Social Psychology Thesis Paper

The conclusion is that, contrary to common belief, personal ethics mean little when pitted against authority.

The conclusion is that, contrary to common belief, personal ethics mean little when pitted against authority.

The experiment: Say you have just conducted the Milgram Study. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)Here's a shortened example of a research article that MIGHT have been written.

DISCLAIMER: This article is not written by Stanley Milgram, but is intended as an example of a psychology research paper that someone might have written after conducting the first Milgram-study. Normally you would use double spacing in the paper.

Procedures The participant met another "participant" in the waiting room before the experiment. Each participant got the role as a "teacher" who would then deliver a shock to the actor ("learner") every time an incorrect answer to a question was produced.

The participant believed that he was delivering real shocks to the learner. As the experiment progressed, the teacher would hear the learner plead to be released and complain about a heart condition.

The experimenter then instructed the participant to treat this silence as an incorrect response and deliver a further shock.

When asking the experimenter if they should stop, they were instructed to continue.Our experiment tested people's obedience to authority.The results showed that most obey all orders given by the authority-figure, despite their unwillingness.All 40 participants continued to give shocks up to 300 volts.Most of the participants became very agitated, stressed and angry at the experimenter.There are few facts about the role of obedience when committing acts against one’s personal conscience (1961).Most theories suggest that only very disturbed people are capable of administering pain to an ordinary citizen if they are ordered to do so. Wiley Online Library requires cookies for authentication and use of other site features; therefore, cookies must be enabled to browse the site.Detailed information on how Wiley uses cookies can be found in our Privacy Policy.Can people be ordered to act against their moral convictions?The experiment will test whether a person can keep administering painful electric shocks to another person just because they are ordered to do so.