.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Essay on Stanley Milgram - 1913 Words

This quote, by Stanley Milgram (1974, p. 205), exemplifies the debate that exists around the topic of obedience. Obedient behaviours have been studied in Milgram’s famous obedience experiments, and evidence of atrocities being carried out as a result of obedience can be seen in situations such as the holocaust in World War Two (Mastroianni, 2000) and more recent events such as (My Lai). This essay will explain both sides of the debate, arguing for situation and individual factors that influence people to behave in particular ways. Therefore, an interactional approach is argued here, that the situation and individual influences cannot be disentangled. A brief explanation of Milgram’s baseline study (1963) will be introduced first, before†¦show more content†¦Proximity between the participant and the learner was changed, with it ranging from the learner not being heard or seen at all (yielding 100% obedience), to the participant holding down the learners hand and arm onto a metal plate, which they believed was shocking the learner (decreasing obedience to 30%). Milgram himself reported significant differences between these proximity conditions, but when Blass (1991) evaluated Milgram’s (1963) work, he reports the analyses and shows that regardless of whether a participant is close to the learner physically and emotionally, they still acted in a similar way. The fact that Milgram did not report these analyses also shows how there might have been some selective reporting in what he wanted the public to see. Blass’ (1991) analyses display how the situation was not necessarily that powerful, and that the participants acted in similar ways regardless of the different types of contexts they were put in. Furthermore, there was also another version of the study (state exactly which experiment this was) in which the participants could decide for themselves how much voltage to shock the learner to. It comes as a relief that they shocked significantly lower than the baseline conditions, showing that when the situation allows freedom, the individual can make a decision. However, I would argue that even though they had the freedom to administer the shock level of their choice, they still actually administered aShow MoreRelated The Perils of Obedience by Stanley Milgram Essay812 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Perils of Obedience† was written by Stanley Milgram in 1974. In the essay he describes his experiments on obedience to authority. I feel as though this is a great psychology essay and will be used in psychology 101 classes for generations to come. The essay describes how people are willing to do almost anything that they are told no matter how immoral the action is or how much pain it may cause.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This essay even though it was written in 1974 is still used today because of its historicalRead MoreThe Background on the Stanley Milgram Theory Essay1088 Words   |  5 PagesThe social psychology theory that I will be analyzing is based on the Stanley Milgram experiment done in 1965 following the start of the Nazi war. He was curios on all the violence taking place during this time. As a Jew himself, he wanted to find out whether or not the Adolf Eichmann accomplice had the same intent and hate towards the Jewish people during the holocaust. Based on Solomon Asch’s past experiments on conformity, Milgram’s experiment was done to determine whether or not the power ofRead MoreEssay about Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram2387 Words   |  10 PagesStanley Milgram’s 1963 studies into obedience have provided important and shocking insights into the power of authority. The study set out to discover how obedient people really are. Debat e and controversy have surrounded the study since the results were first published. Predictions made by psychologists before the experiment proved dramatically inaccurate. The experiment led volunteers to believe they were administering increasingly painful and dangerous electric shocks to another volunteer forRead MoreStanley Milgram vs. Diana Baumrind Essay1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe Controversy of Obedience A classic experiment on the natural obedience of individuals was designed and tested by a Yale psychologist, Stanley Milgram. The test forced participants to either go against their morals or violate authority. For the experiment, two people would come into the lab after being told they were testing memory loss, though only one of them was actually being tested. The unaware individual, called the â€Å"teacher† would sit in a separate room, administering memory relatedRead MoreObedience, Disobedience, And Disobedience1687 Words   |  7 Pagesshown in the novel â€Å"Holes† by Louis Sachar because the main character, Stanley, is sent to a child correction camp and has to obey the upper authority Mr. Sir. He starts out being an obedient child and following all Mr. Sir’s rules but then as he begins to see the real reason he is told to dig holes in a barren desert he rebels against Mr. Sir. These acts of obedience and disobedience are then analyzed and explaine d by; â€Å"Milgram Experiment† by Saul McLead, â€Å"Opinions and Social Pressure† by SolomonRead MoreThe Ethics Of Psychological Studies1219 Words   |  5 PagesIn this essay, the ethics of psychological studies carried out in the past will be reviewed. In the current contemporary environment many psychological studies are now seen as being unethical by many psychologists. Both theory and information relating to the psychology studies will be addressed. This essay will also outline the ethical responsibilities of the psychologists carrying out psychological research studies. The two psychological studies that would not be considered ethical today that willRead MoreAnalysis Of Stanley Milgram s Perils Of Disobedience 1372 Words   |  6 PagesIn Stanley Milgram’s essay, â€Å"Perils of Disobedience†, an experiment was conducted to test an individual’s obedience from authority when conflicting with morally incorrect orders. Following the conclusion of World War Two, Milgram’s essay was published in Harper’s Magazine, which appeals to a national audience and yields an array of content from different contextual backgrounds. As Milgram reports the results of his experiment, he provides descriptive details of many of the subjects and their behaviorsRead MoreStanley Milgrams Experiment961 Words   |  4 PagesStanley Milgram s Experiment In Stanley Milgram s essay Some Conditions of Obedience and Disobedience to Authority, the self-proclaimed social psychologist conducted a study while working as a psychologist at Yale University. The primary goal of Milgram s experiment was to measure the desire of the participants to shock a learner in a controlled situation. The experiment was based on three primary roles: the authoritative figure, the learner, and the teachers. The authoritative figure instructedRead MoreThe Milgram Experiment1142 Words   |  5 PagesThe Milgram Experiment Stanley Milgram, a famous social psychologist, and student of Solomon Asch, conducted a controversial experiment in 1961, investigating obedience to authority (1974). The experiment was held to see if a subject would do something an authority figure tells them, even if it conflicts with their personal beliefs and morals. He even once said, The social psychology of this century reveals a major lesson: often it is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situationRead MoreThe Ethical Standards Of Modern Psychology1320 Words   |  6 PagesThere are many research studies conducted in the past that would not be considered ethical today. This essay will review two research methods, whilst taking into account the ethical standards of modern psychology. The focus of this essay will be; ‘Landis’ Facial Expressions Experiment 1924’ carried out by Carney Landis and ‘’Milgram’s Obedience Experiment’ carried out by Stanley Milgram. B oth experiments were carried out under immoral circumstances and perhaps should never have been allowed to take

No comments:

Post a Comment