Describe the study on obedience conducted by Stanley Milgram. Why do you think so many people were willing to obey the authority figure? Discuss the ethical dilemmas that resulted from Milgram's obedience research.
What will be an ideal response?
Milgram conducted a study in which people were brought into an experimental room to assume the role of a teacher. They were instructed by an authority figure that they must "shock" the learner if the learner answered a question incorrectly. Participants were instructed to increase the level of the shock as the learner continued to give wrong answers. A tape of the learner responding to the shocks was played, indicating that they were experiencing increasing amounts of distress. The study showed that 65 percent of participants were willing to deliver high levels of shock to learners at the instruction of an authority figure. Students will respond with different answers as to why people were willing to obey. Some examples of potential reasons would be that the participants felt obligated to continue because they had consented to do the experiment, that they never saw the learner being hurt, or that they did not feel any responsibility for the welfare of the learner because of the authority figure. The ethical dilemmas that arose included deception, the inability to withdraw without coercion, and the potential psychological harm of participants' thinking they hurt another person.
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Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
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