William Atkins
Sunday, 21 December 2008 21:28
Science -
Biology
Page 1 of 5
A historic obedience experiment in human behavior in the 1960s and 1970s has been repeated in the 2000s. It shows that people will inflict pain onto another human being when urged on by an authority figure. Where is our independent thinking? Where is our compassion to our fellow humans? Where exactly?
U.S. social psychologist
Stanley Milgram performed a controversial but important experiment in human behavior beginning in the early 1960s—his famous “obedience to authority” experiments (the
Milgram Experiments). Now, in the 2000s, the experiment is repeated.
Dr. Milgram found that a majority of people will blindly obey an authority figure even when it comes to hurting other people.
While at Yale University,
Milgram conducted a series of experiments starting in 1961 under the guise of testing punishment and learning.
Milgram used three groups of people, one group he called the “teachers” (participants) and the others he named as the “learners” (victims) and the “authority figures” (experimenters).
The learners and the authority figure knew of the real intent of the experiment but the teachers did not.
The authority figures were played by a biology teacher, or other such professional, wearing a white laboratory coat. The learners were trained to play their role, such as crying out in pain.
The teachers were told by the authority figures to give electric shocks to learners using a large and imposing “shock-generator machine” whenever the learners made a mistake.
Page two continues with the Milgram study.
