Summary Of The Perils Of Obedience And Authority
Obedience and Authority
Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram wrote an article, "The Perils of Obedience," which documented his unique experiment about obedience and authority. The purpose was to observe to what extent an ordinary citizen would compromise his or her conscience when ordered to inflict increasing pain to another human. The experiment consisted of three people: a teacher and learner chosen at random, and a scientist. Once all three were acquainted, the scientist explained that the goal of the experiment was to research the effects of discipline. Thereafter, the learner was strapped to a chair with an electrode attached to their wrist. The scientist explained that words would be given in pairs, and the learner should respond with the second word when hearing the first word again. If the learner made a mistake, they received an electrical shock. Next, the teacher was promptly led to another room where they were given a sample shock of 45 volts, then shown a panel from which they would shock the learner and read a script. Starting at 15 volts the teacher was instructed to increase voltage for every incorrect answer until the machine reached a max of 450 volts. Unbeknownst to the teacher, he was the real subject of the experiment. The learner was an actor who was not actually being shocked. The objective was to observe the reaction of the teacher when told to …show more content…
The general consensus predicted that nearly all teachers would resist. Surprisingly, a staggering 60% inflicted the maximum voltage of 450 volts under the scientist's instructions. Some questioned the results, claiming that Yale undergraduates were extremely competitive. Therefore, Milgram took his experiments elsewhere but found equal or greater percentages. These trials were held internationally in Australia, Germany, Italy, and South Africa, where people from all walks of life were observed and the results were
Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram wrote an article, "The Perils of Obedience," which documented his unique experiment about obedience and authority. The purpose was to observe to what extent an ordinary citizen would compromise his or her conscience when ordered to inflict increasing pain to another human. The experiment consisted of three people: a teacher and learner chosen at random, and a scientist. Once all three were acquainted, the scientist explained that the goal of the experiment was to research the effects of discipline. Thereafter, the learner was strapped to a chair with an electrode attached to their wrist. The scientist explained that words would be given in pairs, and the learner should respond with the second word when hearing the first word again. If the learner made a mistake, they received an electrical shock. Next, the teacher was promptly led to another room where they were given a sample shock of 45 volts, then shown a panel from which they would shock the learner and read a script. Starting at 15 volts the teacher was instructed to increase voltage for every incorrect answer until the machine reached a max of 450 volts. Unbeknownst to the teacher, he was the real subject of the experiment. The learner was an actor who was not actually being shocked. The objective was to observe the reaction of the teacher when told to …show more content…
The general consensus predicted that nearly all teachers would resist. Surprisingly, a staggering 60% inflicted the maximum voltage of 450 volts under the scientist's instructions. Some questioned the results, claiming that Yale undergraduates were extremely competitive. Therefore, Milgram took his experiments elsewhere but found equal or greater percentages. These trials were held internationally in Australia, Germany, Italy, and South Africa, where people from all walks of life were observed and the results were