Stanley Milgram decided to conduct an experiment to see if people would obey instructions to harm a person, even possibly fatally. He set up an experiment where a person would electrocute an individual for wrong answers given to questions asked. As the wrong answers accumulated, the voltage applied to the shock had to as well. The asker of the questions was not able to see the receiver, but they were able to hear the person reactions. Even though many would protest and scream, many continued to administer shocks.
The conclusion of the experiment said that even if an action conflicted with a person's feelings, they would still perform the action if ordered to by a figure in a position of authority. If they didn't consider the person to be over them, they did not listen, and objected. Correlations were made with the Nazis in Germany, saying that they only did what they were told.
It is always easy to blame someone else for wrong things you have done, however a person decides what they want to do and don't want to do. People never blame someone for the good things they have done. People never take responsibility for their actions, because then they would have to accept that they are what they are. We all realize that we are shaped by our actions and when we do bad things, they are amplified. The good things take a back seat while the negative deeds are pushed forward, so any alleviation is welcome. Such as displacing the blame.
2 comments:
When I read this experiment, I was shocked that people would do that to other people. I guess authority always has the power, but did they ever say that there would be consequences if they didn't continue to shock them? Everyone should have their own morals, and they should respect people enough to not mess with their minds like this.
I think that this experiment inightened us on alot of the unknown flaws in the human mind.
Knowing that a man will kill another when told to by a man of legitement power is a most shocking fact, but knowing that legitement power can be something as simple as a lab coat is damn near frightening.
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