How Did Stanley Milgram Decision To Study The Question Of Obedience

Why did Nazi soldiers in Germany during the third Reich obey orders by Adrof Hitler and commit atrocities to the Jewish communities? Why do people commit bad deeds in a situation where they are led to blindly obey an authority figure? The conscious says not to continue, but the authority figure said “It is absolutely essential that you continue” (Nevid & Rathus, p. 245). Should one resist and not obey the authority figures that made the immoral request? Stanley Milgram a Psychologist at Yale University did research study on this question. Milgram decision to study this question of obedience was rooted in his Jewish heritage and his determination to better understand the atrocities of the holocaust. In (1963) Milgram placed an advertisement
in the New Haven, Connecticut newspaper asking for subjects for studies on learning and memory. But Milgram used deception in the study; this was an experiment on obedience and not on learning and memory. Plus, the participants who were selected for the experiment were not aware of this deception. To start with Milgram’s experiment defines how well someone would defy authority figures that made inappropriate requests.
“The experiment would require a “teacher” and a “learner.” (Nevid & Rathus, P. 244). The tests showed that if the learner made an error; a very painful shock would be transferred to their body from the teacher. The learners obviously did not like the experiment showing signs of pain and discomfort. Most of the teachers would take delight in the suffering of the learners and would continue the experiment knowing the pain and torment the learner would go through. Overall, some people may question the ethical meanings of this experiment which was dangerous and could have resulted in
death. However, the Milgram’s classic experiment had ethics of others not knowing that the voice was recorded in the back. Ethics is mainly a moral that shows a person or group’s behavior and reaction. “ No experimenter has attempted a full replication of the Milgram studies because ethical guidelines now preclude the use of deception in studies that impose the kind of stress experienced by Milgram participate” (Nevid & Rathus, P. 246). During the Milgram experiment most of people had different reactions. Ethics can be either bad or good also it can be approval or disapproval. Milgram’s experiment had the results of the ethics being bad because it gave a negative feedback during the electric shocks. Moreover, Stanley Milgram did experiments into the nature of obedience and authority.
“Milgram’s research has alerted us to a real danger- the tendency of many, if not most people to obey the orders of an authority figure even when they run counter to moral values” (Nevid & Rathus, P.
247). Milgram experiment tests subjects by asking them several questions, and every time the wrong answer is given they received a shock from electric. The voltage of the electric level increases every time when it gives the wrong results. Most of us are faced by different persuasion. Companies and food market want us to buy their newest products. Persuasion spreads everywhere in our lives. Persuasion techniques are studied in the sixties. Psychologists started to study these techniques early in the twenty century. Milgram experiment is the most important social psychologies in the twenty
century. Finally, Stanley Milgram’s experiment of obedience to authority included a lot of deception; the results of his experiment have allowed us to compare the level of compliance to an authority figure. There have been few experiments that relate to Milgram’s, but to some the results could be considered shocking. “One recent study involving a partial replication of the
Milgram procedure that stopped short of the highest level of shock (so as to avoid imposing undue stress on participants) showed similar rates of compliance to those in Milgram’s original study” (Nevid & Rathus, P. 246). Certain things change over time, but a person’s obedience toward certain authority figures can be argued has not changed much. People can take any knowledge they want from Milgram’s classic experiment; one of those being the fact that people will listen to someone of higher power when under stressful situation.