Evaluating Stanley Milgram's Experiments

The way that Stanley Milgram went about his experiment was unethical. It put the teachers in a position to have to harm someone. The teachers could choose the voltage used in the shock chair but it had to be at least 15 volts. It is not morally right to give someone no other choice than to harm someone else.
The First Study Milgram was studying how punishing someone can affect their learning. His experiment included a teacher that was a male recruit, a learner who was associated with Milgram, and an authority figure. The learner had to sit in a chair that appeared to be connected to a shock generator. The authority put paste and straps on the learner in the chair to protect them from getting hurt, in front of the teacher. The teacher then was taken to what appeared to be a shock generator. The teacher was told to read off two words. The teacher then had to say the first word and the learner had to say the second word. If the learner did not get the second word correct the teacher was to shock the learner. For every in correct answer the teacher had to increase the shock voltage by fifteen. The learners reacted to the “shock” by screaming, shouting, or pounding on a wall (127). Most of the teachers increased their voltage all the way up to 450. The outcome …show more content…
This time he grouped the teachers into a group of three. Two of the teachers were associated to Milgram while one was not. The teachers each had to suggest a shock level to shock the learner when the question was answered wrong. Out of the three suggested levels the lowest one would be used. This gave the teacher not associated with Milgram a chance to suggest a low level and “save” the learner. The results showed the group used voltages three or four times higher than the subjects in the first experiment (127). This experiment showed Milgram that people follow the leads of other people not just