by Stanley Milgram
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Product Description
A modern classic with a new foreword by Stanley Milgram's former teacher and friend, author Jerome S. Bruner, Obedience to Authority emerges, even on the thirtieth anniversary of its publication, as a timely book for this age of war and terrorism. Half a century ago, social scientist Stanley Milgram carried out a series of experiments. The "teacher" is told to administer electroshocks in progressively more painful degrees to the "learner." The teacher -- unaware that the learner is an actor receiving no shocks at all -- is the real focus of the study. These controversial and criticized experiments illustrate how people will obey authority regardless of consequences.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Must read for Psych students, 2008-08-02
Primary sources are as important in psychology as they are in history. This book gives great insight into the thinking of Stanley Milgram, one of the most famous names in the world of social psychology. The book has some technical passages since he is describing research studies, but overall did not require great effort or time to read--a plus for those of us in the teaching profession. My students will benefit from the background information I learned about Milgram's research, much more information than is included in most textbooks.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Disturbing Insights About Humanity, 2008-03-12
Are you and I any different from Heinrich Himmler or Adolph Eichmann? Of course, we want to believe that we are made from entirely different clay than those evil monsters, but reading Stanley Milgram's book, _Obedience To Authority_, will make you wonder.
The book describes an experiment that was conducted in the 1960s by Yale University psychology professor Stanley Milgram. Milgram placed advertisements in local newspapers, soliciting volunteers for an experiment in human psychology. The volunteers were told that the experiment was about memory and learning, but in reality, the experiment was about the conflict between conscience and authority. The volunteers were told to read sets of words to a man, and then test him on how well he remembered them. They were further instructed to administer an electric shock whenever the man made a mistake in remembering the words. The shocks began at 15 volts, and proceeded by 15-volt increments, all the way up to 450 volts. At the 150-volt level, the man screamed in agony and begged to be set free. At each shock level from that point up to 300 volts, the man let out a horrifying scream. At the 300-volt shock, the man stated that he would not answer any more questions. The volunteers were told to treat each non-response as an incorrect answer, and to continue with the shocks. After the 330-volt shock, no further sound was heard from the man.
Happily, the victim of the shocks was an actor who wasn't really being shocked at all. The real purpose of the experiment was to observe how the volunteers would behave when confronted with a choice between cruelty and disobedience.
The results of this experiment were amazing. Two-thirds of the volunteers continued to shock the man, all the way up to the 450-volt shock. Even after the 330-volt shock, when they had good reason to think that they might have killed the man, they continued administering shocks all the way to 450 volts. Only one-third of the volunteers defied their instructions and refused to continue the experiment due to concern for the man receiving the shocks.
This book presents insights into human nature that you will find both highly disturbing and quite fascinating. Think about the implications of Milgram's experiment. Now ask yourself... did Henry Wirz get a fair trial? Did Adolph Eichmann get a fair trial? How can we make sure that there will never be another Holocaust? Did Nelson Rockefeller do the right thing at Attica? Was justice done in the case of William Calley? These are some of the questions raised by this magnificent book. They are questions worth pondering and discussing.
Everybody should read this book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Fascinating.....a must read!, 2008-02-23
Just finished reading Obedience to Authority for a graduate seminar, and must say that it is one of the more relevant and insightful books I've read during my training. In this highly ambitious book, Milgram, motivated in large part by the large-scale and gruesome acts against humanity that occurred during WWII, sets himself to the task of identifying the conditions under which "people would defy authority in the face of a clear moral imperative". To his (and this reviewer's) surprise, he finds that when ordinary individuals are commanded by figures of authority to carry out morally reprehensible acts, they lack the intrapersonal resources required to disobey. While his method of inquiry may be shocking by today's standards, I find his experimental designs, variable manipulations, and theoretical contributions as elegant in their simplicity and highly illuminating.
To that end, I strongly recommend this book to scholars and engaged citizens. Not only is it a fascinating read, but it reminds the reader of the importance of moral autonomy in today's world, as well.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Obedience to Authority, 2008-01-22
The results of the experiments in this book are astounding and make you think about what your own reaction would be.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Master piece experience, 2008-01-07
This book describes years of work in a very intrigant experience of obedience authority and many variants of itself. The author explains very accurately the details of the experiments and comments brightly the results.
This book was written for psichologists and social scientists as for a curious well educated public.
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