This blog is an informal online location to post class news, relevant information, and helpful links for students in my ACE Writing class. Please note that this is not a thorough online representation of the class; instead, this site is simply an opportunity to enhance it a bit.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Monday's (1/11) Milgram Exercise
Please follow the directions given in class, and post your responses in the "comments" section. (Remember to include your name in the actual comment!)
1. This piece was very interesting. The author gives effective information and research that explains how obedience brings out a different part of a human being. This article demonstrated the predictions that the psychiatrists thought would take place, were wrong and people will be obedient to the commands given by higher authority. 2. I think the result are valid because even the people that seemed to be an ordinary person such as Fred Prozi, continued to proceed with the experiment regardless if the learner was in pain. However, I do not agree with the author on the fact that we should not think of people being naturally “evil” because I think a person can be “evil” and this experiment did not prove that point. 3. The methods are sound because it shows what the danger of the voltage yet the subjects do it. 4. There was a controversy about this experiment because it brought out the evil within a person and tricked the subjects into believing that they were truly harming the learners. Also because it made people realize the way our countries soldiers are being treated and order into believing what they are doing is the right thing to protect their country. 5. I think that people in this decade would “fall for this” again because this experiment was done not long ago and people have not changed.
1. Yes , I was surprised by the video because just by reading the article you get a different perspective of the experiment but watching it, I was able to have visual performance. 2. Yes I still feel the same about the Milgram experiment because it did show how people were being obedient to the higher authorities demand. For example, as they subjects switched to higher voltage and heard the scream of the learner, they turned their head to the experimenter.
2.a. I thought the piece was really interesting and it showed a good experiment that tries to explain why people obey orders even if they are inhumane. b. Yes, I do think the results are valid because the subjects were not told what the experiment was about until the end. So they had no knowledge that would had made the results different from what they where. c. The methods were sound because it showed to what level the subject was willing to respond to the experimenter without punishment. Just the presence of the experimenter made them feel pressure to continue because they felt fear of being looked at as rude or ignorant. d. The reason that I think there was a controversy about this experiment was because people thought that the outcome of the results would be different in which, the subject would stop obeying once they saw the danger and the pain it was inflicting the learner. But the results were the complete opposite instead because the subject kept administrating shocks to the learner despite the risks. e. If this same experiment was conducted again today people would not fall for it, but I think that people in this decade would still fall for this again if another method or procedure was used.
3.a. I was surprised when I saw the video because I though people would not fall for the same method because it had already been done by Milgram years ago in that same setting. b. After seeing the video, I feel different about the experiment because people still feel the pressure to follow the instructions of the experimenter, although time has passed.
2.) A. I think that the article is interesting because it is surprising to know that people would put other people into pain. Even though they do not know the person, but at the beginning, find out a little about the other person, they still do it. I think that the concept of the experiment is a good idea to test whether people would put other people into pain.
B. I think that the result that came out are valid because people would do it just to try it, especially if they do not know the person.
C. I think that the methods are fine only if they do not harm anyone. Since the guy that was receiving the shocks was not actually getting shocked, it is a good way to test if humans would hurt other humans if they are told by authority.
D. There was controversy with this experiment because the idea of trying to test people and, creating and testing it in a experiment. It is not normal to see a teacher shock their student if they get an answer wrong. Also that authority have the power to be able to do something like this.
E. I think that people would still fall for this experiment again because it is the question of authority.
3.) A. I was surprised the video because people kept doing it. People continued even though they knew that the guy was in pain. Since the guy that was running the experiment told the subject to continue, it continued.
B. I do not feel that same way with the Milgram experiment because none of the subjects stopped and in this recent one, the volts only went up to 150. In the Milgram experiment, they did more than 150 volts.
2. a. I think this piece was full of information on the way people obey authority and harm the innocent because it is not their liability. b. The results are valid because the experiments were tested with different people and different approaches were used. c. The methods for the experiment are sound but the experiment itself is painful to go through, since the learner is being shocked to a higher voltage as more answers become incorrect. d. The experiment has controversy because it is challenging one’s morals and ethics against someone in authority. e. I think people in this decade would still fall for this experiment since the presence and pressure of authority causes people with less authority to conform to people with authority.
3. a. I was not surprised by the video because it was practically the same as the reading of “The Perils of Obedience”. b. Yes, I still feel it is about discovering that people are obedient to people of authority and do as they are told just like the military.
2. A. I thought the piece was an insightful look into "good and evil". The experiment takes a look into the motivation people possess to take certain actions. In the experiment, test subjects were told to shock the "learner" for a wrong answer given, absolving themselves from the responsibility of deciding to shock the learner. I think this is a frightening discovery because it explains how easy it is for humans to destroy as long as they do not feel they are the cause of destruction. It explains many situation where this discovery can be applied, such as the Guantanamo Bay tortures and actions carried out by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
B. The results seem to be pretty valid because of the repeated attempts and strong historical evidence. Namely the Nuremburg trials, where Nazi soldiers testified that they were just following orders.
C. The methods are sound for a situation of only that degree of intensity. I believe that because a situation with a higher degree of mental strain on a subject would have a heavier toll on the subject's conscious.
D. I think there was controversy about the experiments because of the mental strain and distress felt by the test subjects. It seemed inevitable that a number of test subjects would remain emotionally and mentally scarred even after the experiment.
