Milgram's Expirement

A social psychologist Stanley Milgram examined several justifications offered by Nazis during the Nuremberg Trial including Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem. After watching trial after trial, Milgram noticed that all of their defenses were strikingly similar. Most claimed that they were simply “following orders”. Milgram asked himself “Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?”

Milgram recruited ordinary people who were told that the experiment they were going to take part in was to test the effects of punishment on learning ability. They could play the role of either “teachers” or “learners” in this experiment. The participants thought they had an equal chance to become a learner or a teacher but the experiment was designed so that all participants were going to become teachers. The learner was actually an actor working for Milgram himself. Teachers of the experiment were led to a room with a “scientist” who would monitor and evaluate the experiment. The learner was sent to another room where there were speakers so the teacher could hear his answer. The learner would have wires attached to him that transmitted electricity each time he got a question wrong  Silence was treated as a wrong answer. Each time the learner got a question wrong, the amount of electricity transmitted to the learner would gradually increase. The first shock of electricity was 15 volts of electricity and the highest was a lethal 450 volts of electricity. 

The learner gave the wrong answer on purpose multiple times to see how far the teacher would go into the experiment. The experiment might seem risky, but there was a catch: the learner isn’t getting shocked by electricity. The point of the experiment was to see how many people would reach 450 volts of electricity. All of the participants weren’t willing to severely harm or kill another human being. However, the “scientist” in the room prodded the people to continue. Eventually, the scientist told the teachers they had no other choice but to continue. Some did refuse to continue. Milgram thought this would be the norm but he was wrong. The majority of the people (65%) reached all the way to 450 volts of electricity. Those who refused still reached 300 volts.

To figure out how many people were willing to go against their conscious to obey the scientist in this experiment, Milgram set up a slightly different experiment. This experiment would involve the teacher putting their hand on a shock plate so they could deliver the punishment. Both the learner and teacher would only get shocked once to ensure that the life of the learner isn’t in danger. After the teacher was shocked once the learner would be put in a separate room where the teacher couldn’t see them. This time, most of the teachers refused to go to 450 volts.

Most of those who went to 450 volts regretted their decision and blamed themselves quite harshly which is why Milgram’s Experiment isn’t practiced today. Some of the teachers who obeyed the scientist justified their actions by putting all the blame on their leader (the scientist). This is similar to what Adolf Eichmann and other Nazis did to justify their actions. The rebellious subjects argued it was more ethical to protect the needs of the learner than the needs of the experimenter.

Milgram’s Experiment answered his question. The experiment showed that most people submit to their authorities even when they demand them to do something against their will. There are two reasons for this. The first is authority figure seemed fit for the job. He was an educated scientist who made people feel wrong for questioning him. Another reason is they believed in the cause. They believed, in this case, they were doing the experiment for science. When we look back on history, we see many powerful leaders trying to manipulate the psychology of humans to their advantage. When an unfortunate event happens, it’s easy for extremists, like Adolf Hitler to take power by exploiting people’s fears and promoting ideas that people believe in. Once in power, they have become the “authority figure” and they will use their authority to make people afraid to question them. Eventually, they will have many people's support or submission. 

Sources:

1. CommonLit | the Milgram Experiment - University of North Carolina at ... https://www.uncp.edu/sites/default/files/2019-01/Milgrim%20Experiment%20Common%20Lit.pdf. 

2. Milgram's Experiment on Obedience to Authority, https://nature.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm.