Who among the following conducted one of the most famous and controversial experiments in the area of obedience?

Correct option is C

The correct answer is Milgram.
1. Stanley Milgram is famous for conducting one of the most well-known and controversial experiments on obedience. His Milgram experiment (1961) investigated how far individuals would go in obeying an authority figure, even if it meant inflicting harm on another person.

2. In the experiment, participants were instructed to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to a person (who was actually an actor and not harmed) whenever the person gave incorrect answers. Despite hearing cries of pain from the actor, many participants continued to administer shocks simply because they were instructed to do so by an authority figure.
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Information Booster
1. Milgram’s Experiment Overview:
1.1. Objective: Stanley Milgram’s experiment was designed to investigate the extent to which individuals would obey an authority figure, even when the actions required went against their personal conscience and caused harm to others.
1.2. Setup: Participants were told they were taking part in a study on memory and learning. They were assigned the role of "teacher," while a confederate (actor) played the role of "learner." The learner was strapped into a chair and connected to an apparent electric shock machine, which was actually harmless.
1.3. Shock Levels: The shock generator had 30 switches, each labeled with a voltage ranging from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 volts (danger – severe shock). The teacher was instructed to administer a shock to the learner whenever they gave an incorrect answer to a question.
1.4. Obedience Instruction: As the shocks increased, the learner (the confederate) pretended to be in pain, eventually screaming and begging for the experiment to stop. However, the experimenter (authority figure) instructed the teacher to continue administering shocks, even when the learner showed signs of extreme distress.
1.5. Results: Milgram found that 65% of participants were willing to administer the highest voltage shock of 450 volts, despite the apparent suffering of the learner. This was a striking result, as it revealed the strong influence of authority on human behavior, even in situations where it conflicted with moral judgment.

2. Ethical Concerns:
2.1. The Milgram experiment raised significant ethical concerns due to the psychological harm inflicted on the participants. They were subjected to extreme stress and emotional strain, believing they were harming another person, which violated ethical standards in research.
2.2. Deception was used, as participants were misled about the true nature of the experiment. They were not informed that the learner was an actor, and they were led to believe the shocks were real. This deception led to concerns about the informed consent of participants.
2.3. Debriefing: After the experiment, participants were debriefed, and the true purpose of the study was explained. While Milgram attempted to address the ethical concerns, the emotional distress caused to participants remained a point of contention in discussions about research ethics.

3. Implications of the Experiment:
3.1. Obedience to Authority: The Milgram experiment showed that ordinary people could commit harmful actions simply because they were following the instructions of an authority figure. This challenged the commonly held belief that only evil individuals or those with malevolent intent could engage in harmful behavior.
3.2. Real-world Applications: The findings of the experiment have been applied to understand historical events like the Holocaust and the actions of Nazis, where individuals obeyed orders to commit atrocities, raising questions about moral responsibility and personal agency in situations involving authority.
3.3. Psychological Insights: The study highlighted how situational factors—such as authority figures, group pressure, and proximity to the victim—can influence human behavior, even overriding personal morals and ethics.

Additional Information

Sherif: (1) Muzafer Sherif is best known for his Robbers Cave Experiment (1954), which explored intergroup conflict and cooperation. The experiment involved two groups of boys at a summer camp who were initially kept separate but were later brought into conflict through competitive activities. Sherif studied how group identity and competition lead to prejudice and hostility. He found that when the groups were forced to work together toward a common goal, they showed reduced hostility and greater cooperation. However, Sherif’s work focused more on intergroup relations than on obedience to authority, making it distinct from Milgram’s obedience studies.

Asch: (2) Solomon Asch is famous for his conformity experiments (1950s), which examined peer pressure and conformity. In his classic study, participants were asked to compare the lengths of lines and identify the correct match. Unbeknownst to the participant, others in the group (confederates) deliberately gave wrong answers. Asch found that participants were often influenced by the majority view, even when it was clearly incorrect. This study demonstrated the power of social influence and peer pressure in shaping behavior. Asch’s experiments focused on conformity rather than obedience to authority.

Cialdini: (4) Robert Cialdini is renowned for his work on persuasion and social influence. He identified six principles of influence—reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity—that explain how people are influenced to comply with requests and follow others' behaviors. Unlike Milgram’s work on obedience to authority, Cialdini’s research focuses on the psychological mechanisms behind influence and persuasion. His principles are widely used in marketing, advertising, and negotiation.