E. Yes, people who have weak mental fortitude, and a need to please an authoritative figure would most likely "fall" for this experiment.
3. A. I was surprised at the electrician's response to the newscaster as to why he continued participating in the experiments despite the "learner's". He gave the same reply the Nazi's gave during the Nuremburg Trials: I was just following orders.
B. I still feel the same about the Milgram experiment. The video is another confirmation that there is no good or evil, but just a need to fulfill an authoritative figure's demands.
1. a. It is unbelievable that people would actually shock someone else just because an authority tells them to even though they now it is wrong. b. The results from the experiment of the teachers being tested are in a way valid because they did not sign a contract that they had to shock the learner at any point. Therefore they were doing it on their own free will aside from the scientist telling them. c. The methods in a form are not sound but that is the only way that scientist can see how far would people go in following authority. d. There was a controversy about this experiment because of the thought of people getting electrocuted. e. I believe there are people who will follow authority commands. There might not be as many people as before but there will be people.
2. a. I was not surprised about the video. It is the way I imagined it when reading “The Perils of Obedience” except for the reactions and the voices were of a slightly different then what I have expected. b. I do still feel the same way about the Milgram experiment but as long as the learner is not actually getting shocked or harmed.
2. (a) I think this was a very intense article. It provided examples that perfectly outlined the matter and effectively made there point understood.
(b) I think the results are valid because they all seem to reveal relevant information. As the experiment’s conditions altered, so did the reactions of the participants. It helped compare the reactions of each subject and the reasons why their behavior would be so.
(c) I think the methods were sound because it did not put anyone in any real pain. The experiment was to see how far a person was willing to put another person through pain if it meant that they were doing their assigned task of following orders from an authority figure.
(d) I think there was controversy over this experiment because the subjects weren’t truly aware of what they were there for. They did not know they were being watched on behavior and will power for preventing pain onto a different individual. There was also a lot of controversy about having to put people through pain in order to help this scientific study.
(e) I think people in this decade would probably fall for this again because the cliché stands true, “History will always repeat itself.” There are people in this world that truly, instinctively will follow orders all the way through because of their natural submissive sense to authority.
3. (a) I was surprised by that video because of how easy the subjects thought it was to obey the experimenter. What shocked me the most was the response of one of the subjects who blamed the pain inflicted upon the learner himself. He made it seem as if it was up to the learner to get himself out of the situation and that the subject had no responsibility and no part in it.
(b) I feel that the Milgram experiment still stands as very useful information and data now obtained, but it should be modified in its procedural practices. People should not be put in a painful situation, just for the intense curiosity of how far participants are willing to obey authority figures. The concept is brilliant, but the way to go about this could be and should be altered.
2 a). The piece was very engaging. It touched base on sensitive social issues which made the essay very thought-provoking. The essay kept me entertained and for this reason I enjoyed it.
b). The results are valid. The scientists experimented well by testing individuals with different backgrounds; therefore, the results are unbiased and true.
c). The methods are very sound. All of the methods tested each individual’s levels of obedience very well. The results correlated very well with the different scenarios that each method presented itself. They performed various methods that all resulted within the same results.
d).The controversy in this experiment was that many people found it hard to believe that others inflicted as much pain as they did to innocent victims. It is hard to believe that normal people in society would be as cruel only to be obedient to an interim authority figure.
e).Yes. Individuals over time cannot change over time in terms of personal moral standards. The majority of people, as indicative in the experiment, do not consider their own values under pressure of some sort of authority figure. Society as a whole has changed over the past decades; however, this experiment tests individual responses and so people would still “fall for this” experiment.
3 a). In a way I was surprised. I had hoped that my assumption would be wrong but I turned out to be accurate.
b). As great as the Milgram experiment might be, in a way this experiment is a bit depressing. It shows a great insight into the malicious side that every human being can have. Also, the results of the same experiment seen in “The Science of Evil” shows the level of credibility of this experiment.
2.) a.) I found it unbelievable that people would actually be willing to hurt others just to please their authority.
b.)The results in the article are valid because it shows how most people do abuse of power and don't feel much regrets of hurting the learners.
c.)No, because people now are not used to learning by going through pain and because people are not to used to inflict pain on others.
d.)There was controversy because it's against the law to hurt people so the person inflicting the pain could of said that it is not right that they try to make them learn by going through pain.
e.)Yes, because not all people think the same and some still believe that making them go through pain will obligate them to learn, and also because they do not want to disobey their authority.
3.) a.)No, I knew people in this decade would still do those type of experiments especially since it was performed at a university, they got paid either way, and because they feel like they need to follow the orders they get from their authority as well.
b.)No, my perspective did change a little after watching the video because like the guy said in the video that if the learner was in that much pain he could of unstrapped himself.
2) A. I thought this piece was sort of harsh. They were supposedly putting people in pain just for an experiment. It was interesting though because of how some people felt sorry for the learners, even if they did not know them, and they wanted to quit the experiment.
B. Yes, I believe the results are valid because the people did not know what really was going on.
C. The methods were sound because it did not hurt anybody since the shocks were not real. With the experimenters pressuring the people to continue, it was like they were being tested if they are willing to hurt the learners or quit.
D. I think there was controversy about this experiment because it was weird how much people would listen to the authority and how much power the experimenters had over the teachers.
E. I think that most people would still, in this decade, fall for this again because people in our society are often somewhat selfish and only care about their accomplishments and not anybody else’s pain or struggle.
