TO BE DONE WED. Dr. Stanley Milgram 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; or is it a need to go along with the group? As some students watched the film Obedience, they laughed at the people receiving the shocks. 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 some of the volunteers act as they administered the shocks? What pressures were placed on them as the experiment continued? How and when did they decide to stop? Did you identify with any of the volunteers you observed in Obedience? What did you learn that you didn't know before you watched this film?
22 comments:
I was not in class for the viewing of this film.
I was not in class for this assignment.
In think that the thing that most encourages obedience is fear of punishment and fear of isolation. The fact that someone could obey another person to something inhumane to another human being is out of fear. They believe that if they do not comply with the order that they will be punished or be considered an outcast for not following the majority. In regards to the laughter that some students displayed, I believe that in tense and somewhat awkward or uncomfortable positions that people are placed in they tend to brush it off with some sort of mechanism such as laughing, twitching, sweating, etc... The students in the class may not have known how to react to this sort of experience so they felt the need to brush it off by nervously laughing. I think in this sense they were laughing to relieve the tension and or because they were embarrassed at watching the “teachers” stupidly continuing on with the experiment even after they were subjected to the “students” cries for help. As most of the volunteers administered the shocks they felt uncomfortable as they heard the “students” in the other room crying for help. Many of them refused to go on with the experiment as the “students” began to ask to be let go. A few others listened to the test administrator’s instructions to continue the experiment even after the “students” refused to go on. As some of the volunteers felt morally obligated to help the “students”, they would refuse to administer the test any further, even as the people running the study told them to continue. Some kept going as they realized that they themselves would not be liable if the “student” were to get injured in the experiment. Many decided to stop as soon as they heard the “students” yelling for help. Honestly, I most indentified with the teachers that refused to go on. While watching this film, I felt very uncomfortable when the teachers were told by the experimenters to continue on. As I heard those men calling for help, I wanted to just go up to the teachers and be like, “Are you stupid? Do you not hear that someone is in pain and hurting from electric shocks that you have willingly administered?” It makes me mad to find out that one man continued the experiment all the way through until eventually he was told to go backward and the administers told him to stop. It amazes me to see how far someone would go inflicting pain onto another human being just because they don’t feel liable for their life.
I think that there are a few factors that encourage obedience; I think that the main factors are a desire to do what is considered "right" and also to avoid punishment. As some students watched the film Obedience, they laughed at the people receiving the shocks. How do you account for that laughter? I believe that people laughing at the people getting shocked is just a natural reaction to them. For example, people often laugh at someone that slips on a patch of ice or someone that gets hit in the privates with an object; most people just have a tendency to laugh at those that get hurt in a non-serious manner. I think that the most appropriate explanation for people laughing at those getting shocked is relieving stress or seeing someone else "on the spot." As long as nobody gets hurt, seeing people in pain can often cause laughter. The majority of the volunteers felt extremely uncomfortable as they were administering the shock. People were very uncomfortable putting another person in pain despite the fact that it didn't hurt them. As the experiment continued, there were pressures placed on the administers. As the experiment continued, the administers had to shock the victim with higher and higher voltages. How and when did they decide to stop? Most of the administers decided to stop as soon as the victim said to stop. I definitely identified with all of the administers that stopped when the victim said to stop; I would have continued to shock the victim for the sake of the experiment until I knew the victim was uncomfortable with what was happening. I learned how weak-minded and downright pathetic a small minority of people can be when they know that the blame is not on them.
I feel like what encourages people to obey is either a fear of punishment, a desire to please, or a need to get along with a group. It can be either one of these or a mix of each depending on the person and what the situation is. I felt disgusted when the people laughed. I felt it was really sad how easily people laughed at people who are in pain, especially since they are the ones causing the pain. I don't think that most of the people were actually happy when they laughed, but that they were releasing tension. They were nervous and their bodies reacted by laughing. Volunteers laughed, the were nervous, the were uncomfortable, moving around, arguing. They were pressured to continue giving the shocks even when they realized how much pain the student was in. They decided the stop once the patient started to complain and stopped by refusing to continue. I hope that if I am ever in a situation like that, that I will not follow those orders no matter the consequences. I learned that once the responsibility is off of a persons shoulders, the will be willing to do almost anything.
