The Milgram Experiment

I recently read an article that referenced the famous Milgram Experiment. I loved teaching this experiment to try to determine how students would act in a similar situation. In short, the experiment had Yale students shock a volunteer to test the link between electric shock and memory. The voltage increases each time the volunteer gets a question wrong. What the Yale students did not know was that they were the real experiment. The "volunteers" were actors. Stanley Milgram wanted to see how far people would go in hurting someone while acting under "orders" from a higher authority. The results were amazing and researchers throughout the world have studied the ethics of the experiment itself and the results.

In a similar study referenced within the article, a graduate professor asks banking students how they would respond if asked by a Senior Associate to fudge reports to show a client that they are doing better than they actually are doing. Most quickly respond that they would seek to talk with the Senior Associate about the ethics of the decision. When the role-play has the Senior Associate stick to the request, most students fall into two camps. They either comply with the request or resign from the job. What the researcher is really looking for is a third option. Very few students are creative enough to look for an alternate means of getting around the request such as speaking with a higher authority or another Senior Associate. These people are the creative problem solvers that the professor is looking for. Strangely enough, those people are a rare as the Yale students that refused to continue the shock experiment.

The Milgram Experiment taught us a lot about human nature. From the outside, it is easy for us to think that we are among the few that would react differently, but in practice, we can get caught up in our routine and what we think is normal. Take some time to really think about your practice. Do the things that you do really agree with your beliefs as an educator. Don't be afraid to be the rogue that steps out of the norm. Those are the teachers that are often remembered.