PSYCH 111 Chapter Notes - Chapter X: Thomas Blass
Document Summary
Experiment is referred to in discussions of obedience and has influenced the entire debate about the ethics of involving human participants in psychological research. Milgram"s idea for this project grew out of his desire to investigate scientifically how people could be capable of carrying out great harm to others simply because they were ordered to do so. Milgram was referring specifically to the hideous atrocities committed during world. War ii and also, more generally, to the inhumanity that has been and is perpetrated by people following the orders of others. Milgram believed that in some situations, the human tendency to obey is so deeply ingrained and powerful that it cancels out a person"s ability to behave morally, ethically, or even sympathetically. Many individuals who would never intentionally cause someone physical harm would inflict pain on a victim if ordered to do so by a person whom they perceived to be a powerful authority figure.
