Dangerously Compliant Yale Universitys Experiments on...

How far would you go to be obedient? At Yale University, Stanley Milgram set up an experiment testing how much pain a person would cause to an ordinary citizen, only with the reason of being told to do so by an experimental scientist. The subject is told that they are helping with an experiment on punishment-based learning and believe they are conducting this test on someone other than themself. What the subjects do not know is that the true experiment is testing them, not another person. The subjects send an increasing amount of pain to another person. If the subject wishes to discontinue, he must complete the experiment or clearly resist authority. What Milgram found in this study was that adults would go to severe lengths to obey their†¦show more content†¦For the most part, the theory that all people have aggressive instincts was wrong. Twenty-five out of forty subjects obeyed the scientist to the end, and two subjects went up to 325 and 450 volts. Those who shocked the victim at the most severe levels came from a brutal society. Some were aware of their harmful actions but could not let themselves disobey. They told themselves that they were listening and being good by doing so. It made light of the situation when they thought they were doing a great job. When told what the actual experiment was, the subjects were amazed, comparing it to the events of the holocaust. Milgram states, â€Å"I must conclude that Arendt’s conception of the banality of evil comes closer to the truth that one might dare imagine† (587). â€Å"Banality of evil† was a phrase used in the trial where Eichmann showed no guilt for his actions and claimed that he only partook in the events of the holocaust because he was doing his job. Only a third as many people were obedient through 450 volts when the experiment was altered to where the experimenter gave his instructions by telephone instead of in person. The experimenter’s authority was not strong and the experiment was not of high importance, yet the subjects still obeyed. They were not threatened with punishment, but with the failure of obeying. When the subject’s only task was to read the questions, they later blamed the execution on the personShow MoreRelatedMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pages Carissa Marker. Robert F. Hartley, Professor Emeritus College of Business Administration Cleveland State University Cleveland, Ohio R.Hartley@csuOhio.EDU ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bob Hartley is Professor Emeritus at Cleveland State University’s College of Business Administration. There he taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in management, marketing, and ethics. Prior to that he taught at the University of Minnesota and George Washington University. His MBA and Ph