his followers’ personalities. But still there were no payments made to them, in fact they lived mainly off the food they would steal from people or scavenge from grocery store trash bins. The main difference I can see is that some of the teachers expressed remorse for their actions in the experiment, while most of the Manson Family murderers did not. In fact, Susan Atkins stated to her cell mate that,” she just looked at Sharon straight in the eye and said, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you’re going to have a baby. You had better be ready. You’re going to die and I don’t feel anything about it….In a few minutes I killed her.”” She proceeded to brag that when she saw Sharon’s blood on her hand she tasted it and her reaction was, “Wow what a trip! To taste death, and yet give
In a magazine article titled Obedience to Authority, published in 1974 by Harper’s magazine, Dr. Stanley Milgram studied the effects of authority on “ordinary” people. His findings were astonishing. The obedience to authority figures, with no threat of repercussion, was not only underestimated, but unimaginable. The constant willingness to comply with what was asked of them reminded me of the cult led by Charles Manson, specifically the Sharon Tate murders.
Dr. Stanley Milgram administered an experiment in which he took subjects and asked them to be the “teachers.” Next, he hired actors, without telling the teachers, to be the students or learners. After watching the learner being strapped …show more content…
She said it was “because we wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, so that the world would have to stand up and take notice.” Some might contend that the followers of Charles Manson, and other cult leaders, cannot be considered comparative to the “ordinary” people used in the Milgram study. I would refute that comparison. Yes the followers of Charles Manson had many more emotional issues than the average person, however nothing but faith kept them willing to obey. Many of the followers were young women with troubled lives, rebelling against their parents and society. All of Charlie’s followers were weak willed people who were naïve, gullible, and easy to lead. Manson also used LSD and amphetamines to alter his followers’ personalities. But still there were no payments made to them, in fact they lived mainly off the food they would steal from people or scavenge from grocery store trash bins. The main difference I can see is that some of the teachers expressed remorse for their actions in the experiment, while most of the Manson Family murderers did not. In fact, Susan Atkins stated to her cell mate that,” she just looked at Sharon straight in the eye and said, “Look, bitch, I don’t care about you. I don’t care if you’re going to have a baby. You had better be ready. You’re going to die and I don’t feel anything about it….In a few minutes I killed her.”” She proceeded to brag that when she saw Sharon’s blood on her hand she tasted it and her reaction was, “Wow what a trip! To taste death, and yet give