The Power of Obedience Inclinations
The article summarizes two exciting results. First, the result is concerned with the sheer power of obedience inclinations that manifested in the circumstance. According to the report, participants learned since their childhood the critical breach of ethical behavior to harm another individual against their will (Milgram, 1963). However, 26 of the participants neglected the belief in following guidelines of authority with no specific strength to enforce their commands. According to the subjects, disobeying such a power does not cause material loss, and therefore no punishment may ensue.
The Impact of Punishing Disobedience
Additionally, from the outward behavior and the remark of the subjects, punishing the victims of disobedience is acting contrary to their values. The survey indicated that the subjects expressed profound disagreement of shocking an individual in the face of their obstinate opinions. The other result concerned the unanticipated impact of the tension created by procedures to subjects (Milgram, 1963). The article suggests that a participant in the survey indicated the shocking response of emotional as well as anxiety strain as opposed to the expectation of following their conscience. Further, the author suggests understanding the occurrence of obedience in subjects' analysis of specific conditions where the event occurs is significant.
The Influence of Childhood Learning
The most influential aspects of the circumstance faced by participants to obey in the study are childhood learning. The article explains that the strength to obey has been cultured from childhood and the lessons have become a crucial factor behavior and ethical conduct to cause harm to other persons with their consent (Milgram, 1963). Vulnerability to factors such as remoteness of the person from the location of the circumstance and the hardship in communicating to other subjects may account for the results of the underestimation of obedience of participants. In the modern world, people are still faced with these factors thus their obedience level is affected positively or negatively.
Expectations of High Obedience Levels
Moreover, in the case of an employee or team coach, high levels of obedience are expected. The reason for the high compliance character is employees and players may be forced to obey their authorities to avoid losing their jobs or game positions. The discrepancy between the findings and the predicted results may be as a result of subjects' unwillingness to comply with the survey. Furthermore, the author indicates that inaccessibility of the participants form the actual location as well as difficulty in relaying to them every detail of the study may have caused such differences in the results (Milgram, 1963). In addition, the fundamental attribution mistake may increase chances for inaccurate findings because of its correspondence bias. It is the deliberate emphasis by the subjects on the internal aspects but not external factors.
Ethical Implications and Pros and Cons of Milgram's Study
The ethical implications of research include the assumption that the subjects under the study submit voluntarily to the commands of their authority. Another aspect of moral concern is payment of the respondents for their participation which may cause data bias as individuals react to the material appreciation. The pros and cons of Milgram's study include its informative nature of the aspects of human obedience to authority. However, the study has various discrepancies which may appear in conclusions and findings. As an experimenter, the debriefing of the subject at the finish of the study would include appreciating them for participation and assurance of their privacy. As a member of the review board, allowing Milgram to conduct its survey would not be an option considering its moral implications of how authority may react to disobedience from other subjects.
References
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. The Journal of abnormal and social psychology, 67(4), 371-378.
