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Milgram's study of obedience summary
Milgram's study of obedience summary
Milgram's study of obedience summary
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Outcome of a Situation To obey someone wouldn't that mean to comply with their every command? It's common sense to obey authority at all costs. Most people are raised being taught how to obey the law and respect authority but if it was that easy there wouldn't be place such as prison. Being aware of the situation or attentive to society and what's going on could give you a better perspective for your behavior. Milgram claims, it’s possible that we are controlled by society. But at least we have perception and are aware (pg.598). Contributing factors such as the situation, authority, and behavior are all elements that produce either a good or bad outcome at the end of the day.
A couple of examples would be the McDonald’s video, when two victims
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Stanley Milgram a known psychologist writes, “The disappearance of sense of responsibility is the most far-reaching consequence of submission to authority” (Milgram, pg.677). Also they could've changed the situation by asking a few questions of their own to clarify, and that may have made a huge difference in their behaviors from where they were intimidated by a higher rank to finding out the truth. Solomon Asch a psychologist and pioneer in social psychology claims, “The environment or situation you're put in will determine the results of your actions” (Asch, …show more content…
Nesbit go more in depth on their findings from experiments in social psychology that explains how situations tend to determine behavior. Just like the Milgram experiment the candidates were put in a situation where authority was superior and their behaviors were affected, it's possible that some may have felt pressured and confused with the position they were in so behavioral wise it could have been hard to be themselves. Ross/Nesbit writes, “That the failure to recognize the importance of how situations connect with behavior has been called, “Fundamental Attribution Error” (Ross/Nesbitt, pg.690). Authority being involved in a situation can change the complete outcome depending on the human's behavior. Having someone that's higher rank or even high class can either encourage or discourage the person and with these feelings the outcome is up to them to
This is greatly frowned upon where in the military respecting a higher officer is strongly enforced. The disrespect and lack of obedience in this situation is logically an effect of Kaffee’s self-entitlement. Milgram may explain Kaffee’s entitlement from a review of his own experiment. He can argue that the subjects in his experiment were established with a sense of entitlement when they are briefed that the success of the experiment depends on them and their choices (Milgram 78). Milgram would connect his subjects with Kaffee by effectively explaining when Kaffee is confronted about his father and in result praised for having such a great man as his father, he takes this as praise of himself from coming from such a family. Logically he adds self-importance to himself resulting in entitlement. In support of Milgram’s claim, the article of “Entitlement Predicts Sexism,” collaborated by Case Western Reserve University, would add the addition of the connection between sexism and entitlement. Studies mentioned by the article would support the opinion that Kaffee not only felt entitled above her but felt as a man he was not required to show her respect (Entitlement Predicts Sexism). Ross and Nisbett, authors of “The Power of Situations,” state that people tend to place more value on the personal traits of a person rather than giving consideration to the
... More people followed their direct orders and continued shocking the learners to the very highest voltage. Stanley Milgram’s experiment shows societies that more people abide by the rules of an authority figure under any circumstances rather than follow their own natural instincts. With the use of his well-organized article that appeals to the general public, direct quotes and real world examples, Milgram’s idea is very well-supported. The results of the experiment were in Milgram’s favor and show that people are obedient to authority figures.
Often times freedom is stressed in an American society rather than obedience to the law and authority. In the past, the population has focused on obeying the law simply since it is the law of the land. In contrast, present day society frequently overlooks obedience as a value as well as laws themselves, leaving room for disobedience and disrespect of the authorities set in place above them. This brings up many conflicting issues faced by individuals on a daily basis. Moreover, it gives rise to a number of questions pertaining to the influence it has socially and in a work/school environment, presenting a prominent inquiry about respect that stands out above the rest, that is: In a society focused on freedom to what extent is respect for authority
Another reason people obey is that they have a sense of obligation to their duty. This is just the whole idea of completing the job that’s given to you. Some people have a fear of being perceived as brash, or rude. In general, people want to present themselves in the best way possible.
