‘I Was Just Obeying Orders’ - The Milgram Experiment
What would you do if asked to inflict pain on someone as part of an experiment? How much pain would you inflict if instructed to go beyond safe limits? You are a moral person so you would not, or would you? The evidence says you probably would if told to by an authority figure.
The Milgram Experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. He wanted to understand the psychology of genocide and if the Nazi defence of 'just following orders' had merit.
We forget we are social creatures and wish to fit in with our peers, it is a successful survival strategy. It is only a very recent phenomenon that it is possible to live safely on your own. We were designed to live in small tribes with a tribal leader. For this to be successful the majority of people must follow orders and do what they are told by the Chief. All authority figures are simply a representation of the Tribal Chief and therefore we are genetically programmed to obey.
This experiment measured the willingness of men with varying levels of education, aged 20 to 50 years, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting in an experiment and asked to administer electric shocks to a subject in another room. These fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.
Each experiment consisted of three people:
1. the "experimenter" - in charge of the session
2. the "teacher" – to help with the experiment, but was actually the subject of the experiment
3. the "learner" – an actor who pretended to be a subject of the experiment
The teacher and learner would arrive at the session at the same time and meet each other informally. The experimenter would explain they were taking part in "a scientific study of memory and learning", to see what the effect of punishment is on a subject's ability to memorise content. They would be told that payment for taking part was guaranteed regardless of how the experiment unfolded.
The experimenter would ask them to draw lots to determine which role they would be assigned – this was a performance as the draw was rigged to ensure the required roles were assigned to the correct person.
The experimenter dressed in a white lab coat would take both participants into another room and strap the learner into a chair ready for the electric shock experiment to begin.
Authority figures nearly always display visual signs that they are in charge, in this case, it is the white lab coat. Such visual signs can range from kings wearing crowns, to police uniforms, and security guards using walkie-talkies. We register their authority before we ever interact with them.
The teacher and experimenter would leave the room with the actor strapped into the chair and start the experiment remotely using a microphone to communicate. The teacher then tested the learner's memory and administered an electric shock if the answer was wrong. The fake electric shock generator included markings that varied from "Slight Shock" up to "Danger: Severe Shock."
The teacher believed that for each wrong answer, the learner received an electric shock - in reality, no shocks were given. Pre-recorded shouts and screams were played when the shock generator was triggered, these increased in severity as the shock level increased. When the highest level was reached, the learner fell silent.
If the teacher wished to stop the experiment, the experimenter was instructed to give specific verbal prods:
- Please continue or Please go on.
- The experiment requires that you continue.
- It is absolutely essential that you continue.
- You have no other choice; you must go on.
If the teacher still wished to stop after all four successive verbal prods, the experiment was halted. Otherwise, the experiment ended after the teacher had conducted three shocks at the maximum setting.
The experimenter also used prods if the teacher commented on the subject's well-being:
- Although the shocks may be painful, there is no permanent tissue damage, so please go on.
- Whether the learner likes it or not, you must go on until he has learned all the word pairs correctly, so please go on.
This experiment showed that it did not take much persuasion to convince a teacher to continue administering the punishment. Even when they thought they could kill the learner, they only needed reassurance from an authority figure to carry on.
It seems we will readily hand over our morality and personal responsibility to another for the perceived greater good of the tribe. It only requires us to believe the authority figure officially represents the tribal leader. The tribe in this context can mean community, society or organisation.
Before conducting this experiment, Milgram wanted to discover what other professionals thought the results would be. He polled fourteen Yale University senior-year psychology majors to predict the results. All believed that only a very small fraction (1.2%) of teachers would be prepared to inflict the maximum voltage.
In reality, the results were shocking. The experiment found that a very high proportion of subjects would fully obey the experimenter, with every participant administering high-level shocks, and 65% going to the fatal level.
These results are a step in understanding the human psyche in terms of the horrendous actions we have recorded in recent history. Such as the Rwanda genocide and the Cambodian killing fields. But also the inaction of professionals that contributed to the grooming gangs rape of vulnerable girls.
It is wrong to think that individuals who are involved in such immorality do not care about the victims or do not suffer due to their actions - for they do.
Milgram discussed the effect the experiment had on the teachers while taking part. He states: "Subjects were uncomfortable administering the shocks, and displayed varying degrees of tension and stress. These signs included sweating, trembling, stuttering, biting their lips, groaning, and digging their fingernails into their skin, and some were even having nervous laughing fits or seizures. 14 of the 40 subjects showed definite signs of nervous laughing or smiling. Every participant paused the experiment at least once to question it. Most continued after being assured by the experimenter. Some said they would refund the money they were paid for participating."
The lesson for us to take away from this experiment is to acknowledge that we are susceptible to cowardice in the face of authority. Now we know this fact, it should be easier for us to spot when we are obeying an experimenter for no other reason than they are the authority figure in the room.
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