If you were told by a supposed authority figure to give a lethal electric shock to another person, would you? This is the basis of the famous milgram electrocution experiment. This experiment sought to find out whether people would give an electric shock to another person, so long as the person telling them to do so was wearing a lab coat or was conduction the experiment. When asked, many people usually say, no, they would not give someone a lethal electric shock. This is also precisely why this experiment is so famously known.
In this experiment, participants were told that there were two participants and two roles. One participant was the student, and another the teacher. They were told the experiment was gauge how negative response influenced learning. In reality, there was only one participant, who was always selected to be the ‘teacher’. The other participant was a confederate. The participants were then told that whenever the ‘student’ got a question wrong, they would have to give them an electric shock, incrementing upwards in severity, up to a lethal electric shock. The true purpose of the experiment was to see how far the participants would up the electric shocks before they stopped, if at all. In reality, no actual electric shocks were being given, but there was an actor on the other side who was pretending to be in pain and asking for the experiment to stop.
To the researchers’ surprise and horror, about two-thirds of the participants went all the way to the last electric shock, giving a lethal dose of electricity had it been real (450 volts). Many participants showed hesitation but continued when the researcher told them it was ‘for research’ or that there be ‘no permanent damage’. All participants went to 300 volts, but after hearing that the other ‘participant’ was in pain, they did not agree to continue any further. Still, two-thirds is a lot. This shocked the world at the time and showed how even normal, good-natured people can do horrible things when being told by an authority figure to do so.
Implications
The Milgram experiment suggests that people’s desire to conform to authority can undermine even their most basic morals. Normal people were driven hypothetically murder another person by simply having a researcher in a lab coat tell them to. Originally the Milgram experiment was conducted in defense of soldiers who had committed war crimes, who argued that they were only following orders. Milgram decided to conduct this experiment to see whether that held any weight whatsoever. In his discovery, he frighteningly found that many ordinary people with good intentions, would commit crimes when lead to do so by an authority figure. This finding brings up how useful following authority really is, and how much we should support autonomy in daily lives
From a young age, children are very quickly taught to obey certain people. Obedient children are often seen as ‘good kids’, who do what they’re told and do not act up too much. More rebellious kids who think more on their own are usually seen as troublemakers. This makes sense, as it helps to have people more attuned to the needs of others and being able to fit into the group as a whole. However, many of these types of research also show how dangerous simply following orders or conforming can be. It truly reinforces how free-thinking can be extremely useful, and can help preserve people’s morals.
It may be beneficial to rethink how kids are taught in school, or at home in order to consider these ideas. While everyone should learn a healthy respect for authority figures and people in positions of power, it also helps to have people who are able to see when things are wrong on a personal or ethical level, and sometimes go against orders. It treads a fine line between having rebels who go against everything for no real reason, and those who fight against the norms and authority for a good reason. It truly draws a fine line between when we should simply follow instructions or not.