3) A. I was really surprised about the video. The man just kept going just because the authority figure was next to him and he thought it was okay to “hurt” the man.
B. I still feel the same, because the people were still obedient to the authority people and listened to them despite the pain they were hearing in the other room.
Spencer Watson (1a) Milgram’s “The Perils of Obedience” exemplifies man’s subservient nature and aptly reveals the mechanism for which tragedies of obedience can occur in our human history, such as the Holocaust. It is an awesomely sadistic experiment that reveals the monster lurking inside each individual. In the face of authority, the average person will do most anything if there is a perception of detached responsibility. Particularly noteworthy to me is the reaction of Morris Braverman, who giggles uncontrollably and maniacally as he delivers increasingly intense shocks to his subject, as if out of some mad-scientist sci-fi flick. His reaction in contrast to his profession, a social worker, is painfully apparent, and seems to reject all notions of what qualities a social worker should possess. (b&c) The results and methods are absolutely valid, as the experiment is conducted in a calm, controlled setting, with identical instructions to each set of experiments, and enough deviations between the different experiments to explain a plethora of phenomenon that occur, such as the effect of the experimenter being physically present, and giving the choice of voltage to the “teacher”. There are few extraneous factors involved to skew the data. (d) Controversy would have obviously followed an experiment that reveals such sadistic qualities of its participants and “tricks” its subjects into believing they are inflicting massive quantities of pain on their “learners”. It seems to go against all notions of common decency, and reveals an ugly truth about humans. (e) People today would undoubtedly fall for such an experiment again, as history has shown countless times, evidenced most recently by the tragedies at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Human nature does not quickly change. (3a) Honestly, the video was not surprising to me. Unfortunately I have seen videos of the Milgram experiment in a Psychology course. However, I remember being surprised at how coldly and calmly most of the participants acted when I saw it.
2a) it is a very interesting topic. The way people will cause harm to other people without thinking twice about what they have done until they hear them man in the next room in pain. Then begin to think about what they are doing.
2b) yes and no, once people double think about what they are doing I don’t think the experiment is valid. The professor or the person in the lab coat begins to persuade the person or pressure them to continue, therefore its not solely not their choice.
2c) no, there inflicting pain on another individual or think you are either way, no.
2d) because people think the experiment was unethical.
2e) yes people are vary gullible and will do what they can to get on a persons good side.
3a) yes, I cant believe people would go through with something like this. Especially if you can hear the man next door in pain and have knowledge that he has a preexisting heart condition.
3b) yes I still can not believe people can trust in authority to that extent.
2.) A. This piece was so thought-provoking and surprising. Never once in my life would i think people will do such things. Not to mention that if the experiment was for real, the experimenters actions would also be surprising.
B. The results that came out of this experiment are valid, since the results in the article stated that most of the teachers did what they were told to an extreme point. Furthermore, this experiment relates to things that have happened in reality, such as a nazi soldier following the orders of the general to shoot an innocent Jew.
C. The methods are pretty sound. Everything was right in place to make the teacher believe he was actually hurting the person and was obeying the "authority figure". Yet the thing is methods, such as the ones causing harm are not aloud in psychology experiments in universities such as U.C.S.B.
D. The obvious reason that there is a controversy in this experiment, is that the experiment makes participants believe that causing slight to a lot of harm is aloud. Not to mention that if the teacher had started to get emotional breakdowns afterwards—even if the experimenter tells him the purpose of the experiment.
E. I think a lot of people would still fall for this experiment. Yet the only way they will fall for it, is if the experimenter—authority figure—and the learner—the victim getting shocked act in a very persuasive way. On the other hand, i think other people will not fall for it if they have read about this experiment, and realize that causing harm to someone is complete nonsense.
3.) A. This video was not that surprising, mainly because i read the article. In fact the article seemed more intense than the actual video.
B. I still feel the same way about the experiment whether or not i watched video, because the experiment proved to be a success. And as i have said before, examples of authority figures and abuse of power have been seen throughout history of mankind.
Erick a) I thought that “The Perils of Obedience” presented an interesting perspective on obedience and how people react to orders from an authority figure. It talked about the Milgram experiment and how they tricked people into seeing how much they would listen to an authority figure and torture a person. b) I do not think the results are valid because they only tested a certain amount of people from different backgrounds but not all people will be the same. The testers have to take many other factors into account to get a general sense of what most people would do. c) The methods do seem sound because the experiment is not hurting anyone, it only gives the appearance that they testers are which puts people into the situation of whether they will follow authority figures or disobey. d) I think there was controversy because it makes the testers believe they are torturing other people which many people dislike. People would also believe that the experiment violates ethical codes and it puts stress on the people to obey and not follow their instincts. e) I do not believe that people now would fall for this experiment because society has become more rebellious and the testers would be more likely to disobey the authority figure. a) I was surprised by the video because I was seeing the reactions of the people to the screams of the testers and how they all looked back at the Scientist when they heard a scream from the other room. b) I feel that the Milgram experiment was worse than I previously thought because I was hearing the screams and the reactions of the patients which made it seem more realistic than when I was just reading it. It gave me a new perspective.
