Friday, December 4, 2009
Period 5 - "The Milgram Experiment"
Milgram has defined obedience as “the psychological mechanism that links individual action to political purpose.” What do you think encourages obedience? Is it fear of punishment? A desire to please? A need to go along with the group? A belief in authority? As some students watched the film Obedience, some laughed. How do you account for that laughter? Is it because something was funny or was there another reason? Those who study human behavior say that laughter can be a way of relieving tension, showing embarrassment or expressing relief that someone else is “on the spot.” Which explanation is most appropriate in this case? How did the volunteers act as they administered the shocks? What did they say? What pressures were placed on them as the experiment continued? How did they decide whether to stop? Did you identify with any of the volunteers you observed in Obedience? Post your reflective comment by the end of the weekend and be sure to make a comment to another student’s post.
22 comments:
Bsed on the Milgram Experiment, I think that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished by an authority. When the people laughed I think that it was because they were relieving tension in an awkward situation. The volunteers administered the shocks with feelings of laughter or concern for the man being shocked. They were pressured to continue the experiment even though they believed the learner was being harmed and they decided whether or not to stop based on their own willingness to defy authority.
I agree with Alecia, I think that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished by authority. I also think that obedience is caused by fear. A lot of the participants continued to question the "learner" because they felt like they had no other choice. But others decided to defy the administrator and stopped the experiment when the "learner" started to be in pain. Their willingness to stop characterized who they were as a person. I believe that some of the participants laughed because they were relieving tension and they were nervous because of the situation they were put in. Another sign of nervousness was when some of the participants started to smoke. This is because they were pressured to continue the experiment even though the "learner" was in pain. The participants did not want the responsibility of hurting the man. They had the upper hand in the situation and had the choice to either go on with the experiment or stop it.
I agree with both Alecia and Maackenzie that obedience is partially driven by fear of punishment, however I also think that as humans we want to please others. The fact that these people voulentered for the experiment made them feel a pressure to complete the task. The participants most likely also felt pressure from the scientist, and they assumed that he wouold know better and he would be responsible for anthing that happend. Also I belive that laughter is caused by tension. I imagine that they 'teacher" was uncomfortable in the situation, and it might simply have been nervous laughter.
Like everyone else, I do believe that the laughter was a ploy to relieve some of the tension. However, I think obedience stems out of a belief in authority, sometimes with some fear or a yearn to please mingled in. We obey our laws in the U.S. because we believe they are just and we do not wish to be punished. I found it interesting that many of the investigators didn't stop until the man 'protested' about his heart condidtion. It was a little disconcerting to see how accepting of authority people are.
I agree with Alecia when she says, "Bsed on the Milgram Experiment, I think that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished by an authority." I think some people were laughing because they were glad it was not them. I think they may have also been laughing to lighten up the tension and try to not think about how they are hurting the other person. Some of volunteers felt bad as they administered the shocks however many of them did not stop which I found shocking. There was pressure put on the people to do the shocks however the leader never said they would be punished if they stopped. The people were so influenced by the person giving them orders that the ones who stopped did not stop until the person in the other room was screaming and begging them to stop. I can not believe how easily these people are manipulated by the leader and how easily they fall into his trap.
I agree with Alecia when she says, "Bsed on the Milgram Experiment, I think that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished by an authority." I think some people were laughing because they were glad it was not them. I think they may have also been laughing to lighten up the tension and try to not think about how they are hurting the other person. Some of volunteers felt bad as they administered the shocks however many of them did not stop which I found shocking. There was pressure put on the people to do the shocks however the leader never said they would be punished if they stopped. The people were so influenced by the person giving them orders that the ones who stopped did not stop until the person in the other room was screaming and begging them to stop. I can not believe how easily these people are manipulated by the leader and how easily they fall into his trap.
I think the two most unfluential factors that encourage obedience are a fear of punishment and the need to go along with a group. I think people laughed at the movie because they either felt uncomfortable or they thought the person pressing the button was making the wrong decision. I definitely think in this case laughing was expressing the relief that someone else is "on the spot." Most of the volunteers seemed nervous, worried, and uncomfortable. However, few seemed like it wasn't even affecting them. Mnay of them stopped saying they didn't want to be responsible for someone else getting hurt and that they thought someone should go check on the other person. Most of them decided to stop when the learner said they wanted to stop and that they couldn't handle another shock. I could kind of identify with the some of the people but only to a point because I never would have been a part of that experiment anyway. I agree with Allison in that it was a little disconcerting to see how accepting of authority people are.
I agree with Alecia when she said that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished. When the teacher was giving the test to the "learner" and he screamed and yelled to get him out of there, may of them looked to the test administrator to see what they should do. Many argued and said that they would not go on with the test and said they didn’t need the money. In a way offering their own, "punishment." Some of the teachers laughed, I think it was because they were nervous and they didn’t know how to handle the "pain" they were causing the "learner." When the teacher administered the shock, as the voltage got higher, the more hesitant the teacher, and made the shock quicker in a way. All of the volunteers told the voltage that they were about to administer. As the experiment continued, the teacher was expected to keep the experiment going and was pressured to do so. Many of them decided to stop when the "learner" said that his heart was hurting and to get him out of the room he was in. There were few who didn’t stop when the "learner" put up a fight. One man continued the test only if the administer took responsibility for the man who was the learner.
