Milgram argued that his research on obedience has implications for people’s welfare. He cites examples regarding atrocities committed under the US government throughout American history, including those committed at My Lai during the Vietnam War, slavery, the destruction of the American Indian population and the internment of Japanese during WWII. Explain what he meant by this, and how convincing was his argument?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Milgram made it clear that he was concerned about the phenomenon of obedience precisely because of its implications for people’s welfare. As you have already learned, his first article (Milgram 1963) highlighted the atrocities committed under the Nazis by citizens and soldiers who were “just following orders.” In his more comprehensive book on the obedience experiments (Milgram 1974), he also argued that his findings shed light on the atrocities committed in the Vietnam War at My Lai, slavery, the destruction of the American Indian population, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Milgram makes no explicit attempt to “tell us what to do” about this problem. In fact, as a dispassionate social scientist, Milgram (1974) tells us, “What the present study [did was] to give the dilemma [of obedience to authority] contemporary form by treating it as subject matter for experimental inquiry, and with the aim of understanding rather than judging it from a moral standpoint” (p. xi). His research highlighted the extent of obedience to authority and identified multiple factors that could be manipulated to lessen blind obedience, and Burger’s (2009) replication has unfortunately shown that people are no less willing to engage in such behavior as they were then. Philip Zimbardo also made it clear that he was concerned about the phenomenon of situational influence on behavior precisely because of its implications for people’s welfare. As you have already learned, his first article (Haney et al. 1973) highlighted abuses in the treatment of prisoners. In his more comprehensive book, Zimbardo (2007) also used his findings to shed light on the atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib, and he makes clear policy recommendations for prison reforms.