The Milgram Experiment :: Papers

The Milgram Experiment A lesson in depravity, peer pressure, and the power of authority The aftermath of the Holocaust and the events leading up to World contend II, the world was stunned with the happenings in Nazi German and their acquired surrounding territories that came out during the Eichmann Trials. Eichmann, a high ranking official of the Nazi Party, was on trial for fight crimes and crimes against humanity. The questions is, Could it be that Eichmann, and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices? Stanley Milgram answered the call to this problem by performing a series of studies on the Obedience to Authority. Milgrams work began at Harvard where he was working towards his Ph.D. The experiments on which his initial research was based were done at Yale from 1961-1962. In response to a newsprint ad offering $4.50 for one hours work, an individual turns up to take part in a Psycholog y experiment investigating memory and learning. He is introduced to a stern looking experimenter in a white coat and a rather pleasant and friendly co-subject. The experimenter explains that the experiment will look into the role of penalization in learning, and that one will be the teacher and one will be the learner. Lots are drawn to determine roles, and it is decided that the individual who answered the ad will become the teacher. IMAGEYour co-subject is taken to a room where he is strapped in a chair to prevent movement and an electrode is placed on his arm. Next, the teacher is taken to an adjoining room which contains a generator. The teacher is instructed to read a list of two word pairs and ask the learner to read them back. If the learner gets the answer correct, therefore they move on to the next word. If the answer is incorrect, the teacher is supposed to shock the learner starting at 15 volts. The generator has 30 switches in 15 volt i ncrements, each is labeled