Psychology

Running Head : OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY

STANLEY MILGRAM 'S OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY

Author

University

Abstract

This reconsiders Stanley Milgram 's Obedience to Authority experiment and in relation to the Holocaust . This contends that obedience as a term can be used to equally depict and rationalize subjects ' behavior in Milgram 's experiment , and that not differentiating the two applications theoretically may present a misleading view to which the experiments of Milgram had demonstrated in the matter of obedience to authority . This also attempts to present alternative viewpoints to signify that

when behavior in the experiment was influenced by authority , the action was performed for causes other than the sense of duty to obey . This also tries to contend that modern historical events offer a more intricate and challenging view of the holocaust than that entailed by the use of social psychology of obedience to authority

Stanley Milgram 's Concept of Obedience to Authority

Stanley Milgram 's Obedience to Authority (1974 ) revealed in the simplest and most understandable manner the flaws of human nature Milgram demonstrated the very adaptable collection of tendencies of human nature and he showed that those human tendencies that are exceedingly esteemed by society such as discipline , loyalty , and duty would be the most dangerous for the continued existence of humanity as they can be exploited for manipulating people to do the most atrocious actions at any time precise conditions are in position . These conditions could be : the focus of power in institutions and individuals that present themselves with an impression of certified authority that place them above moral probing and the inattention for the majority of people of the advance of crucial faculties made feasible through the employment by the force of the channels of education and communication as tools of misinformation and exploitation , at the benefit of the Church power in the historic past and of the power of the state today . Obedience is an essential and necessary aspect in the formation of social life . A number of authority structures are a necessity of all collective living , and it is merely the man living in seclusion who is not compelled to react , in disobedience or capitulation , to the s of others . Obedience has a distinct bearing to present time . Obedience has been unfailingly shown when in the period of 1933 - 1945 millions of people were methodically killed on . Gas chambers were constructed , death camps were fortified , and certain number of dead bodies on a daily basis was churned out with the same competence as the production of machines These rules of cruelty and brutality may have its beginning in one person 's design , but they could not be successfully accomplished on an immense magnitude if a massive number of people did not obey s

Applications of the Obedience Concept

Obedience is the mental and emotional means that associates individual deed to political objective . Obedience is the temperamental bond that connects people to structures of power and authority . Historical evidence and examination in...