Obedience is when you do something you have been asked or ordered to do by someone in authority. As little kids we are taught to follow the rules of authority, weather it is a positive or negative effect. Stanley Milgram, the author of “The perils of Obedience” writes his experiment about how people follow the direction of an authority figure, and how it could be a threat. On the other hand Diana Baumrind article “Review of Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience,” is about how Milgram’s experiment was inhumane and how it is not valid. While both authors address how people obey an authority figure, Milgram focuses more on how his experiment was successful while Baumrind seems more concerned more with how Milgram’s experiment was flawed and
Through my research and findings of obedience to authority this ancient dilemma is somewhat confusing but needs understanding. Problem with obedience to authority has raised a question to why people obey or disobey and if there are any right time to obey or not to obey. Through observation of many standpoints on obedience and disobedience to authority, and determined through detailed examination conducted by Milgram “The Perils Of Obedience,” Doris Lessing “Group Minds” and Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”. We have to examine this information in hopes of understanding or at least be able to draw our own theories that can be supported and proven on this subject.
...g factors such as fear of consequences for not obeying, human nature’s willingness to conform, perceived stature of authority and geographical locations. I also believe that due to most individual’s upbringings they will trust and obey anyone in an authoritative position even at the expense of their own moral judgment. I strongly believe that Stanley Milgram’s experiments were a turning point for the field of social psychology and they remind us that “ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process”. Despite these findings it is important to point out it is human nature to be empathetic, kind and good to our fellow human beings. The shock experiments reveal not blind obedience but rather contradictory ethical inclinations that lie deep inside human beings.
Disobedience to laws and governments that we the people see as wrong is a deep-seated part of our culture. It hearkens back to the Revolutionary war which the colonies used to create this great country from a previous government that the people saw as tyrannical. But this kind of disobedience, even being somewhat rare, can be seen in many cases throughout history. A step up from this is civil disobedience. Civil Disobedience can even be found as far back as Jefferson's time when he would advocate for "threat of revolution" and forms of changing the government that were placed in the constitution like "elections, amending process" and more (Rebellion, Revolution, and the Constitution). The same document even cites him as believing that unsuccessful
More specifically, the movie A Few Good Men depicts the results of blindly obeying orders. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, also explores obedience to authority in his essay “ The Perils of Obedience”. On the other hand, Erich Fromm, a psychoanalyst and philosopher, focused on disobedience to authority in his essay “ Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem.” Milgram wrote about how people were shockingly obedient to authority when they thought they were harming someone else while Fromm dissected both: why people are so prone to obey and how disobedience from authoritative figures can bring beneficial changes for society. Obeying commands, even when they go against our morals, is human nature; Disobeying commands, however, is challenging to do no matter what the situation is.
pp. 371-377, 2008. Benjamin Jr., Ludy T. & Simpson, Jeffrey A. The Power of the Situation: The Impact of Milgram’s Obedience Studies on Personality and Social Psychology. From an American Psychologist.
Laws are sometimes weird and silly, people break laws all the time while they don’t even realize it. In Alabama it is illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time. Considering this, it is right to disobey the law when one’s conscience dictates him or her to do so as demonstrated by Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, and Henry David Thoreau. These historical men used the idea of unity, freedom, and peace to explain their messages across.
Throughout history, changes and movements have come in many different and unexpected forms. One form of change, disobedience, has continued to dominate the others in terms of effectiveness. Some of the greatest alterations made to the world have stemmed from some form of disobedience, such as the founding of the protestant church under Martin Luther and English Reformation. Often, the disobedience resulted from conflicting religious beliefs and interpretations of religious works. The history and formation of the United States of American provide an example of how disobedience shapes a nation. Disobedience of unjust laws, based on divine authority, laid the foundation of the American identity.
Obedience is a widely debated topic today with many different standpoints from various brilliant psychologists. Studying obedience is still important today to attempt to understand why atrocities like the Holocaust or the My Lai Massacre happened so society can learn from them and not repeat history. There are many factors that contribute to obedience including situation and authority. The film A Few Good Men, through a military court case, shows how anyone can fall under the influence of authority and become completely obedient to conform to the roles that they have been assigned. A Few Good Men demonstrates how authority figures can control others and influence them into persuading them to perform a task considered immoral or unethical.
Obedience is thought to be a high moral standard which we are to follow. On the other hand, disobedience is considered a moral flaw, wrongness, or something you just should not do. When your mother says that you can’t eat cookies for dinner, how likely are you to listen? This is an act of disobedience.
Authority cannot exist without obedience. Society is built on this small, but important concept. Without authority and its required obedience, there would only be anarchy and chaos. But how much is too much, or too little? There is a fine line between following blindly and irrational refusal to obey those in a meaningful position of authority. Obedience to authority is a real and powerful force that should be understood and respected in order to handle each situation in the best possible manner.