Shawn Honore A.I thought the piece was explained thoroughly and it was very well elaborated upon. The experiments that were conducted for this information was very shocking because it showed how humans can so easily destroy or cause harm to things as long as they are free from any blame that may come there way. BI do believe the results are valid because it was documented well and written so the reader can create a mental image of what is going on C The methods are not sound because it only shows us how far the Experimenter would go in order to obey orders. D. There was controversy about this experiment because it was allowing people to be harmed against there will for the sake of an experiment. This is unethical and violates amendments that are put in place to protect people and there basic liberties. E In this decade I do not believe people would fall for this experiment 2A Yes i was very surprised at the people and experimenters lack of compassion for the people being harmed by the electric volts. Even though they could hear the persons pleas to stop they continued to administer the test. B I feel that the Milgram experiment is a very good experiment because it shows just how people really feel about following orders even though they may cause harm to someone else and also just what people would do when being blame free
2. a) The piece was really interesting and it portrayed an experiment that attempted to explain why people obey authority figures. Whether wrong or right, the people that were used in the experiment wanted someone to blame for their actions when they were questioned why they went along with it. b) The results are valid because the subjects were not informed on what the experiment was, as far as they knew, they were simply doing a job. Another observation made is that the subjects came from various backgrounds which brings me to the conclusion that it was not biased in any manner. c) The methods were sound because it did not harm anyone. It all goes back to the experimenters testing to see how people will responds when asked to harm someone else from an authority figure. d) The controversy in this experiment is that many people found it hard to believe that people would be unethical to other individuals only to be obedient to an authority figure. e) I think that most people would still, in this decade, fall for this situation again because people are generally self-centered initially and do not realize how bad of an action it was until after the fact. For an example, in class when the question came up on whether a student would accept a higher grade if, and only if all his or her peers grades went down. People still agreed to it, so that is enough proof that it can still happen and people would fall for this experiment. 3. a) When I seen this video in high school, it shocked me and watching it again it still seems unreal that normal people would agree/ fall for this. And although the video was very similar to the article, watching it can bring the viewer to a different level. b) My feelings have not been altered about the Milgrams experiment. The concept is great; however, a concern would be the learner and making sure he or she is not actually being harmed.
2.a) This article by Stanly Milgram was really an eye opener. It talks about an experiment conducted to several people all over the world and not just in one location. I can not see myself in the teacher’s shoes. Having to shock an elderly person who yells out in pain after every intense shock, I will not be able to live with myself if something happened to him or her. At the same time I was able to picture myself as the subject and I would be very confused whether to continue the procedure although I knew I was harming someone. 2b) Yes, I do think these results are valid because researchers do conduct these kind of experiments on people. To make it even more convincible they have videotaped subjects from the beginning to the end of the experiment. They also conducted this experiment not only on one group of people but on several groups of people world wide. 2c.) In order influence the subject’s mind they used sound because they knew that if he heard it the subject was going to be worried of the learner’s health. Hearing the sound of someone who is in pain and knowing you’re causing it makes a lot of thoughts run through your head. For example one thought might be, “am I hurting him?”, or another might be, “should I stop?” 2d.) I believe there was controversy performing this experiment because they are putting other people’s lives in danger, which many people might agree that it is not right to mess with people’s lives. Also no one has the right to harm anyone else. 2e) yes, I believe people who do not know anything about this experiment will fall for it, but those who have gone through this experiment I don’t believe they will fall for it again.
3a) Yes, I was surprised by the video because I saw it before I read the article and I really thought the learner was getting shocked. I could not believe other people are willing to harm others just because someone tells them to. 3b)Yes, I still feel the same about the Milgram Experiment because this experiment was very confusing and messed around with the mind. I think I would have been in the same shoes as several of the subjects.
2.a) This article by Stanly Milgram was really an eye opener. It talks about an experiment conducted to several people all over the world and not just in one location. I can not see myself in the teacher’s shoes. Having to shock an elderly person who yells out in pain after every intense shock, I will not be able to live with myself if something happened to him or her. At the same time I was able to picture myself as the subject and I would be very confused whether to continue the procedure although I knew I was harming someone. 2b) Yes, I do think these results are valid because researchers do conduct these kind of experiments on people. To make it even more convincible they have videotaped subjects from the beginning to the end of the experiment. They also conducted this experiment not only on one group of people but on several groups of people world wide. 2c.) In order influence the subject’s mind they used sound because they knew that if he heard it the subject was going to be worried of the learner’s health. Hearing the sound of someone who is in pain and knowing you’re causing it makes a lot of thoughts run through your head. For example one thought might be, “am I hurting him?”, or another might be, “should I stop?” 2d.) I believe there was controversy performing this experiment because they are putting other people’s lives in danger, which many people might agree that it is not right to mess with people’s lives. Also no one has the right to harm anyone else. 2e) yes, I believe people who do not know anything about this experiment will fall for it, but those who have gone through this experiment I don’t believe they will fall for it again.
3a) Yes, I was surprised by the video because I saw it before I read the article and I really thought the learner was getting shocked. I could not believe other people are willing to harm others just because someone tells them to. 3b)Yes, I still feel the same about the Milgram Experiment because this experiment was very confusing and messed around with the mind. I think I would have been in the same shoes as several of the subjects.
1. This piece was very interesting. The author gives effective information and research that explains how obedience brings out a different part of a human being. This article demonstrated the predictions that the psychiatrists thought would take place, were wrong and people will be obedient to the commands given by higher authority.
