Evaluation of Milgram's Experiment: Obedience and Authority

This essay critically examines Milgram's experiments on obedience to authority, questioning the assertion that human instinct is the primary driver. While acknowledging the profound impact of Milgram's work on understanding how individuals behave under authoritative influence, the essay argues that the experiments do not conclusively prove a direct link between human instinct and obedience. The controlled environment of Yale University, the selection of male participants from diverse backgrounds, and the focus on obedience in situations deemed morally wrong limit the generalizability of the findings. The essay suggests that cultural and political factors, as well as the fear of consequences, may play significant roles in obedience, particularly in different systems of governance. It concludes that while Milgram's experiments are valuable for understanding obedience, further research across diverse cultures and authority types is needed to determine the extent to which human instincts influence this behavior. Desklib provides access to similar essays and study resources for students.

Running head: MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT
Milgram’s Experiment
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT 2
Milgram’s Experiments
Milligram’s experiments contributed greatly to an understanding of how
human beings are likely to behave under authority. However, I do not think that the
experiments revealed a human instinct to obey authority. Instinct is a term that is used
to describe a set of behaviours that are unlearned (Lomas and Ivtzan,2016). These
behaviours occur naturally and are usually triggered by certain environmental factors.
In my opinion, the experiments carried out by Milgram did not satisfactorily
determine that instincts play a part in obeying authority. Following is the reason why I
believe so.
Milgram’s experiments were done under a highly controlled state at Yale
University. A newspaper advertisement was used to select male participants for
the experiment. Participants were 40 males who were of diverse backgrounds.
The jobs of these participants ranged unskilled to professionals. In addition, the
studies mainly focused on the likelihood of people to obey authority, provided it is
something that is generally considered wrong by the society. There are many factors,
psychological or otherwise that may make a person be willing to engage in an activity
considered wrong when ordered by people in authority. Milgram correctly observed
that there is a way in which the society moulds us to believe that respect to authority
is good (Evolutionary Psychology Primer by Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, 2019).
However, his experiments were limited in attributing human instinct to obedience and
authority. This is because they did not break down the reasons why a participant
would be willing to obey such authority.
If Milgram’s experiment were to correctly reveal that human instincts are
pivotal to obedience to authority, then the results of his experiment would apply to

MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT 3
most places around the globe. In addition, the results would apply across cultures and
should not be limited by time. It means that they should be applicable now as it
should have been then. The results of the experiment show that most people would be
willing to obey authority even if it meant harming an innocent person (Mcleod, 2019).
Despite this conclusion, there is no clear statement that such obedience is as a result
of human instincts.
There is more that can be done to determine whether human instincts are
responsible for obedience to authority. For instance, studies could recruit people from
different cultures and from different kinds of authority. If that were to be done, then
we can confidently affirm whether or not human instincts play a role in submitting to
authority. It is important to note that the kind of authority being investigated in
Milgram’s experiment is not limited to political authority. It is the vertical
authority where one receives instructions from persons above them. Therefore,
there are many situations that may make a person have authority over another.
This authority could also be political. The explanation could be that in different
systems of governance, people obey authority for different reasons. It could be
possible that the sole reason why most people obey a dictatorial government is the
fear of the unknown (Sternberg, 2016). On the other hand, people who live in
democracies may be culturally influenced to obey authority.
In conclusion, Milgram’s experiments are fundamental in psychology for they
help understand why most people obey authority even when such obedience involves
hurting innocent people. However, his experiments cannot be used to confidently
affirm that human instincts play a role in influencing people to obey authority.

MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT 4
References
Mcleod, S. (2019). Milgram Experiment | Simply Psychology. Retrieved 25
September 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
Evolutionary Psychology Primer by Leda Cosmides and John Tooby. (2019).
Retrieved 25 September 2019, from https://www.cep.ucsb.edu/primer.html
Lomas, T., & Ivtzan, I. (2016). Second wave positive psychology: Exploring
the positive–negative dialectics of wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(4),
1753-1768.
Sternberg, K. (2016). Cognitive psychology. Nelson Education.