“The Perils of Obedience” by Stanley Milgram
In a post of 250 words, please respond to one of the following reading guide questions:
* What does Milgram tell participants the point of the experiment is? What is the experiment actually about?
* What is the role of the “teacher”? What is the role of the “learner”? *Which one is the real focus (or subject) of the experiment?
* Who were the subjects in the first series of experiments (the pilot studies)? Who were the subjects in the next experimental series? How did the results of the two series compare to each other?
* How did subjects behave when they were allowed to choose the shock level? What does Milgram conclude from this?
* How did subjects behave when the experimenter gave his orders by telephone? What does Milgram conclude from this?
* According to Milgram, why are some subjects willing to administer up to 450 volts even when they have to force the learner’s hand down on the electrode?
* What is the “essence of obedience” according to Milgram?
* What conclusion does Milgram come to about people’s ability to resist authority?
* What connections does Milgram make between the problem of obedience and the division of labor in society?
* What larger conclusions can we draw from Milgram’s experiment? For example, does the experiment give us any insight into how a Nazi officer was able to obey orders without questioning them?