Question

There are four classical experiments provided below. Select one experiment. Evaluate the method of studying this topic. Do you agree with the conclusions?

- Milgram's study on obedience

- Asch's study of conformity

- Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment

- Stanley Schacter's Fear and Affiliation Study

Answer 1

Milgram's study on obedience

A psychologist at Yale University, Stanley Milgram conducted one of the most famous experiment on obedience during 1963. Stanley Milgram through this experiment wanted to know what makes the ordinary people to commit atrocities as during the Holocaust of Jews in Nazi Germany. He wanted to know the influence of authority on ordinary people in harming others and how would the ordinary people can do harm to others while carrying out the orders of the authority.

The whole experiment was carried out in the laboratory settings at Yale University. There were 40 male participants aged between 20 and 50. The participants belonged to unskilled to professional level in their jobs. The participants were asked to administer electric shocks to the learner who was in another room if they gave wrong answer, by an experimenter. The participants were assigned as teachers and the confederates of Miligram's experiment were the 'learners' and the ''experimenter".

The participants were asked to increase the level of electrical shock every time the learner made a mistake, by the experimenter. The learners purposely made mistakes. When a teacher would disagree with giving electric shock to the learner, the experimenter would give instructions to learner that they have to continue with their learning and they don't have other choice but to continue.

The results of the experiment shows that upto 2/3rds that is 65% of the participants administered high voltage of upto 450volts and average volt in the experiment that was administered by the participants was 300 volts.

The learners in reality were not administered actual electric shocks by the participants or the teachers,which the participants didn't knew till they were told about the actual at end of experiment during the debriefing period,so that it may not impact their lives. Both the learners and the experimenter were actors or confederates who were carrying out their roles to complete the study.

The results of the experiment shows that ordinary people carried out the orders of the authority even it goes against their conscience. This conclusion is agreeable because during the process of socialization everyone is taught to obey the authority be it at home , school, religious institutions or during coaching of sports etc. So obeying of higher authorities gets ingrained in the behavior of the individuals, and sometimes individuals are made to obey to those things to which they do not actually agree with. Another aspect of obeying the higher authorities is that individual feel that moral obligation falls more at the side of the authorities and hence, they take up tasks that are harming to others, though they know the consequences.