I agree with Alecia like many others, I think that the fear of being punished by an authority caused the obedience of the "teachers". Laughter can be used to hide weakness, and I believe people laughed because they were scared to actually have others see how they really felt about the actions of the experiment. Many of the "teachers" tried to hide laughter as they administered the shocks into the "learners". Once the "learners" began to "scream in pain" the "teacher" would stop and in many cases argue with the administer of the test. The argument was about the concern for the "learner's" health. The administer would push them to continue with the test, and many did what they were told. Overall the "teacher" would continue with the experiment 65% of the time until they were told to stop. The "teachers" that stopped on their own were strongly concerned with the "learner's" health and stood up to the administer. I identified with any "teacher" who stopped on their own, standing up for what they actually believed in, they were more concerned about the "learner's" health then they were concern about the experiment. I couldn't believe the one video that we saw where the "teacher" continued until the he was told to stop. He didn't even try and take a strong stand against the administer, he just continued with the test after weakly arguing. This piece of the film was especially disturbing to me.
I agree with Alecia when she says, "Based on the Milgram Experiment, I think that obedience is caused by the fear of being punished by an authority." When the people laughed, I think it was due to them trying to relieve the tension they had. This whole experiment had to do with peer pressure and most of the people didn’t give into it. When some of the people in the experiment started to smoke, I think that had to do with nervousness. This film was very interesting, and showed you how some people react when they are put in certain situations. This made me realize how accepting people are to authority.
I agree with many of the other students when they say obedience is caused by the fear of being punished. The "teacher" in the experiment wanted to stop at some points during the experiment when the "Learner" was crying out but he was pressured to go on by the teacher. It really opened my eyes when the some of the "teachers" went on when the students were complaining just because the teacher told them too. It amazes how much people obey authority because of their fear.
This film is a perfect example of keeping the peace. perfectly normal people are doing horrendous things that baffle scientists. They do this just to keep the peace and not cause trouble for themselves or their families. When an authority figure tells you to do something there is a sense that you must obey them because they are at a higher level than you. That is why so many people were willing to comply with the person in the white lab coat. The reason why people were laughing was because the situation they were put in was so uncomfortable that they laughed to ease the tension. It is a common defense mechanism.
After watching the film, I can more than agree that obedience is triggered by a shadow of authority cast over a human. I feel that the people who's role in giving the shocks laughed at times in order to keep their sanity. I was glad to see that there were people there who cared and I enjoyed seeing their reactions when they found out that no one was being shocked at all. I was also glad to see that the learner wasn't being harmed, that would be an insane experiment. The scientist was really strict, and the man at the end was weak because he didn't disobey the mission of the experiment. Very interesting film indeed.
I agree with just about everyone else in that fear causes obedience. People don't want to be punished for doing something thats wrong or against their beliefs. I think the best example in this experiment is the man who went all the way through to the end, because he didn't want to ruin the experiment. As cruel as it was, he still felt he had to continue, he wanted to stop at a couple points but when pressed, he continued. This is comparable to the Nazis who ran the extermination camps. They were afraid of Hitler and what could happen to them if they fought back against him or his beliefs. They were afraid of death and what Hitler could do. That is part of why they did what they did in Nazi Germany.
I agree with Alecia in that obedience is caused by fear of being punished by an elder or higher archy. People were really nervous to go on with the experiment and would laugh because they were nervous and were afraid of what was happening. The scientist pressured people into pushing the button and people were concerned with doing so but did it any ways.
i think it is important tot note that the man who completed the experiment was very fixated on the idea that though he was flicking the switches, the life of the man in the other room was not his responsibility. it is incredible to see what people are willing to do once they have been absolved of all moral implications
this was a lil skit to show if people will lissen to people of higher power or if they lissen to the person that needs help i think it was pretty bad way to teach some one
someething that this course tries to teach is that no one should ever be a bystander. This experiment showed us the people who would stand up for what they believed in and the people who did what they were told from the authoriative figure. Some of the pressure created people to smoke, laugh, etc.
I thought that experiment was to teach people to stand up for themselves when the person who was conducting the exerment pressured them to go on. It taught people to make tough descions when the person is yurning them to go on.
iN thiS SituatioN i would Not have Stopped the expeRimeNt. I would have Continued the proCeduRe eSpeCially Cuz i am getting paid for it.
The Milgram experiment showed me how obedient people can be under certain conditions. This experiment helped me understand the obedience that took place in Nazi Germany. Soldiers were given orders and nothing else was said. That is exactly how the majority of the teachers went about the experiment, which was solely for money. I also learned how little persuasion was used, yet was still effective to persuade the teachers. Overall, this experiment showed me how the killings in the Holocaust were carried out by human beings.
I thought this video was very interesting. There was some very questionable decisions made by teachers to continue the procedure.All in all this is just a video to show how people will re-act to there peers and to an authoritive figure. Some teachers would break out into nervous laughter, or they would smoke a ciggarette.
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