me, as occurred in Germany during the Nazi era:
Gas chambers were built, death camps were guarded, daily quotas of corpses were produced with the same efficiency as the manufacture of appliances. These inhumane policies may have originated in the mind of a single person, but they could only have been carried out on a massive scale if a very large number of people obeyed orders (Milgram, 1974, 1).
Milgram's experiments on this subject have achieved a prominence unprecedented in the social sciences, a testament to their importance:
Although conducted more than twenty years ago, Milgram's research may be the most widely cited program of studies in psychology. . . The obedience experiments, which in many respects are unique and unlike any other variety of behavioral research, have come to be the focal point for analyses and debates about research ethics. From its inception, Milgram's work unleashed a storm of ethical controversy (Miller, 1986, 59).
These experiments were conducted at Yale University with subjects recruited through newspaper ads. Some 40 men, ranging in age from 20 to 50 and from different socioeconomic backgrounds, received $4.50 for their participation. They were told that the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of punishment on learning, and a highly credible rationale for the study was offered so as to justify to the subjects the use of electric shocks. Each experiment required the participation of three individuals--the experimenter, played by a 31-year-old high-school teacher; the learner, played by a 47-year-old accountant; and the teacher, always played by the real or true subject and chosen by a fixed draw. The experimenter explains the procedure, and the learner is then placed in an electric-chair apparatus. An elaborate description is given of the nature of the task about to be learned and about the punishment delivery system. The teacher is instructed to read a series of word p...