Would you obey someone who ordered you to hurt someone else? That is the question that Stanley Milgram addressed in classic studies carried out in the early 1960's. The 6 videos linked here outline his method, his findings, and findings from a recent replication of his research. After watching these videos, click on the link that describes a French documentary maker using this method to create a 'reality' t.v.
What do you think of the ethics of what Milgram did? Should psychologists be allowed to put their research participants in positions of extreme stress? Can you balance that question against the benefits provided by the knowledge gained? What if we had just described what we were planning to do, and asked people what they would do if placed in the same situation? Would the results have been the same? What about the French documentary...was that ethical? Why or why not?