Thought Paper - 2

Aditi Unmesh Vasava (100816477)

Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University

Social Psychology

Michele Lustman

March 24th, 2023

 Thought Paper - 2

Stanley Milgram, a student at Yale, carried out the Milgram experiment. The experiment

was conducted on 40 men from various jobs and ages (20 to 50). The experiment's subjects

thought they were aiding a separate investigation. The students had to give electric shocks, and

the intensity of the shocks increased over time. One experimenter (E) directed the teacher (T),

who served as the subject of the experiment, to shock the student (L): Confederate and actor,

Learner. The patient is made to believe that they received a shock for each incorrect response,

although this is not the case.

The electroshock generator on the confederate's tape recorder played pre-recorded sounds for

each level of shock as the subject and confederate were kept apart. The experimenter was told to

offer particular verbal prods, the prods being: 1) Please continue or please go on when the

subject wished to stop the experiment because they thought they were providing shocks. 2) You

must carry out the experiment. 3) It is imperative that you persevere. 4) There is no other option;

you must continue. Prod. 2 could only be used by experimenters if Prod. 1 was unsuccessful. The

experiment is terminated if the participant refuses to cooperate after four prods. Some of them

were laughing tensely while others were burying their fingernails into the skin.

Milgram was interested in finding out how far a person would go to carry out a higher authority's

orders in order to cause harm to another individual. People always follow orders in society,

although they frequently misbehave.

According to predictions made before the experiment, only 3.73 percent of individuals were

expected to continue after receiving a 300-volt shock when the victim refused to respond. Less

than one-tenth of one percent of subjects were expected to deliver the greatest jolt possible.
Forecasts did not come true, and all participants reached 300 volts or higher, with 65% reaching

a maximum of 450 volts.

Milgram’s experiment was one of the singular most penetrating and most disturbing

inquiries into human conduct that modern psychology has produced this century. Those of us

who presume to have knowledge of man are still perplexed by his findings, with their frightful

implications for society. There were a lot of ethical informalities in this experiment. The

participants in the experiments were coerced and very debriefed, and there was the use of

deception. The experiment was not only ethically incorrect, but it was also morally very wrong.

The elaboration likelihood model is one of the theories that can be applied to understand the

predictions made by undergrads and psychiatrists at Yale University. The dual process theory of

persuasion, known as the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), describes how attitudes evolve.

The model aims to explain various approaches to processing stimuli, how they are used, and how

they impact attitude change. Think about reading about a planned soda tax in your community,

for instance. The elaboration likelihood model indicates that elaboration would be higher if you

consume soda since you would be paying this tax.

A more likely explanation for the participant's behaviour is that the participant's

environment had an impact on them and caused them to behave as they did. The participant's

personal explanation for their behaviour would be that there was something in them personally

that made them want to comply. A few context-related factors that might have had an impact on

their behaviour included the formality of the environment, the experimenters' behaviour, and the

fact that they had volunteered and been paid for the study. Ordinary people routinely follow

instructions from authoritative persons, even if it results in the death of an innocent individual.

We all naturally tend to submit to authority because of how we were reared.

 The experiment's findings astonished me, as although many of the participants grew

incredibly agitated, upset, and angry with the experimenter, they all complied with instructions

until the very end.

In conclusion, this experiment showed that Even when a person's actions conflict with

their own beliefs or ideals, people tend to obey those in positions of authority.