Summary Of The Stanley Milgram's Obedience

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1. The Stanley Milgram “Obedience” Study was an experiment conducted at Yale University in 1962 by Milgram, who’s goal was to test the power of obedience to authority. Milgram was in search to understand how the Nazis, who were normal German citizens, could willingly inflict pain onto innocent people. In order to find the answer to this, Milgram decided to perform a research that measured the willingness of an ordinary individual to commit cruel acts on a civilian. The experiment had an intricate set up which involved three participants that all had a different role. There was the “teacher”, “learner”, and “authoritative figure” who was dressed in a lab coat and posed as a scientist. The learner and authoritative figure were actors who were …show more content…

Certain leaders have more power in persuading their followers and making them do as they say than others. One type of effective leader is a transformational leader. A transformational leader leads people by giving their followers a sense of purpose and a common goal (Chambliss and Eglitis pg. 111). In the Milgram study, the authoritative prop told the unsuspecting teacher that the purpose of the research was to see if people learn more effectively if there’s a punishment. Whenever the teacher was doubting his actions, the leader gave reassurance by saying lines like, “…it’s absolutely essential for you to continue…” (The Milgram Experiment Documentary), which helped encourage the participant and make him believe that what he was doing was necessary. That’s a quality that a transformational leader possesses. Another form of authority which people respect is legitimate authority. Legitimate authority is a type of power that is recognized as rightful by those over whom it is exercised (Chambliss and Eglitis pg. 111). For example, in the Milgram study the authoritative prop was heading a scientific experiment and wore a white lab coat which insinuated he was a scientist of some sort. This would make the teacher assume that he possessed credentials. The teacher, therefore, put his trust in that this leader knew what he was doing and saw his power as legitimate

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