What Is Milgram's Response To The Study Of Obedience

In the early 1960’s, psychologist Stanley Milgram set out to study why people typically responded in obedience to authority figures. He had been fascinated by the Holocaust, and why so many people participated in this tragic historical event. On other occasions, he had also observed that it was difficult for individuals to deny an authority figure’s instruction, even if that instruction goes against one’s morals. Milgram believed that if he could vary the factors that were normally associated with obedience, and relate this to specific commands, than the tricky topic of obedience could be easily studied. This technique would allow him to manipulate key variables throughout the experiment, such as where the command came from, how it was executed,
The subject was told that he would be participating in a learning experiment that studied the effects of punishment and how that tied into memory. The shocks were given using a fake machine that had thirty different levers with thirty different voltages. Shocks varied from fifteen volts (only slight intensity) to four hundred and fifty volts (extremely dangerous intensity). The individual receiving the shocks had been trained by the experimenter to give certain responses based on the level of shock, even though they were not actually receiving the shocks. He would be strapped into a chair, in order to prevent any chance of escape. As the experiment continued on, the shocks would increase in their voltage level (Milgram,
They will resist, but still obey, until they cannot fight their morality any longer. It seems to take most people awhile to hit this specific point. This study has greatly affected the science of psychology by taking the subject of obedience and showing scientists how it could be used in a more beneficial manner. While obedience can be used for negative situations (like the Holocaust), it can also be used for positive ones. Milgram’s study showed that many people do have a heart, and at one point or another will stop obeying commands when they go against that individual’s beliefs (Milgram, 1963). It was such a dynamic change in thinking that this study is taught in basic psychology courses today across the country. I enjoyed this reading, and liked how clean and well-organized it was. Each topic was specifically addressed in the correct section and labeled to make it easier for the reader to locate and identify key ideas. As a slight perfectionist, efforts like this do not go without notice. However, I also just liked the study itself, and thought it was fascinating that this grew out of Milgram’s curiosity about the horrific events of the