Question

describe milgrims experiments on obediance. what are some factors that increased and decreased conformity? why were these experiments controversial?

Describe Milgrim's experiments on obedience. What are some factors that increased and decreased conformity? Why were these experiments controversial?

Answer 1

Milgram's experiment on obedience was a Social Psychology experiment whereby a set of individuals were measured for their willingness to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicted with their own personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting an experiment where they had to administer electric shocks on a "learner" and the fake electric shocks would gradually increase to levels of being fatal had they been real. Two third of participants continued to giving highest level of volts to participants, and it was found that ordinary people were more likely to follow orders given by an authority figure even to the extent of killing an innocent human being. Obedience to authority is ingrained in all of us. This was the general conclusion of the study.

Below are some factors reflecting what can cause increase and decrease to conformity:

The obedience level dropped hugely in the experiment when the aurthority figure was not a person in a lab coat, but was a person in everyday clothes.

When the location was moved to a run down office as opposed to university office, the obedience was dropped, hence even location affected obedience.

When participants could ask an assistant to press the switch for electricity, even then the obedience incerased as there was less personal responsibility.

The presence of others who were disobeying the authority figure, reduces obedience and allows authority figure to disobey the authority figure.

It is easier to resist an authority figure if they are not close by, hence when they were instructing from a telephone, obedience feel greatly. So this also points to the fact that proximity of authority figure affects obedience.

This experiment was controversial because it resulted in hiding information from the participants and not sharing the real ourpose behind the experiment. Moreover, it could cause potential psychological damage to participants because they would be under the pressure of performing and obeying authority figures at the cost of causing harm to another individual. This even though this was experimented and not real.