ReplyDelete2. I think the result are valid because even the people that seemed to be an ordinary person such as Fred Prozi, continued to proceed with the experiment regardless if the learner was in pain. However, I do not agree with the author on the fact that we should not think of people being naturally “evil” because I think a person can be “evil” and this experiment did not prove that point.
3. The methods are sound because it shows what the danger of the voltage yet the subjects do it.
4. There was a controversy about this experiment because it brought out the evil within a person and tricked the subjects into believing that they were truly harming the learners. Also because it made people realize the way our countries soldiers are being treated and order into believing what they are doing is the right thing to protect their country.
5. I think that people in this decade would “fall for this” again because this experiment was done not long ago and people have not changed.
1. Yes , I was surprised by the video because just by reading the article you get a different perspective of the experiment but watching it, I was able to have visual performance.
2. Yes I still feel the same about the Milgram experiment because it did show how people were being obedient to the higher authorities demand. For example, as they subjects switched to higher voltage and heard the scream of the learner, they turned their head to the experimenter.
Janette
Brenda Luisjuan
ReplyDelete1/11/10
Milgram Experiment Exercise
2.a. I thought the piece was really interesting and it showed a good experiment that tries to explain why people obey orders even if they are inhumane.
b. Yes, I do think the results are valid because the subjects were not told what the experiment was about until the end. So they had no knowledge that would had made the results different from what they where.
c. The methods were sound because it showed to what level the subject was willing to respond to the experimenter without punishment. Just the presence of the experimenter made them feel pressure to continue because they felt fear of being looked at as rude or ignorant.
d. The reason that I think there was a controversy about this experiment was because people thought that the outcome of the results would be different in which, the subject would stop obeying once they saw the danger and the pain it was inflicting the learner. But the results were the complete opposite instead because the subject kept administrating shocks to the learner despite the risks.
e. If this same experiment was conducted again today people would not fall for it, but I think that people in this decade would still fall for this again if another method or procedure was used.
3.a. I was surprised when I saw the video because I though people would not fall for the same method because it had already been done by Milgram years ago in that same setting.
b. After seeing the video, I feel different about the experiment because people still feel the pressure to follow the instructions of the experimenter, although time has passed.
Gary Aragon
ReplyDeleteThe Perils of Obedience Responses
2.) A. I think that the article is interesting because it is surprising to know that people would put other people into pain. Even though they do not know the person, but at the beginning, find out a little about the other person, they still do it. I think that the concept of the experiment is a good idea to test whether people would put other people into pain.
B. I think that the result that came out are valid because people would do it just to try it, especially if they do not know the person.
C. I think that the methods are fine only if they do not harm anyone. Since the guy that was receiving the shocks was not actually getting shocked, it is a good way to test if humans would hurt other humans if they are told by authority.
D. There was controversy with this experiment because the idea of trying to test people and, creating and testing it in a experiment. It is not normal to see a teacher shock their student if they get an answer wrong. Also that authority have the power to be able to do something like this.
E. I think that people would still fall for this experiment again because it is the question of authority.
3.) A. I was surprised the video because people kept doing it. People continued even though they knew that the guy was in pain. Since the guy that was running the experiment told the subject to continue, it continued.
B. I do not feel that same way with the Milgram experiment because none of the subjects stopped and in this recent one, the volts only went up to 150. In the Milgram experiment, they did more than 150 volts.
2.
ReplyDeletea. I think this piece was full of information on the way people obey authority and harm the innocent because it is not their liability.
b. The results are valid because the experiments were tested with different people and different approaches were used.
c. The methods for the experiment are sound but the experiment itself is painful to go through, since the learner is being shocked to a higher voltage as more answers become incorrect.
d. The experiment has controversy because it is challenging one’s morals and ethics against someone in authority.
e. I think people in this decade would still fall for this experiment since the presence and pressure of authority causes people with less authority to conform to people with authority.
3.
a. I was not surprised by the video because it was practically the same as the reading of “The Perils of Obedience”.
b. Yes, I still feel it is about discovering that people are obedient to people of authority and do as they are told just like the military.
Tahir Aimaq
ReplyDelete2. A. I thought the piece was an insightful look into "good and evil". The experiment takes a look into the motivation people possess to take certain actions. In the experiment, test subjects were told to shock the "learner" for a wrong answer given, absolving themselves from the responsibility of deciding to shock the learner. I think this is a frightening discovery because it explains how easy it is for humans to destroy as long as they do not feel they are the cause of destruction. It explains many situation where this discovery can be applied, such as the Guantanamo Bay tortures and actions carried out by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
B. The results seem to be pretty valid because of the repeated attempts and strong historical evidence. Namely the Nuremburg trials, where Nazi soldiers testified that they were just following orders.
C. The methods are sound for a situation of only that degree of intensity. I believe that because a situation with a higher degree of mental strain on a subject would have a heavier toll on the subject's conscious.
D. I think there was controversy about the experiments because of the mental strain and distress felt by the test subjects. It seemed inevitable that a number of test subjects would remain emotionally and mentally scarred even after the experiment.
E. Yes, people who have weak mental fortitude, and a need to please an authoritative figure would most likely "fall" for this experiment.
3. A. I was surprised at the electrician's response to the newscaster as to why he continued participating in the experiments despite the "learner's". He gave the same reply the Nazi's gave during the Nuremburg Trials: I was just following orders.