I think obedience is encouraged by the fear of not being accepted, as well as the desire to be rewarded and thought well of because of their obedience. People have an innate desire to be accepted and to belong, as well as a desire to separate “us” and “them”. Therefore, people will obey because they hope that obedience will win them favor and ensure their place as part of “us” and not as part of “them”. When the teachers continued to shock learners, they were told they were not responsible, so they did not think about the welfare of the learner, since the learner was different from the teacher and because the teacher no longer took responsibility for the learner. The laughter of the teachers in the experiment and of the students watching the film could most likely be chalked up to an attempt to relieve tension and stress. Psychologically, laughter or smiling can improve your mood or help you relax, even if you force it. Therefore, I think the laughter mostly finds root in nervousness and discomfort, rather than because the experiment was actually funny. A lot of teachers administered the shocks somewhat reluctantly, especially once they thought the learner was in pain or even danger. This is also the point where most of them stopped and refused to continue. The teachers were then put under the pressure that they had to continue for the experiment and this was repeated many times. I identify most with the teachers that stopped, especially the ones that stopped sooner rather than later. I value obedience, but in appropriate context. Shocking others does not fit into an appropriate reason to obey. If I thought the person I was administering punishments for was in serious pain, or thought they might be in danger I would no shock them again.
I think obedience comes from a desire to be part of something. Furthermore, I believe the obedience stems from the perception of inferiority. If one feels they are inferior to somebody, they will be obedient to that superior person. I think the laughing was a nervous reaction by the teachers. They were comfortable by the situation and laughed as out of nervousness. It was most likely a way to relieve tension from the guilt of hurting someone. Some volunteers felt bad about hurting the students and refused to go on. They stopped after realizing that the subject was actually in pain. The obedient ones displayed their obedience after understanding that they don't hold responsibility for any injuries. I learned from this film that people will be obedient in hurting others if the burden is not on them.
I had already watched this film of the Milgram experiment in Psychology earlier, however it was still very interesting to me. What surprised me the most about the results was that as soon as the "teachers" shifted the blame off themselves and onto someone else, they barely hesitated before administering painful and potentially deadly shocks. I think it was very clever of Milgram to shock the teacher with 45 volts before they began, because it gave them a perspective as to how much current they were dealing with. Most of the teachers said the shock was painful, yet when they were not culpable for their actions, most didn't mind shocking a stranger with ten times that voltage. This experiment sheds light on a very scary part of being human, the capability of inflicting pain or death on others without remorse.
I think that the volunteers delivering the shocks knew on some moral level that what they were doing was wrong, but they believed that they didn’t have a choice and were simply required to obey and shock the “learner.” The people who laughed most likely were nervous and felt insecure about their actions, but at the same time, they were probably happy that it wasn’t them being shocked. I was actually surprised when a couple of the “teachers” got to a certain point and flat out refused to do anything else. When the premise of the film was explained, I expected most, if not all of the teachers to keep shocking the students to the end. I thought it was incredible that a scientist was actually able to conduct this experiment by offering $4.50 in an ad; from what I understand, that wasn’t even a whole lot of money then, so I can’t imagine anyone accepting the offer and shocking their fellow human beings. I think that typically, people obey orders because of a combination of a inert need to fit in, a desire to please, and respect for authority figures. People wanted to be able to finish the experiment and provide the scientist with good results on learning, and they didn’t want to become the outcast that compromised the experiment. Also, the fact that the volunteers had been selected as the “teacher” might’ve made them feel like they had some sort of responsibility and like they had to help the “student” learn all of the words on the list. Overall, I think the volunteers felt they had no other options and simply had to listen in order to be a good teacher.
I was absent.
The Milgram experiment was a pathetic thing to watch. Once most of the "teachers" were told that the resposibility was off their shoulders, They would go as far as needed. I think that it is safe tosay that most of the teachers felt bad about it but would blindly follow their instruction. It is all about following the mob mentality and to be liked and accepted in a group even if it goes against your morals.
After watching this video, I believe that people follow obedience due to fear of punishment or even death. Sometimes, as in the case of a normal American student, we obey our parents because we either want to please or because we know they are in charge. In the case of experiment, the group laughed at people receiving the shocks due to their fear of going against group. I think that the reason the group laughed was due to their fear of the situation and they were afraid to go against the teacher and the group.There were a few people who didn't want to go along with the shocking of the people, and there was one person who seemed to really enjoy it. They decided to stop when the shock level got so high that they were afraid the people would die. I don't know how I would have reacted. I'd like to think that I would stand up for the people being shocked. Not knowing how I would really react, makes me question who I am. I am starting to understand how people with authority can influence other people who do not have any authority. I am so happy that I live in this country and at this time do not have to worry about something so awful as this. I hope it never happens.
