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 A friend of mine who is studying psychology sent me these studies in light of the prison abuse scandals in Iraq. The Milgram Experiment and Zimbardo Prison Study are both about power, coercion, and the power of authority. I'll discuss the Milgram Experiment first, since it's shorter. The premise of the experiment:In response to a newspaper ad offering $4.50 for one hour's work, an individual turns up to take part in a Psychology experiment investigating memory and learning. He is introduced to a stern looking experimenter in a white coat and a rather pleasant and friendly co-subject. The experimenter explains that the experiment will look into the role of punishment in learning, and that one will be the "teacher" and one will be the "learner." Lots are drawn to determine roles, and it is decided that the individual who answered the ad will become the "teacher."
Your co-subject is taken to a room where he is strapped in a chair to prevent movement and an electrode is placed on his arm. Next, the "teacher" is taken to an adjoining room which contains a generator. The "teacher" is instructed to read a list of two word pairs and ask the "learner" to read them back. If the "learner" gets the answer correct, then they move on to the next word. If the answer is incorrect, the "teacher" is supposed to shock the "learner" starting at 15 volts. The experiment was done to see if we could call the millions of people who participated in the Holocaust accomplices, or if they were following orders from a higher authority without rebelling. Of course, the shock wasn't actually given. It was faked by the "learner," who was an actor. However, the teacher didn't know this. The result?At times, the worried "teachers" questioned the experimenter, asking who was responsible for any harmful effects resulting from shocking the learner at such a high level. Upon receiving the answer that the experimenter assumed full responsibility, teachers seemed to accept the response and continue shocking, even though some were obviously extremely uncomfortable in doing so.
Today the field of psychology would deem this study highly unethical but, it revealed some extremely important findings. The theory that only the most severe monsters on the sadistic fringe of society would submit to such cruelty is disclaimed. Findings show that, "two-thirds of this studies participants fall into the category of ‘obedient' subjects, and that they represent ordinary people drawn from the working, managerial, and professional classes (Obedience to Authority)." Ultimately 65% of all of the "teachers" punished the "learners" to the maximum 450 volts. No subject stopped before reaching 300 volts!
Milgram also conducted several follow-up experiments to determine what might change the likelihood of maximum shock delivery. In one condition, the touch-proximity condition, the teacher was required to hold the hand of the learner on a "shock plate" in order to give him shocks above 150 volts.
The most amazing thing to note from this follow-up experiment is that 32% of the subjects in the proximity-touch condition held the hand of the learner on the shock plate while administering shocks in excess of 400 volts! So, as we can see, people will typically go ahead with questionable practices if they are assured that they won't be held responsible, even if they aren't comfortable with what they are doing. Almost one third will even perform an act that could kill the subject! This has far-reaching consequences when considered with the Abu Ghraib scandal, though it's frightening to think that if these soldiers were indeed just following orders, they would go to such great lengths even if they didn't like what they were doing, which means that almost anyone is capable of such dispicable acts.
Still, I don't think that these people should go unpunished. What they did was awful and, orders or no, they should get what's coming to them. However, remember to keep this in mind.
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