B. I still feel the same about the Milgram experiment. The video is another confirmation that there is no good or evil, but just a need to fulfill an authoritative figure's demands.
1.
ReplyDeletea. It is unbelievable that people would actually shock someone else just because an authority tells them to even though they now it is wrong.
b. The results from the experiment of the teachers being tested are in a way valid because they did not sign a contract that they had to shock the learner at any point. Therefore they were doing it on their own free will aside from the scientist telling them.
c. The methods in a form are not sound but that is the only way that scientist can see how far would people go in following authority.
d. There was a controversy about this experiment because of the thought of people getting electrocuted.
e. I believe there are people who will follow authority commands. There might not be as many people as before but there will be people.
2.
a. I was not surprised about the video. It is the way I imagined it when reading “The Perils of Obedience” except for the reactions and the voices were of a slightly different then what I have expected.
b. I do still feel the same way about the Milgram experiment but as long as the learner is not actually getting shocked or harmed.
Eduardo
Erika Sixtos
ReplyDeleteMilgram Experiment Exercise
2.
(a) I think this was a very intense article. It provided examples that perfectly outlined the matter and effectively made there point understood.
(b) I think the results are valid because they all seem to reveal relevant information. As the experiment’s conditions altered, so did the reactions of the participants. It helped compare the reactions of each subject and the reasons why their behavior would be so.
(c) I think the methods were sound because it did not put anyone in any real pain. The experiment was to see how far a person was willing to put another person through pain if it meant that they were doing their assigned task of following orders from an authority figure.
(d) I think there was controversy over this experiment because the subjects weren’t truly aware of what they were there for. They did not know they were being watched on behavior and will power for preventing pain onto a different individual. There was also a lot of controversy about having to put people through pain in order to help this scientific study.
(e) I think people in this decade would probably fall for this again because the cliché stands true, “History will always repeat itself.” There are people in this world that truly, instinctively will follow orders all the way through because of their natural submissive sense to authority.
3.
(a) I was surprised by that video because of how easy the subjects thought it was to obey the experimenter. What shocked me the most was the response of one of the subjects who blamed the pain inflicted upon the learner himself. He made it seem as if it was up to the learner to get himself out of the situation and that the subject had no responsibility and no part in it.
(b) I feel that the Milgram experiment still stands as very useful information and data now obtained, but it should be modified in its procedural practices. People should not be put in a painful situation, just for the intense curiosity of how far participants are willing to obey authority figures. The concept is brilliant, but the way to go about this could be and should be altered.
2 a). The piece was very engaging. It touched base on sensitive social issues which made the essay very thought-provoking. The essay kept me entertained and for this reason I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteb). The results are valid. The scientists experimented well by testing individuals with different backgrounds; therefore, the results are unbiased and true.
c). The methods are very sound. All of the methods tested each individual’s levels of obedience very well. The results correlated very well with the different scenarios that each method presented itself. They performed various methods that all resulted within the same results.
d).The controversy in this experiment was that many people found it hard to believe that others inflicted as much pain as they did to innocent victims. It is hard to believe that normal people in society would be as cruel only to be obedient to an interim authority figure.
e).Yes. Individuals over time cannot change over time in terms of personal moral standards. The majority of people, as indicative in the experiment, do not consider their own values under pressure of some sort of authority figure. Society as a whole has changed over the past decades; however, this experiment tests individual responses and so people would still “fall for this” experiment.
3 a). In a way I was surprised. I had hoped that my assumption would be wrong but I turned out to be accurate.
b). As great as the Milgram experiment might be, in a way this experiment is a bit depressing. It shows a great insight into the malicious side that every human being can have. Also, the results of the same experiment seen in “The Science of Evil” shows the level of credibility of this experiment.
Gustavo Diaz
2.)
ReplyDeletea.) I found it unbelievable that people would actually be willing to hurt others just to please their authority.
b.)The results in the article are valid because it shows how most people do abuse of power and don't feel much regrets of hurting the learners.
c.)No, because people now are not used to learning by going through pain and because people are not to used to inflict pain on others.
d.)There was controversy because it's against the law to hurt people so the person inflicting the pain could of said that it is not right that they try to make them learn by going through pain.
e.)Yes, because not all people think the same and some still believe that making them go through pain will obligate them to learn, and also because they do not want to disobey their authority.
3.)
a.)No, I knew people in this decade would still do those type of experiments especially since it was performed at a university, they got paid either way, and because they feel like they need to follow the orders they get from their authority as well.
b.)No, my perspective did change a little after watching the video because like the guy said in the video that if the learner was in that much pain he could of unstrapped himself.
-Lili
Jan. 11, 2010
Tina Bui
ReplyDelete2) A. I thought this piece was sort of harsh. They were supposedly putting people in pain just for an experiment. It was interesting though because of how some people felt sorry for the learners, even if they did not know them, and they wanted to quit the experiment.
B. Yes, I believe the results are valid because the people did not know what really was going on.
C. The methods were sound because it did not hurt anybody since the shocks were not real. With the experimenters pressuring the people to continue, it was like they were being tested if they are willing to hurt the learners or quit.
D. I think there was controversy about this experiment because it was weird how much people would listen to the authority and how much power the experimenters had over the teachers.
E. I think that most people would still, in this decade, fall for this again because people in our society are often somewhat selfish and only care about their accomplishments and not anybody else’s pain or struggle.
