Stanley Malaria experiment Could you deliver electroshocks to a person you do not know? In addition, having someone behind you coaxing you the whole way until you get to 450 volts? That was Stanley Amalgam's idea. He wanted to find out how obedient one could be if they were in a position to harm another human being with an administrator in the same room. The administrator would coax the men to administer electroshock to another human being, being unseen, until the learner stops screaming.
How far could you go before topping yourself or killing another human being VIA electroshock? Summary of the study and how it was conducted In the sass's, Stanley Malaria conducted a study to see how far a person could go by shocking an unknown individual with heart problems. The study was to show if someone of authoritative position told an individual to deliver an electrical shock to another human being for being wrong on a question. Malaria put an ad into a newspaper that recruited close to 40 men and they were to be paid $4. 50 for their participation. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory at Yale University.
There was the administrator, a teacher, and a learner. The teacher had an electroshock machine that went from 15 volts to 450 volts. When the teacher asked a question to the learner and the learner knew the answer there was to be no shock. When the learner got the question incorrect, the teacher would press the buttons in sequential order on the electroshock machine (which was already hooked up to the learner). This would then deliver a current of electroshock to the learner. This was to teach him no to get the questions incorrect. Each time the learner got the question wrong the voltage went up.
Order custom essay Stanley Milgram experiment with free plagiarism report
The learner and teacher only saw each other once and that was before the test. The learner, after a few incorrect answers, started to kick, scream, and protesting the shocks that is being delivered to him. The teacher started to be concerned about the learner, but the administrator would say, "Please continue" or "please go on", "this experiment requires that you continue", "It is absolutely essential that you continue", muff have no other choice; you must go on. " (Fiske, 2010, Para. 50). What the teacher did not know was that the learner was not really being shocked.
This was to see how far the teacher would go before calling t quits on the learner. The learner would be screaming and pleading for his life saying, "please no more, my heart cannot take it anymore, please stop. " After the 300- volt shock, the room went quite. The administrator told the teacher to take the silence as an incorrect answer and shock again. There still was no voice on the other side. The teacher fell silent and felt stressed and tension. An explanation of the study results: What happened? Were there any unexpected findings? What did the authors conclude? What did the results mean, and what are their implications?
The results of he Amalgam's study was found to be shocking and appalling. "The core findings showed that 65% of participants progressed up the shock generator past Danger: Severe Shock to 450 volts labeled simply XX. Only 35% resisted" (Fiske, 2010, Para. 51). The breakdown of the 40 study participants, 26 delivered the maximum amount of shocks to the learner, while only 14 participants quit when the learner was screaming in pain. The majority of the teachers went to the maximum amount of voltage due to the administrator telling them to keep going with the experiment.
There was not any unexpected finding with the Amalgam's experiment. However, the numbers for those who went all the way was extremely high. "Malaria later surveyed the participants and found that 84% were glad to have participated, while only 1% regretted their involvement" (Cherry, n. D. , Para. 10). Malaria concluded that people will comply with orders either out of fear or to cooperate even when they are scared or know better. Those who complied through the duration of the experiment struggled with power. Those who participated in the study felt coerced by the administrator. They felt guilt, remorse, and anxiety.
If a person of power says meeting is okay, majority of individuals that will continue will be few, but the show will go on. The results from Amalgam's experiment meant that most individuals put into a stressful situation as so; they comply and obey with orders. The select few that did not comply, knew when it was time to stop. They had more of a conscious to stop then to "kill" a person by shocking them over questions. This study was all about power and obedience. Malaria expected most of the participants to stop when the learner was yelling and screaming in pain. However, that was not the case. After the study was over there was a debrief.
The teacher finds out the learner is not injured. Most were relieved to find the learner alive and not hurt. The implications for the Amalgam's experiment are showing that of dangers and obedience. Amalgam's experiment is one of the most psychological studies. If the original variable is not the outcome, then it is time to take a step back and rulebook at the experiment. If the study was reproduced a second time and the same results occur, then that is the purpose of the study would be Justified. An explanation of how the concept situations applies to the study results Situations played a major role in the Amalgam's experiment.
The circumstance that was around the teacher was the administrator that was in the same room as the teacher. The administrator was coxing the teacher to keep going even after the yells and screams for help. Most of the teachers went along with the plan even if personal ethics told them not to or to stop. This author believes that if there were not an administrator in the room with the teacher, they would not have gone as far as they did with the electroshock machine. There were many mitigating circumstances as to why the teacher did not stop when they knew they should have.
Do you think the study results might have been different if the participants were from a different cultural, ethnic, or gender group? How so? This author does not believe that the results would have differed if the participants were from different cultures, genders, or ethnic groups. This author saw an updated Amalgam's experiment with females and males and the females was Just as ruthless as the males were in 1960. This author believes that it does not matter where you are from or who you are, but rather what kind of conscious that individual has. Could you be cohered into shocking an individual who said he has a bad heart?
That would stop many people, or would it? Do you think the results of the study are important and relevant to contemporary society? Explain This author believes that the results are important. This way when and if the study is conducted again, there is a basis to go by. Does this author believe the results are relevant to contemporary society? This author believes the results were relevant in sass's, but not today. Amalgam's views are out of today's ethical standards. Regardless if the learner was getting shocked or not, many questions still would surface. How would individuals act today?
Would the number that takes it all the way be higher? Society would be interested, but not maybe people would report to the study. Conclusion The Malaria study did not go as planned and the results were unexpected. Malaria "The Malaria studies are a paradigm for understanding evil, but opinions differ as to whether the actual participants were necessarily behaving in an evil manner" (Fiske, 2010, Para. 63). Amalgam's experiment has become a topic in not only Psychology, but also other areas. His experiment has gone down in the books as one of the most studied topics.
His experiment shows how obedience is dangerous in this case. The teachers were being cohered by the administrator to keep going even while the learner was saying, "his heart hurt to stop. " Luckily, no one was harmed during this experiment and the individuals that went to 450-volts felt remorse.
Cite this Page
Stanley Milgram experiment. (2017, Nov 21). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/stanley-milgram-experiment/
Run a free check or have your essay done for you