Milgram Musings

Here's a neat video with footage from social psychologist Stanley Milgram's original obedience study, a classic piece of social research on the powerful tendency for ordinary people to defer to authority (Blass, 2004). I've encountered this study in past psychology classes, and am always left wondering what I would do if put in the "teacher" role in this experiment. Would I dare continue to flip the switch? Milgram's haunting study has certainly opened up some greater questions about human civilization:

"Can an ordinary, decent person be pressured by another to commit an act of extreme cruelty? Or, conversely, do cruel actions require inherently cruel people?" (Newman, 2012)

For more information about Milgram and his work, check out this link: http://muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/milgram.htm

Sources:

Newman, David (2012). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life: 9th Edition. SAGE Publications. (p.1-52)

Blass, T. (2004). The man who shocked the world: The life and legacy if Stanley Milgram. New York, NY: Basic Books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W147ybOdgpE