Milgram Obediance Study
Milgram Obedience Study
In May of 1962 Stanley Milgram, a Social Psychologist at Yale University, conducted a study on “Obedience and Human Nature” that was influenced by his curiosity of the WWII German Nazi Holocaust and concentration camps. Milgram asked “How could it be, that ordinary German people could allow the extermination of the Jews” and wanted to know under what circumstances would a person disobey authority?
The study took place in the greater New Haven area and consisted of 40 male participants that were recruited after responding to a newspaper ad. Each participant was compensated for their participation, and were given $4.50. It was thought by many professors that only 3 out of 100 participants might deliver the maximum shock.
After the recruitment, Milgram conducted a series of controversial experiments with his invention of a shock generator. The switches were labeled and ranged from slight shock, stong shock, very strong shock, moderate shock, intense shock, extream intense shock, to Danger Severe Shock and the last two only stating “XXX”. The voltage began at 30, increasing by 15 volt increments for each switch, all the way up to 450 volts. The purpose of Milgram's experiment was to try and answer,“How far would you be willing to go?”
Prior to the experiment the professor explained the procedure to each participant. The “Student” was hooked up to the shock machine with leads that were connected by a paste that was supposed to protect the skin from being damaged or burned. The proctor explained that the shocks would be painful, but would not cause harm to the subject.
The role of the “Teacher” was to ask the “Student” a series of questions. With each wrong answer the “Teacher” was to deliver a shock to the “Student”. However, what Milgram did not reviel was that the study was in fact, rigged. The “Student” had been given a script, and was instructed to pretend to be shocked.
During the experiment, with each stagged
In May of 1962 Stanley Milgram, a Social Psychologist at Yale University, conducted a study on “Obedience and Human Nature” that was influenced by his curiosity of the WWII German Nazi Holocaust and concentration camps. Milgram asked “How could it be, that ordinary German people could allow the extermination of the Jews” and wanted to know under what circumstances would a person disobey authority?
The study took place in the greater New Haven area and consisted of 40 male participants that were recruited after responding to a newspaper ad. Each participant was compensated for their participation, and were given $4.50. It was thought by many professors that only 3 out of 100 participants might deliver the maximum shock.
After the recruitment, Milgram conducted a series of controversial experiments with his invention of a shock generator. The switches were labeled and ranged from slight shock, stong shock, very strong shock, moderate shock, intense shock, extream intense shock, to Danger Severe Shock and the last two only stating “XXX”. The voltage began at 30, increasing by 15 volt increments for each switch, all the way up to 450 volts. The purpose of Milgram's experiment was to try and answer,“How far would you be willing to go?”
Prior to the experiment the professor explained the procedure to each participant. The “Student” was hooked up to the shock machine with leads that were connected by a paste that was supposed to protect the skin from being damaged or burned. The proctor explained that the shocks would be painful, but would not cause harm to the subject.
The role of the “Teacher” was to ask the “Student” a series of questions. With each wrong answer the “Teacher” was to deliver a shock to the “Student”. However, what Milgram did not reviel was that the study was in fact, rigged. The “Student” had been given a script, and was instructed to pretend to be shocked.
During the experiment, with each stagged