The Milgram experiment was a very eye opening documentary to watch. The whole concept of the experiment was very cruel and brutal, at least the idea of it. The one thing that I noticed from it was that at some point or another each teacher realized what they were doing was severely hurting the “student”. But what separated ones from others was if the “teacher” ended up continuing to shock the other person, after they were told they had to continue. What made people keep going was the fact that they were either told they didn’t have any responsibility for the other person, and if the scientists left the room during the experiment. Also more people stop the test when they themselves had to strap in the student to the electric chair, making them feel like they were indeed doing this to the person. Overall I feel that this documentary was very surprising seeing this in America, especially after the Holocaust. It makes it easier how being in Nazi Germany were able to do this with the belief that were just following orders and not responsible for anyone they were hurting.
the video that we saw today was very interesteing and showed a very big insight on what it is like to be peered pressured into doing something you dont want to do. the film was a good example of the change of responsabilty on people and how it was possible for people to do things they dont nececarily believe or want to do.i dont know what i would in that situation but i believe that i would of stopped if i heard the person being tested on was being truely hurt
I found this expirement to be really interesting. It showed how much control someone could have on another person just like hitler. It also showed how hurt the person expirimenting would get after making the person suffer. This shows how young Nazis would feel after killing and having this hatred towards the jews. It showed weakness but it also showed strenthg. it showed that people will stick up for what is right and sto what they were doing if they thought what they were doing was wrong. I have no doubt in my mind that this expiriment had a big impact on many people who watched it or did it.
After watching the Milgram expiriment, I felt enlightened and disturbed. Enlightened because of the horrible things that people would do in a heartbeat as long as they are not responsible, and disturbed bucause of the extent that they would go through with the expiriments. It made me think about the Nazi's running extermination camps and just folling the orders of their leaders without thought or feeling. I would ask what kept them going through it if they had known it was wrong to do and even if they did feel bad, they would continue "teaching" the students at the order of the man running the expiriment. Why did they keep going? I think it was a combination of factors. Desire to please, fear of punishment, and a need to feel accepted could all make a person unable to make their own moral descision. As some teachers went into the expiriment they started to laugh after they could shock the student. I believe the reason for this is that laughter can relieve social tension and mae the person feel better about what they are doing because they are just laughing it off. It seem like nervious laughter, as if they know what they are doing isn't normal and is hurting someone on the other end, it makes the teacher happy they he isn't the one in the students postion. While some teachers felt to bad about what they were doing and stood up and stopped the expiriment, other, weaker teachers kept going at the will of the expiriment administrator. The man was bagging to have the expiriment stop but they continued and he kept going. The only thing that allowed this man to do this is that the responsibility of the delivery of the shocks was taken off of him at one point and then, although he still felt bad, he continued with the expiriment because HE wasn't the one in charge. To me it doesnt make a difference who is in charge each person has the right to make their own descisions and can follow their own thought, but the weak can be taken advantage of but others easily. I identified with one of the teachers as he got maybe halfway up the shock power and he stood up and siad it was wrong and that he wouldnt continue and said it wasnt worth the money they were going to give to him. The importance of this film is to show people how easily people can be persuaded, especially after 6 years of brainwashing the german people into being the pawns of the country, it came naturally to aimlessly follow any order that was given to you as you were doing it for the good of the fatherland and the good of the German people when in reality they were following direct orders from hitler.
I found the Milgram experiment to be very interesting but rather disappointing. I think the way that teachers were so quick to electrocute someone to the point that it hurt them in order to fallow the orders of the person performing the experiment very disappointing. It is hard to believe that someone would hurt someone else just because they were told to. Even if the so called “blame” was taken away from them they should still have some morals and realize that even if they aren’t blamed for it they are still responsible. I guess it comes down to the saying “if they told you jump of a bridge would you.” And any normal person would say no of course not but if it scaled down to can u flip that switch apparently a lot of people would.
I think fear is the number one motivator for obedience. Because the teacher didnt take responsiblity for the shocks that they were giving the learners. Overall i really liked this film and i had seen it once in psych class but it always shows me what people will do when they are in power and dont have to take responsiblity. People are so easily persaused and will do anything to be the ones that aren't getting hurt. I honestly can't even people some admistered the highest shock and it scares me what other humans can do to each other.
I watched this experiment in my psychology class last semester. What shocked me most the first time I watched it was how people continued to shock the learner even though they expressed worry, fear, and concern about the learners heart condition. Upon watching it a second time, I noticed a flaw in the experiment. Even though the teachers didn't realize it, the learner continued to answer the question even after yelling to let him out. This shows that the learner was an actor and that may have affected the results if the teachers realized.
It was very surprising to me how many of the students kept going after they were told that they weren't responsible for anything. This video sends a powerful message and shows how easily people are persuaded and weak and are do what they are told to knowing that it's the wrong thing to do.
I wasn't here for the film
I was not there for the film
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