3) A. I was really surprised about the video. The man just kept going just because the authority figure was next to him and he thought it was okay to “hurt” the man.
B. I still feel the same, because the people were still obedient to the authority people and listened to them despite the pain they were hearing in the other room.
Spencer Watson
ReplyDelete(1a) Milgram’s “The Perils of Obedience” exemplifies man’s subservient nature and aptly reveals the mechanism for which tragedies of obedience can occur in our human history, such as the Holocaust. It is an awesomely sadistic experiment that reveals the monster lurking inside each individual. In the face of authority, the average person will do most anything if there is a perception of detached responsibility. Particularly noteworthy to me is the reaction of Morris Braverman, who giggles uncontrollably and maniacally as he delivers increasingly intense shocks to his subject, as if out of some mad-scientist sci-fi flick. His reaction in contrast to his profession, a social worker, is painfully apparent, and seems to reject all notions of what qualities a social worker should possess. (b&c) The results and methods are absolutely valid, as the experiment is conducted in a calm, controlled setting, with identical instructions to each set of experiments, and enough deviations between the different experiments to explain a plethora of phenomenon that occur, such as the effect of the experimenter being physically present, and giving the choice of voltage to the “teacher”. There are few extraneous factors involved to skew the data. (d) Controversy would have obviously followed an experiment that reveals such sadistic qualities of its participants and “tricks” its subjects into believing they are inflicting massive quantities of pain on their “learners”. It seems to go against all notions of common decency, and reveals an ugly truth about humans. (e) People today would undoubtedly fall for such an experiment again, as history has shown countless times, evidenced most recently by the tragedies at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Human nature does not quickly change.
(3a) Honestly, the video was not surprising to me. Unfortunately I have seen videos of the Milgram experiment in a Psychology course. However, I remember being surprised at how coldly and calmly most of the participants acted when I saw it.
jordan wilson
ReplyDelete2a) it is a very interesting topic. The way people will cause harm to other people without thinking twice about what they have done until they hear them man in the next room in pain. Then begin to think about what they are doing.
2b) yes and no, once people double think about what they are doing I don’t think the experiment is valid. The professor or the person in the lab coat begins to persuade the person or pressure them to continue, therefore its not solely not their choice.
2c) no, there inflicting pain on another individual or think you are either way, no.
2d) because people think the experiment was unethical.
2e) yes people are vary gullible and will do what they can to get on a persons good side.
3a) yes, I cant believe people would go through with something like this. Especially if you can hear the man next door in pain and have knowledge that he has a preexisting heart condition.
3b) yes I still can not believe people can trust in authority to that extent.
Robert Moran
ReplyDeleteMilgram Experiment Exercise
2.) A. This piece was so thought-provoking and surprising. Never once in my life would i think people will do such things. Not to mention that if the experiment was for real, the experimenters actions would also be surprising.
B. The results that came out of this experiment are valid, since the results in the article stated that most of the teachers did what they were told to an extreme point. Furthermore, this experiment relates to things that have happened in reality, such as a nazi soldier following the orders of the general to shoot an innocent Jew.
C. The methods are pretty sound. Everything was right in place to make the teacher believe he was actually hurting the person and was obeying the "authority figure". Yet the thing is methods, such as the ones causing harm are not aloud in psychology experiments in universities such as U.C.S.B.
D. The obvious reason that there is a controversy in this experiment, is that the experiment makes participants believe that causing slight to a lot of harm is aloud. Not to mention that if the teacher had started to get emotional breakdowns afterwards—even if the experimenter tells him the purpose of the experiment.
E. I think a lot of people would still fall for this experiment. Yet the only way they will fall for it, is if the experimenter—authority figure—and the learner—the victim getting shocked act in a very persuasive way. On the other hand, i think other people will not fall for it if they have read about this experiment, and realize that causing harm to someone is complete nonsense.
3.) A. This video was not that surprising, mainly because i read the article. In fact the article seemed more intense than the actual video.
B. I still feel the same way about the experiment whether or not i watched video, because the experiment proved to be a success. And as i have said before, examples of authority figures and abuse of power have been seen throughout history of mankind.
Erick
ReplyDeletea) I thought that “The Perils of Obedience” presented an interesting perspective on obedience and how people react to orders from an authority figure. It talked about the Milgram experiment and how they tricked people into seeing how much they would listen to an authority figure and torture a person.
b) I do not think the results are valid because they only tested a certain amount of people from different backgrounds but not all people will be the same. The testers have to take many other factors into account to get a general sense of what most people would do.
c) The methods do seem sound because the experiment is not hurting anyone, it only gives the appearance that they testers are which puts people into the situation of whether they will follow authority figures or disobey.
d) I think there was controversy because it makes the testers believe they are torturing other people which many people dislike. People would also believe that the experiment violates ethical codes and it puts stress on the people to obey and not follow their instincts.
e) I do not believe that people now would fall for this experiment because society has become more rebellious and the testers would be more likely to disobey the authority figure.
a) I was surprised by the video because I was seeing the reactions of the people to the screams of the testers and how they all looked back at the Scientist when they heard a scream from the other room.
b) I feel that the Milgram experiment was worse than I previously thought because I was hearing the screams and the reactions of the patients which made it seem more realistic than when I was just reading it. It gave me a new perspective.
