MarylhurstSmr2011
Milgram Experiment
21/06/11 10:34
The Milgram experiment is a famous experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram to study obedience in the 1960's. The study involved three people: a "doctor" or person conducting the experiment, a "answerer" or someone who was supposed to answer questions, and the "questioner." The questioner was the real study of the subject, as both the doctor and the answerer were actors. The questioner watched as the doctor locked the questioner into restraining straps and hooked electrodes to the person. Then, the doctor took the questioner into a separate room. The questioner was instructed to apply increasing levels of shock to the answerer if the answerer failed to ask a question. The doctor gave stock replies to any question the questioner ask. The questioner could leave at any time but was told "the experiment must go on."
The question: to what extent would individuals, living in a modern industrial democracy, shock people at the directions of an authority figure?
You can see the experiment on youtube. As it turned out, 65% of people increased the shock to fatal levels even over the screams and protests of the person being shocked.
Why did some people obey the "doctor" and why did others resist?
What does the Milgram experiment tell us about human nature? Or does it say something instead about modern society?
What, exactly, can we expect to gain from studying ethics and moral theory?
NB: if you are a Marylhurst student, please make sure your name shows on the comments section so I can record the participation.
The question: to what extent would individuals, living in a modern industrial democracy, shock people at the directions of an authority figure?
You can see the experiment on youtube. As it turned out, 65% of people increased the shock to fatal levels even over the screams and protests of the person being shocked.
Why did some people obey the "doctor" and why did others resist?
What does the Milgram experiment tell us about human nature? Or does it say something instead about modern society?
What, exactly, can we expect to gain from studying ethics and moral theory?
NB: if you are a Marylhurst student, please make sure your name shows on the comments section so I can record the participation.
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