Obey orders against your conscience

I know this is an unusual example to give here but there was a Simpson's episode of all things that had the family visit a Psychiatrist who then strapped them all into chairs with wires attached and then gave them each a control so they could shock each other whenever somebody said something they didn't appreciate. Of course they all ended up shocking the heck out of each other! lol. It may have been just a cartoon but I think that it is quite an accurate picture of how many people would end up being towards each other if given half the chance. The experiment you have shared is certainly an unusual one but the results are of no surprise to me at all. There was probably misapprehension at forst from a number of these "Teachers" but once they broke the ice so to speak there is no doubt that many of them would feed off of the power it gave them and then go on to abuse this same power. Would I participate in an experiment like this? I think I would actually. And I would probably end up shocking the heck out of everybody as well! But if this was not an experiment in a controlled environment and was an expected role for me as a Teacher in a school then no, I of course would never agree to do it as it serves no long term purpose. The interesting question would have been concerning what would have happened if the learners had been given the ability to shock the Teachers in return? But I think I know the answer to this question! It would have been exactly like the Simpson's episode I have mentioned, and it is more than likely that the experiment would have ended up as a constant series of back and forth shocks that would have never stopped until someone thought to turn off the power!

This sounds quite a cruel experiment and I suppose was done for some pyschology course research. I would refuse to participate either as teacher or student. I guess the ones that gave the higher shock were control freaks of some sort and the ones hey were adminstered to submissive victims. Interesting though. Ellie :D

I don't think i can bring myself to hurt someone as a form of punishment... i was a teacher for more than seven years... and i had the urge to slap a student or two... but i never did do that sort of punishment... so i think i will never ever participate in such an experiment... since i think it is inhumane...

such experiment on humans ? i thought they did that kind of experiment on dogs or chimps.. giving electric shock on people.. that's cruel, i think.. i wouldnt want to punished like that, and i dont believe i myself can inflict such pain and terror on someone, so.. i dont think i will take part in this 'wierd' experiment even if they pay me to..

I am familiar with the study you mention here because I was taking undergraduate courses in psychology around that time. I most certainly would have refused to administer the shock. However, I believe that the people who were told to do, no matter what the experimenters thought, were of the conviction that nobody was actually being shocked. I don't know if that makes a difference or not, but it gives me a lower opinion of psychology as a field of study and was just one of many reasons that I did not continue on in the study of psychology beyond the BA degree. I chose to study something else in graduate school.

Weird story. I think I would give them a lower shock because I was instructed to shock them in the name of science. I would follow the orders even though I didn't agree with it, I guess I would think if they were allowing it, it must be okay. Now I feel really guilty and I wasn't even part of the study. Thanks for posting this, it was really eye opening. Happy Mylotting.

I will never inflict any type of pain to anyone intentionally.I have done that.I tend to get away from such situations always.And Sandhya I never believe in punishments too.People hardly change whether you punish or pardon them.Some miracle or magic only can make oneself realize his folly and transform and it is very rare.

If I am a teacher I will refrain myself from giving any kind of electric shock to any of my students. I suppose students have very tender and delicate mind and punishing them this way could be determinental for them. I would definitely scold them if you are not learning and playing pranks, I may even ask them to leave the class, if they are not attentive but I am against any physical punishment to them.

Hi Dear sure it was not a decent experiment, well, i am sure i will refuse to administyer this shocking treatment. Learning must be 2 ways, and to give punish for learning or not learning is Ridiculous, Speclially when some one is atleast trying Rather then punishing u should help them to learn it Take care

I think that I would not, or could not do harm like that to anyone. I would not wish to be the "teacher in this case, and would definitely not appreciate being the "learner" either. If I were to see this action I would alert the authorities or someone with an authority over the "teacher" who was unaware of the intensity of the shocks, or the frequency of which she or he had administered it.

These experiments were carried out all over the world to find out if people would obey orders like the people did in the extermination camps in Germany during World War II. They found that most of the people concerned obeyed orders and they did not know that the electric shocks were not real. It was a man called Zimbardo who thought up the experiments I think. The results shocked everyone because the rest of the world had believed that it could only happen in Germany. I hope I would have had the courage to say no.

