Lucifer Effect Most People Who Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1072 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 4

Page 1 of 4

Even when some people decided enough was enough, the authority figure would tell the 'teacher' that the full responsibility was that of the experimenter, the 'teacher' would not be responsible and thus the shocks continued.

There is some basis to believe that people simply want to please others whom they believe to be superior to them. There is also the need to conform to certain group rules in order to feel that we are accepted. However, Zimbardo also claims that people don't need a group to influence us; he believes that there is a lot of influence that comes from a single source -- another person, which was the case in the Milgram experiment. There was not a group urging these 'teachers' on; there was one man in a laboratory coat whom the 'teachers' believed to be of some kind of powerful and intelligent person.

The shocking results from the Milgram experiment found that "two out of every three (65%) of the volunteers went all the way up to the maximum shock level of 450 volts. The vast majority of people, the 'teachers,' shocked their 'learner-victim' over and over again despite his increasingly desperate pleas to stop" (Zimbardo 271). We have to ask ourselves how we would act under these circumstances, but simply asking ourselves doesn't change the fact that these people in the experiment were ordinary people, just like everyone else. With such a high percentage (65%) of people going all the way to the maximum shock level, it is hard to believe that all of these people had a little bit of evil in them.

Stuck Writing Your "Lucifer Effect Most People Who" Essay?

View All Our Example Lucifer Effect Most People Who Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

In fact, it would be ridiculous to think so.

The cases of the Virginia Tech gunman and the Milgram experiment are quite different in scope and nature. First of all, the gunman clearly knew what he was doing. Many of the victims who survived the shooting said that there was a very serious but calm look on the gunman's face (Hauser & O'Connor 2007), leading them to believe he knew exactly what he was doing. He was there on a mission to kill and then kill himself. The 'teachers' in the Milgram experiment did not want to kill anyone most likely, yet they were somehow convinced that hurting people was okay when they were being told that it was okay by someone they believed to possess superior morals.

Works.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Lucifer Effect Most People Who" (2010, November 13) Retrieved April 28, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/lucifer-effect-most-people-6831

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Lucifer Effect Most People Who" 13 November 2010. Web.28 April. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/lucifer-effect-most-people-6831>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Lucifer Effect Most People Who", 13 November 2010, Accessed.28 April. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/lucifer-effect-most-people-6831
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example