Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Summary of obedience to authority
Social psychology human nature
Dicuss the factors that affect conformity and obedience to authority pdf
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Summary of obedience to authority
Have you ever felt the need to be a part of a group to be popular? But realized you don’t meet their standards. In society there comes a point when people are placed in certain situations where they have to conform and comply, in order to feel accepted. Even though, many people have different views, opinions and ideas compliance and conformity are always the two main key factors in an individual’s performance. Social psychologists conducted many experiments to understand compliance and conformity on individuals. I will be discussing the characteristics of conformity and compliance based studies and experiments by social psychologist Dillard, Milgram and Asch.
For many years people have been conforming to their life activities that have effects
…show more content…
In Milgram’s study, he observe an individual 's decision to inflict harm to another person in the name of science. Random people are chosen to attend the experiment in order to analyze their behavior to comply under an authority figure. The experiment had two actors and one subject. The subject was chosen to be the teacher in order to see their potential to proceed to such extremities. The “teacher” (subject) had instructions to give electric shocks to the “learner” (actor) with an increment in voltage for every wrong answer. The idea was for the teacher to realize that their actions were injuring the learner and cease the experiment. When they felt guilty to continue the “professor” (actor) would say, “The experiment requires that you continue” (Encina) and so they proceeded. More than half continued the experiment. Toward the end each subject was informed that no one was hurt during the experiment. Thus, concluding Milgram’s experiment a …show more content…
Influenced by Asch experiment, Mori “developed a new technique that allows researchers to study a wide range of social conformity phenomena without using confederates” (Mori 392). In this new technique groups of men and women were tested. Unlike in the Asch experiment where only men were being tested (Mori 392). In the Mori experiment, the confederate group was eliminated and instead used polarized glasses to distinguish the difference between slides on the presentation. The Mori experiment resulted in a success displaying that “the minority women erred more because they conformed to the majority” (Mori 305).
Throughout the 1900’s, many experiment have been created and tested on individuals to measure their compliance and conformity. Social psychologist Dillard, Milgram and Asch have set great a foundation for future psychologist to do more research about compliance or conformity. One example, is the Mori experiment in which the foundation was based on the Asch experiment. All of these experiments show the capacity and performance of an individual 's compliance and
It is human nature to respect and obey elders or authoritative figures, even when it may result in harm to oneself or others. Stanley Milgram, an American social psychologist, conducted an experiment to test the reasoning behind a person’s obedience. He uses this experiment in hope to gain a better understanding behind the reason Hitler was so successful in manipulating the Germans along with why their obedience continued on such extreme levels. Milgram conducts a strategy similar to Hitler’s in attempt to test ones obedience. Diana Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist, disagreed with Milgram’s experiment in her article, ”Some Thoughts on Ethics of Research: After Reading Milgram’s “Behavioral Study of obedience”, Baumrind explains
In Milgram's opinion the teachers continued because they were told they were not responsible for whatever happens to the learner, he states “Experimenter: i'm responsible for anything that happens to him ( Milgram 81).” Milgram says, “Teachers were the ones inflicting pain but still did not feel responsible for their act ( Milgram 83).” Also Milgram says “ they often liked the feeling they get from pleasing the experimenter (Milgram 86).” However Baumrind believes that the teachers only followed orders because they trusted to experimenter. Baumrind states, “The subject has the right to expect that the Psychologist with whom he is interacting has some concern for his welfare, and the personal attributes and professional skill to express his good will effectively ( Baumrind 94).” When Baumrind tells the readers this she means that she thinks the teachers believe that that the experimenter would not let anything bad happen to the
Stanley Milgram, author of "The Perils of Obedience," conducted an experiment at Yale University to see if average citizens would partake in a study revolving around obedience to authority (Milgram 78). In said experiment, a professor from Yale would give an ordinary individual the authority to shock another person. If the ordinary individual asked to stop, the professor would coax them to continue and remind them they hold no responsibility (78). Not only did Milgram 's study revolve around obedience to authority, it also stressed the point of every person could be capable of torture and doing so without feeling responsible. In the article, "The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism," author Marianne Szegedy-Maszak states, anyone can
In her excerpt, Baumrind discusses the potential dangers of the aftereffects on the participants of the experiment. On many occasions she suggests that these people are subjects of a cruel and unethical experiment, and suffer from harm to their self-image and emotional disruption (227). She also calls Milgram’s experiment a “game” (Baumrind 225); this illustrates her negative outtake on the experiment which is seen throughout the article. On the contrary, Parker discusses the aftereffects on Milgram himself. He expresses how the experiment, although it shows light to what extent of obedience a person may travel, ruined Milgram’s reputation. Parker also cites many notable authors and psychologists and their reactions to Milgram’s experiment. Despite their differences, Baumrind and Parker are able to find common ground on a few issues concerning the Milgr...
A former Yale psychologist, Stanley Milgram, administered an experiment to test the obedience of "ordinary" people as explained in his article, "The Perils of Obedience". An unexpected outcome came from this experiment by watching the teacher administer shocks to the learner for not remembering sets of words. By executing greater shocks for every wrong answer created tremendous stress and a low comfort levels within the "teacher", the one being observed unknowingly, uncomfortable and feel the need to stop. However, with Milgram having the experimenter insisting that they must continue for the experiments purpose, many continued to shock the learner with much higher voltages.The participants were unaware of many objects of the experiment until
The learners were a part of Milgram’s study and were taken into a room with electrodes attached to their arms. The teachers were to ask questions to the learners and if they answered incorrectly, they were to receive a 15-450 voltage electrical shock. Although the learners were not actually shocked, the teachers believed they were inflicting real harm on these innocent people.... ... middle of paper ...
