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Obediance to Authority

The fictitious story given to these "teachers" was that the experiment was exploring effects of punishment (for incorrect responses) on learning behavior. These individuals were asked to administer an electric shock of increasing intensity to a "learner" for each mistake he made during the experiment. The "teacher" was not aware that the "learner" in the study was actually an actor, merely indicating discomfort as the "teacher" increased the electric shocks. When the "teacher" asked whether increased shocks should be given he/she was verbally encouraged and at times ordered to continue. Sixty percent of the "teachers" obeyed orders to punish the learner to the very end of the 450-volt scale. No subject stopped before reaching 300 volts. Yet prior to each experimentation, individuals of the same education, social, and occupational backgrounds were given this scenario in a lecture hall by Milgram and were asked when they would end the "teacher"-"learner" experiment. On average, psychologists said they would have stopped when the voltage level reached 120. University students reached 135. Nobody in any group said they would have continued beyond 300 volts.
             Several conclusions may be drawn from this experiment. Most individuals who believe they are superiorly upright in morals, may in fact come short of these expectations when met with a questionable situation such as Milgram's. Though each individual claimed that he/she would not continue beyond 300 volts, more than half continued to the very end of the voltage scale. Another conclusion drawn from this study is that individuals, when told that responsibility of a harmful act is not theirs but on the authority who ordered them, the individual is more likely to go on with the morally depraved act. Although both conclusions show an individuals willingness and sense of duty to obey authority, one can also conclude that there is a breaking point.


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  • Word Count: 1145
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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