The Milgram experiment: Its impact and interpretation

Abstract

Milgrams' experiment which investigated obedience to authority is one of the most well-known psychological studies of all time. The study is widely considered ethically controversial, and found its results striking and disturbing. This raises the question as to which part of the study contributed the most to the way it was interpreted by the scientific community. Milgrams' study had a harmful effect on his participants and is considered to have included unethical aspects. The experiment showed that 65% of the experimental subjects obeyed authority until the end of the experiment and carried out orders that they believed involved extreme harm to others. After the experiment, ethical guidelines developed which require valid informed consent and a proper consideration of the possible harm which might be inflicted upon experimental subjects. There is an ongoing debate regarding the extent to which ethical guidelines might hinder relevant research. The Milgram experiment probably initially attracted the attention it did because of its results. It was only after the results were widely reported that, the methods of the experiment were considered and the study became known as ethically controversial.