In a series of experiments conducted from 1960 to 1963, American psychologist Stanley Milgram, sought to examine the relationship between obedience and authority in order to understand how Nazi doctors were able to carry out experiments on prisoners during WWII. While there are several theories about Milgram’s results, philosopher Ruwen Ogien uses the experiment as grounds for criticizing virtue ethics as a moral theory. In chapter 9 of Human Kindness and The Smell of Warm Croissant, Ogien claims that “what determines behavior is not character but other factors tied to situation” (Ogien 120). The purpose of this essay is not to interpret the results of the Milgram experiments. Instead this essay serves to argue why I am not persuaded by Ogien’s
The most basic concept in social psychology is conformity. Conformity is the idea that behaviour or a belief is changed in order to follow, or conform, to what is considered the “norm.” One of the oldest experiments to support this notion was conducted in 1935 by Muzafer Sherif (Song, Ma, Wu, Li, 2012 p. 1366). There are two different types of
Firstly, the experiment took place at Yale University, which creates an atmosphere of credibility and importance. Those participating were also lead to believe that their contribution went to a worthy cause – to advance knowledge and understanding of learning processes. They were also told that the victim (the learner), was taking part voluntarily meaning they had an obligation to fulfill even if it became unpleasant, (also applies to the teacher). Additionally, the volunteers were being paid which created a further sense of commitment to the investigation. Those who took part also had little knowledge about how psychological experiments ran, as Milgram’s study was most likely the first one they ever partook in. Therefore they had little knowledge about the rights and expectations of the situation, and felt more confined than if they had been through a similar experience prior. The participant was also under the impression that the roles of being the teacher or learner were assigned randomly, so there were no feelings of unfairness in the system. The partakers had also been assured that the shocks were “painful but not dangerous” and that the procedure was all part of a worthy long term cause (Holah). Lastly, the victim responded to all of the questions until the 300 Volt was reached, convincing the participant of their willingness and persistence to
Obedience is something most people are taught at a very young age. They are taught to listen to the commands of their parents, older siblings and family members, adhere to the instructions of teachers. People are taught that obedient behavior was rewarding, and defiant or disobedient behavior would most likely lead to punishment. That seems like a simple concept to comprehend, but what happens when being obedient means causing harm to others. Blind obedience is a term that, put simply, means doing something because you are told, without putting any thought of your own into the decision. This type of obedience has been used to describe the actions of people involved in notorious events in world history; most notably, the actions of Nazi officials
Milgram’s studies on obedience to authority as well as obedience under extreme stress, paved a way to understanding the human psyche and how we handle choices we do not understand. As human beings we are given from a very young age a set of morals and standards we choose to live by. We see our parent’s successes and failures and we base the choices we make on what made them happy, and what will in the long run, bring us the same joy. From the beginning of the experiment you can see the pressure he starts everyone under. Where he chooses to begin his testing tells you a lot about what he was wanting them all to feel. A very rundown, dark, empty building with prison cell like rooms with sparse walls. Pipes showing and most likely a musty smell
In 1951, Solomon Asch carried out several experiments on conformity. The aim of these studies was to investigate conformity in a group environment situation. The purpose of these experiments was to see if an individual would be swayed by public pressure to go along with the incorrect answer. Asch believed that conformity reflects on relatively rational process in which people are pressured to change their behaviour. Asch designed experiments to measure the pressure of a group situation upon an individual judgment. Asch wanted to prove that conformity can really play a big role in disbelieving our own senses.
Summary of the Experiment In Stanley Milgram’s ‘The Perils of Obedience’, Milgram conducted experiments with the objective of knowing “how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist" (Milgram 317). In the experiments, two participants would go into a warehouse where the experiments were being conducted and inside the warehouse, the subjects would be marked as either a teacher or a learner. A learner would be hooked up to a kind of electric chair and would be expected to do as he is being told by the teacher and do it right because whenever the learner said the wrong word, the intensity of the electric shocks increased. Similar procedure was undertaken on the teacher and the results of the experiments showed conclusively that a large number of people would go against their personal conscience in obedience to authority (Milgram 848).... ...
The general goal of the experiment was to see how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict another person just because he or she was ordered to do so by an experimental scientist. In his article, "The Perils of Obedeince", Milgram concluded his analysis of the experiment by saying "Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority," (Milgram, 1974, p76). Milgram summarized that obedience is a basic behavior element in social life that is deeply ingrained that it override people from acting according to the ethics, sympathy, and moral conduct (Milgram, 1973, p62). The way obedience is set in the modern society leads to the loss of personal responsibility from ordinary citizens. In the society, people are taught to behave legally and morally. However, Milgram argued that learning ethics does not necessarily determine what people will actually do in their real-life situations (Milgram, 1973, p76). To check the experiment 's accuracy, similar experiments were held in different countries such as South Africa,
Conformity is defined as “a change in one’s behavior due to he real or imagined influence of other people.” Research has shown that impersonating a certain group or persons ideas, or conforming to their beliefs, happens so quickly and without thought that it’s mechanical and the reason that conformity is constantly present because it is habitual (Griskevicius, 2006). While assessing a situation we are uncertain about, we can find more precise information by adhering to others, eventually leading to correct decision-making. Everybody conforms (men, women, children, etc.), it’s just a part of living, but what tells us if we should conform or not? Specifically, does gender determine our level of conformity, or is it the social roles we take as individuals? This paper reviews studies on primed social roles on gender differences in conformity, performed by Cassie Ann Hull Eno, sex differences in human behavior, performed by Alice H. Eagly and company, fundamental motives that facilitate strategic conformity, performed by Vladas Griskevicus and company, along with others cited in the “resources”.