Shawn Honore
ReplyDeleteA.I thought the piece was explained thoroughly and it was very well elaborated upon. The experiments that were conducted for this information was very shocking because it showed how humans can so easily destroy or cause harm to things as long as they are free from any blame that may come there way.
BI do believe the results are valid because it was documented well and written so the reader can create a mental image of what is going on
C The methods are not sound because it only shows us how far the Experimenter would go in order to obey orders.
D. There was controversy about this experiment because it was allowing people to be harmed against there will for the sake of an experiment. This is unethical and violates amendments that are put in place to protect people and there basic liberties.
E In this decade I do not believe people would fall for this experiment
2A Yes i was very surprised at the people and experimenters lack of compassion for the people being harmed by the electric volts. Even though they could hear the persons pleas to stop they continued to administer the test.
B I feel that the Milgram experiment is a very good experiment because it shows just how people really feel about following orders even though they may cause harm to someone else and also just what people would do when being blame free
BreYanna L Carter
ReplyDelete2. a) The piece was really interesting and it portrayed an experiment that attempted to explain why people obey authority figures. Whether wrong or right, the people that were used in the experiment wanted someone to blame for their actions when they were questioned why they went along with it.
b) The results are valid because the subjects were not informed on what the experiment was, as far as they knew, they were simply doing a job. Another observation made is that the subjects came from various backgrounds which brings me to the conclusion that it was not biased in any manner.
c) The methods were sound because it did not harm anyone. It all goes back to the experimenters testing to see how people will responds when asked to harm someone else from an authority figure.
d) The controversy in this experiment is that many people found it hard to believe that people would be unethical to other individuals only to be obedient to an authority figure.
e) I think that most people would still, in this decade, fall for this situation again because people are generally self-centered initially and do not realize how bad of an action it was until after the fact. For an example, in class when the question came up on whether a student would accept a higher grade if, and only if all his or her peers grades went down. People still agreed to it, so that is enough proof that it can still happen and people would fall for this experiment.
3. a) When I seen this video in high school, it shocked me and watching it again it still seems unreal that normal people would agree/ fall for this. And although the video was very similar to the article, watching it can bring the viewer to a different level.
b) My feelings have not been altered about the Milgrams experiment. The concept is great; however, a concern would be the learner and making sure he or she is not actually being harmed.
2.a) This article by Stanly Milgram was really an eye opener. It talks about an experiment conducted to several people all over the world and not just in one location. I can not see myself in the teacher’s shoes. Having to shock an elderly person who yells out in pain after every intense shock, I will not be able to live with myself if something happened to him or her. At the same time I was able to picture myself as the subject and I would be very confused whether to continue the procedure although I knew I was harming someone.
ReplyDelete2b) Yes, I do think these results are valid because researchers do conduct these kind of experiments on people. To make it even more convincible they have videotaped subjects from the beginning to the end of the experiment. They also conducted this experiment not only on one group of people but on several groups of people world wide.
2c.) In order influence the subject’s mind they used sound because they knew that if he heard it the subject was going to be worried of the learner’s health. Hearing the sound of someone who is in pain and knowing you’re causing it makes a lot of thoughts run through your head. For example one thought might be, “am I hurting him?”, or another might be, “should I stop?”
2d.) I believe there was controversy performing this experiment because they are putting other people’s lives in danger, which many people might agree that it is not right to mess with people’s lives. Also no one has the right to harm anyone else.
2e) yes, I believe people who do not know anything about this experiment will fall for it, but those who have gone through this experiment I don’t believe they will fall for it again.
3a) Yes, I was surprised by the video because I saw it before I read the article and I really thought the learner was getting shocked. I could not believe other people are willing to harm others just because someone tells them to.
3b)Yes, I still feel the same about the Milgram Experiment because this experiment was very confusing and messed around with the mind. I think I would have been in the same shoes as several of the subjects.
Ivan Lara
2.a) This article by Stanly Milgram was really an eye opener. It talks about an experiment conducted to several people all over the world and not just in one location. I can not see myself in the teacher’s shoes. Having to shock an elderly person who yells out in pain after every intense shock, I will not be able to live with myself if something happened to him or her. At the same time I was able to picture myself as the subject and I would be very confused whether to continue the procedure although I knew I was harming someone.
ReplyDelete2b) Yes, I do think these results are valid because researchers do conduct these kind of experiments on people. To make it even more convincible they have videotaped subjects from the beginning to the end of the experiment. They also conducted this experiment not only on one group of people but on several groups of people world wide.
2c.) In order influence the subject’s mind they used sound because they knew that if he heard it the subject was going to be worried of the learner’s health. Hearing the sound of someone who is in pain and knowing you’re causing it makes a lot of thoughts run through your head. For example one thought might be, “am I hurting him?”, or another might be, “should I stop?”
2d.) I believe there was controversy performing this experiment because they are putting other people’s lives in danger, which many people might agree that it is not right to mess with people’s lives. Also no one has the right to harm anyone else.
2e) yes, I believe people who do not know anything about this experiment will fall for it, but those who have gone through this experiment I don’t believe they will fall for it again.
3a) Yes, I was surprised by the video because I saw it before I read the article and I really thought the learner was getting shocked. I could not believe other people are willing to harm others just because someone tells them to.
3b)Yes, I still feel the same about the Milgram Experiment because this experiment was very confusing and messed around with the mind. I think I would have been in the same shoes as several of the subjects.
Ivan Lara