Article Critique: "The Perils of Obedience"
"The Perils of Obedience" by Milgram presents his theory of obedience, supported by findings from his experimental research. Milgram stated the importance of understanding obedience and provided examples from his experiment to demonstrate obedience factors. However he madd conclusions that were beyond the scope of the study and lacked further validation.
Milgram's experiment was set up to determine how people in a psychology laboratory would react to authority. Since more than half of the subjects in the first experiment administered the shock to the end, Milgram generalized these findings to real-life situations. While Milgram himself stated that the experimental condition does not indicate exactly what would happen in the real world, his response to this fact demonstrated his bias.
Milgram stated that what would happen in the real world, would likely be even more extreme, since punishments could be administered if commands were not followed. However, Milgram failed to discuss the possibility that the opposite may also occur. Generalizing findings from the experiment to real life situations is beyond the scope of the study. Milgram provided information that may be related to obedience factors in an experimental situation, which adds to the understanding obedience in general, but does not replicate real-life situations.
Article Critique: "The Psychological . . . "
"The Psychological Roots of Ethnic and Sectarian Terrorism" by Montville (1990) presents a biased view of terrorism and victimization. Montville stated that ethnic victimization occurs when the security of the group is shattered by violence and aggression. The victim then behaves to reaffirm his right to life with acts of terror. While the author notes the importance a more detailed analysis of historic injustices and their contributions to make conclusions about terrorism, bias is reflected since Mon...