The Milgram Experiment: Obedience to Authority

Are ordinary people able to do terrible things? And if so, how many would give a strong  electric shock to an innocent other, just because they are following an order?  To answer these questions, we can look at the controversial work of a man who just wanted  to find answers to his family's horrific past.

In 1961, Stanley Milgram, a young  psychologist, wanted to find out how ordinary citizens were able to commit acts of  unspeakable evil in Nazi Germany. His theory: some people do horrific things because they obey  even the most wicked leaders. To test his theory, Milgram designed a clever experiment that changed  our understanding of human behavior forever.

The Milgram Experiment involved 3 people: An authority, called the experimenter, who  was dressed in a lab coat to appear powerful. A volunteer, who was assigned to be the  teacher. And a victim, the so-called student.

The teacher was the test subject, whereas the  experimenter and student were both actors. Following orders, the teacher should test  a student, who is sitting in another room, by asking them questions. For every  wrong answer the experimenter would ask the teacher to inflict an electric  shock up to a life threatening 450 volts.

Before he began, Milgram asked his colleagues  what they expected the outcome to be. Almost all of them agreed that only a few of the  volunteers would obey and inflict electric shocks on innocent others. What do you think?

Would  anyone administer shocks higher than 300 volts? Milgram then advertised his experiment as a  "study on memory and learning" at the campus of Yale university. People signed up without any idea  of what they were really getting themselves into.

The experiment began with the volunteers meeting  the other participants. The volunteers then pulled a card to draw their role. Little did they  know that they could only draw the teacher.

Next, they would be given a  sample of a light electric shock in order to experience firsthand what  the others would have to go through. To start, the experimenter and the  teacher were seated in one room, and the student was strapped  to a chair in an adjacent room. The Teacher and student were able to  communicate, but not see each other.

The experimenter then gave the teacher  a list of questions. The teacher would then read out the questions and the student  would press a button to indicate a response. For every false answer, the  teacher would administer a shock, starting at 15 volts and increasing  in 15-volt increments up to 450 What the teacher did not know was that the  student didn't actually receive any shocks.

Instead, a tape recorder was used to play various  responses. In the beginning the teacher would hear protest, or bangs against the wall. If shocks  would increase the reactions would become louder.

And in case someone would go all the  way, the learner would fall silent. In case the teacher became hesitant and asked  to stop, the experimenter would resort to the following four prompts. First, he would say:  "Please continue".

If that was unsuccessful, he would go on with: "The experiment requires  that you continue”. Then: "It is absolutely essential that you continue”. And lastly:  "You have no other choice; you must go on".

Along the way, the volunteers displayed signs  of extreme tension such as sweating, trembling, and even uncontrollable laughing fits. The  experiment would be stopped only after all four prompts had been used or the maximum  voltage of 450 volts had been given three times. Milgram found that of all participants,  100% gave at least 300 volts and 65% went all the way to 450 volts.

The experiment was  later criticized for being unethical because it deceived innocent people into performing  what seem to be terrible acts of violence. However, his experiment was  successfully replicated many times, involving different populations  and leading to similar findings. Milgram himself left us with this to think  about: “It may be that we are puppets - puppets controlled by the strings of society.

But  at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness  is the first step to our liberation. ” What do you think?

Would you follow or  question the orders if you were one of Milgram's participants? And what can we as  a society teach future generations to help prevent horrific acts that can happen when  ordinary people blindly follow an authority? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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