Milgram's Obedience Experiment

Summary

In 1963, psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a groundbreaking experiment at Yale University to explore the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. Participants, believing they were administering electric shocks to a 'learner,' were pressured by an authority figure to continue increasing the voltage despite their discomfort. The study revealed that 65% of participants obeyed orders to administer shocks up to a potentially lethal level. Milgram's findings led to the development of the 'agency theory,' suggesting people enter an 'agentic state' where they obey authority figures, believing the authority will take responsibility for their actions.

Takeaways

• 👨‍🔬 Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment at Yale University to study obedience to authority and personal conscience.
• 🔍 The experiment was a response to the Nuremberg trials where defendants claimed they were 'just following orders'.
• 📢 Participants were recruited through newspaper ads for a 'learning study', not knowing the true nature of the experiment.
• 👨‍🏫 The setup involved a 'teacher' and a 'learner', with the latter being an actor and the former being the actual participant.
• ⚡️ The 'teacher' was instructed to administer electric shocks to the 'learner' for incorrect answers, with shock levels escalating.
• 👨‍🔬 The experimenter, played by an actor, insisted that the 'teacher' continue administering shocks despite objections.
• 📈 65% of participants obeyed the authority figure and administered shocks up to the maximum level of 450 volts.
• 🔁 Milgram conducted 18 variations of the experiment, all yielding similar results about the nature of obedience.
• 🧠 Milgram developed the 'agency theory', suggesting people act autonomously or as agents depending on the presence of authority.
• 🏢 The theory posits that individuals will obey authority figures if they believe those figures will take responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
• 👀 The study raises ethical questions about the limits of scientific research and the power dynamics between authority and individuals.

Q & A

Who conducted the famous obedience study in psychology?

Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted the famous obedience study in psychology.

What was the main focus of Milgram's experiment?

The main focus of Milgram's experiment was to examine the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience.

What was the historical context that led to Milgram's experiment?

The historical context was the justifications for acts of genocide offered by those accused at the World War II Nuremberg war criminal trials, where the defense was based on obedience to orders from superiors.

How did Milgram select participants for his experiment?

Milgram selected participants for his experiment through newspaper advertising, inviting male participants to take part in a study of learning at Yale University.

What was the role of the learner in Milgram's experiment?

The learner in Milgram's experiment was an actor hired to pretend to be a real participant, and he was taken into a room and had electrodes attached to his arms.

What was the purpose of the electric shock generator in the experiment?

The electric shock generator was used to administer electric shocks to the learner whenever he made a mistake in recalling the list of paired words during the learning test administered by the teacher.

What were the four prods given by the experimenter to encourage the teacher to continue administering shocks?

The four prods given by the experimenter were: 1) Please continue. 2) The experiment requires you to continue. 3) It is absolutely essential that you continue. 4) You have no other choice but to continue.

What was the surprising result of Milgram's study regarding obedience to authority?

The surprising result was that 65% of the participants continued to administer electric shocks up to the highest level of 450 volts when instructed to do so.

How many variations of the study did Milgram conduct, and what were the general outcomes?

Milgram conducted 18 variations of the study, and all of them yielded similar results, indicating that the findings were not a one-off random occurrence.

What is the agency theory developed by Milgram, and how does it explain the behavior of the participants?

The agency theory suggests that people have two states of behavior: autonomous, where they direct their own actions, and agentic, where they allow others to direct their actions and pass off responsibility for the consequences. According to this theory, people obey authority when they believe that authority will take responsibility for the consequences of their actions.