I remember this. I had to watch it in psychology. They weren't actually shocking the people and the "teachers" were actually the subjects in the experiment but they didn't know that, they thought that the learners were the subjects. It was an experiment to see what people would do if someone in authority told them to do something. They thought that they were shocking the "learner" because they couldn't see the person "being shocked," they were in another room and the other person played a recording of someone screaming whenever the shock was administered. The person in the white lab coat was the one telling the "teacher" what voltage of shock to give. Whenever the shock was given the shocker would laugh when the person yelled out but it wasn't mean spirited or anything, it seemed to be a natural reaction from people. There were only a few people who actually walked out and refused to do the shocking. I think that this experiment is important, even if some would say that it wasn't ethical since the people that were shocking didn't know the whole truth about the experiment, because it shows how far people would go if someone in authority told them to do something. I wss a freshman I think when I saw this video and it opened my eyes and made me wonder what I would have done. It's possible that I would have thought the person in the lab coat knew what they were doing and wouldn't just let me kill someone. I would definately not use the experiment to release pent up anger and hurt anyone purposely. Oh yea, and I think the people signed a paper in the beginning that said that the person conducting the experiment would take responsibility if anyone was hurt in the experiment so the "teacher" wouldn't be held responsible. It made me realize that just because a person is in a position of authority it doesn't mean that they're right and that you should follow orders from them.

crazy! i wouldnt..but then again, in history many have followed orders like that.. the guy that threw the atomic bomb never regreted.. he was just following orders acoording to him.. but no.. dont do to other what you wouldnt like for yourself

Hi pattalam.Why this delay in adding me as your friend?.. Well I have read about inflicting electric shocks on animals ,especially rats and rabbits,but this is to study about behavioural patterns of animals and how it can be affected by external stimuli.This is to be taken as part of scientific experiments,even though I abhore such cruelty to animals. But inflicting such shock treatment on human beings ,of however low intensity it is,as part of learning process is something demeaning and unnecessary......The best way to teach is by making the topic intersting to your students and presenting it in such a manner that they will understand and grasp it quickly.That way they will love the topic and the teacher too.Fear factor as a weapon is unneccesary for teaching.It can be replaced with love and sympathy and tolerance to get better and long lasting output.

Heck NO! 450 volts can kill a person even 220 isnt good on a person could damage that person for ever and ever .! and it can also kill a person at 220 volts if it is not just a twitch of a shock. BUt then again it can cause alot of damage to the person getting shocked. I have been shocked by 110 fence wasnt a good feeling what so ever and took time to get out of it at that. Did it tell what happened to the learner? after these shocks?

I would not do it. I could not hurt anyone - unless that person was trying to kill me, of course. Why when my husband wanted me to cut his nails (his left hand is weak) I was afraid to do it because I did not want to cut the hard part of the nail or his fingers or toes by mistakes. I told him that I would not make it as a torturer. I did hear about that experiment. It was something to do with to showing how the people of Germany or Japan and the guards in the concentration camps--well, those living under the rules of tyrants were able to obey his orders with no feeling for the sympathy or humanity of the victims. I think the examiner wanted to prove that we all will obey orders no matter how wrong. I also think there was another test, when one group dressed in red, or one group was marked inferior, etc. and the other group felt that they were Lords of the Manor and acted so. I do not recall where I read about it, but it made me more than determined not to follow orders of evil people.

I wouldn't do the exercise because of two main reasons.One, I am not a teacher and I never want to be . And two, I only purposely harm the ones that harmed me first.

It is unbelievealbe to hear such an experiment.I can't guess what the result it will lead to ,but it is clear that both teachers and learner who are kind hearted will have bad feelings.In my opnion,the purpose of education is to teach students how to learn by himself,and thus the way should be directing them,not punishing them.

sviswan noI would not administeer any type of electric shock to anyone, that is not humane and could do damage over time.thisis so wrong.If I were the teacher I would refuse to do anything so s tupid and inhumane.I would not wantto do that to anyone. this is a bad experiment as far as I am concerned. I would never usethis to let out pent up anger.

i will refuse using electric shock to give punishment.because i think in long term, it will cause neuro damage the student or even worst, the student only can think when they got a punishment, because they are addicted by punishment