What ethical concern did the Milgram experiment generate
Andrew Walker
Updated on April 12, 2026
The ethical issues involved with the Milgram experiment are as follows: deception, protection of participants involved, and the right to withdrawal. The experiment was deemed unethical, because the participants were led to believe that they were administering shocks to real people.
What was the problem with Milgram's experiment on obedience quizlet?
The teacher has to decide between obeying the obvious authority of the experimenter or listening to his conscience that he is hurting the learner. What did Milgram and other psychologists predict? Criticisms were made that the experiment wasn’t carried out on ‘normal’ people.
What is a major problem with the original Milgram study?
what is a major problem with the original Milgram study? Milgram lied to his respondents, making his study borderline unethical. The field of social psychology studies topics at the intrapersonal level.
How did the Milgram experiment impact society?
Milgram’s research has had profound implications for the study of individual behavior that results in harm to others, demonstrated by events like the Holocaust and the My Lai massacre, showing that obedience to authority figures stems from the construction of a situation or context of authority, within which various …What was one objection critics had concerning the Milgram experiment?
One criticism is that the results of Milgram’s experiment do not reflect real-world tendencies to obey authority simply because the participants must have known everything was fine. Milgram responded by claiming that this criticism doesn’t explain why the participants were in distress when administering the shocks.
What did the Milgram experiment teach us?
The Milgram experiment(s) on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. … The experiment found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of subjects would fully obey the instructions, albeit reluctantly.
What did Milgram's obedience experiments teach us about the power of social influence?
What did Milgram’s obedience experiments teach us about the power of social influence? Stanley Milgram’s experiments (in which people obeyed orders even when they thought they were harming another person – demonstrated that strong social influences can make ordinary people conform to falsehoods or give in to cruelty.
Was Milgram's experiment justified?
Milgram freely admits that the results of the experiment were not predicted by any involved (194). Thus, the deception could not have been justified by foreknowledge that subjects would eventually approve of being deceived, misled, and coerced.What did we learn from Milgram experiment?
The Milgram experiment, and the replications and related experiments that followed it, showed that contrary to expectations, most people will obey an order given by an authority figure to harm someone, even if they feel that it’s wrong, and even if they want to stop.
What did the Milgram experiment demonstrate quizlet?1. Milgram found that people will obey orders to hurt another person. … even when this means they hurt another person.
Article first time published onHow is the Milgram study relevant today?
Summary: A replication of one of the most widely known obedience studies, the Stanley Milgram experiment, shows that even today, people are still willing to harm others in pursuit of obeying authority. … While no shocks were actually delivered in any of the experiments, the participants believed them to be real.
Why did Milgram use deception?
Deception – the participants actually believed they were shocking a real person and were unaware the learner was a confederate of Milgram’s. However, Milgram argued that “illusion is used when necessary in order to set the stage for the revelation of certain difficult-to-get-at-truths.”
Did Milgram protect his participants from physical and psychology harm?
No physical harm was conducted on the participants although the stress and anxiety that the participants felt when participating was ethically wrong.
How does culture influence aggressive behavior?
Cultural Causes of Aggression Social reinforcement is a strong cause of aggression based on societal and cultural rules. … Research has shown that boys who show aggressive tendencies are more readily accepted in society (and by their peers) than boys who do not express aggression toward others.
What purpose does obedience serve in society?
In its simplest form, obedience can bring forth both peace and anguish in a society and it differentiates between individualism and collectivism. Striking a balance between obedience and critical thinking is necessary for an efficient society to retain a healthy dose of individuality.
How does the presence of observers affect a person's performance?
How does the presence of observers affect a person’s performance? It improves performance on easy tasks and hinders a person’s performance on difficult tasks.
How did the Milgram experiment change psychology?
Collectively known as The Milgram Experiment, this groundbreaking work demonstrated the human tendency to obey commands issued by an authority figure, and more generally, the tendency for behavior to be controlled more by the demands of the situation than by idiosyncratic traits of the person.
How did Milgram defend his research?
Milgram’s basic defence was that the harm to the participants was not as great as it might appear, and for some of them the change in their understanding of their own behaviour and the behaviour of others was a positive event.
What does Milgram conclude about people's willingness to obey?
Social psychologist Stanley Milgram researched the effect of authority on obedience. He concluded people obey either out of fear or out of a desire to appear cooperative–even when acting against their own better judgment and desires.
What conclusions does Milgram draw from the results of the varied experiments?
What conclusions did Milgram draw? Social influence is strong and people will obey orders even when it causes them distress.
Why is deception an ethical issue?
In psychology research, deception is a highly debatable ethical issue. … Others believe deception is necessary because it prevents participants from behaving in an unnatural way; it is important that participants behave the way they normally would when not being observed or studied.
How did these ethically questionable techniques lead to the creation of the code of ethics?
Such research suggests that knowledge per se represents only a portion of what is required for sound ethical practice.
How is the ethical appropriateness of deception determined?
Deception in psychological research is often stated as acceptable only when all of the following conditions are met: 1) no other nondeceptive method exists to study the phenomenon of interest; 2) the study makes significant contributions to scientific knowledge; 3) the deception is not expected to cause significant …
How did Milgram defend himself?
Milgram’s basic defence was that the harm to the participants was not as great as it might appear, and for some of them the change in their understanding of their own behaviour and the behaviour of others was a positive event.
Why does psychology need ethical considerations?
We have a moral responsibility to protect research participants from harm. … However important the issue under investigation psychologists need to remember that they have a duty to respect the rights and dignity of research participants.
What psychological biological and social cultural influences interact to produce aggressive behaviors?
Our biology (our genes, neural systems, and biochemistry—including testosterone and alcohol levels) influences our tendencies to be aggressive. Psychological factors (such as frustration, previous rewards for aggressive acts, and observation of others’ aggression) can trigger any aggressive tendencies we may have.
How socio cultural factors affect an individual's experience of anger?
In U.S. culture, the way we experience negative events affects the way we show our anger. Whereas in many Asian cultures, the way they feel about themselves affects the way they express anger. … In cultures that find group harmony more important, “adjusting and conforming to other people is considered desirable.”
What are the three situational factors that influence aggression?
Situational factors include variables that promote aggression, such as provocation, aggressive cues, violent media and the use of drugs. These situational variables can increase state anger [5].