RESEARCH ANALYSIS

Research Analysis

Research Analysis

Hypothesis: Well being is totally dependent on the attitude shown by the person standing in front.

Independent Variable: obedience

Dependent Variable: well-being of participants

Research Design

The research participants were recruited through an advertisement in a local newspaper or through invitations mailed to addresses obtained from the telephone directory. The sample, it consisted of people between 20 and 50 years, male, of various social backgrounds. They were informed that they would cooperate, for reward, in an experiment on the effects on memory and learning.

The teacher was made to perceive the shock on the third lever (45 V) so that it would make personally account that there were no fictions and were laid out its tasks as follows:

Student to read the word pairs, for example: "blue box", "clear day";

repeat the second word of each pair accompanied by four associations alternatives, for example: "blue - one car, water, housing, lamp";

decide whether the answer provided by the student was correct;

If you're wrong, inflict punishment, increasing the intensity of the shock to each pupil's error.

The investigator was in charge during the test, so pressing to urge the teacher: "The experiment requires that you continue", "is absolutely essential that you continue", "no other choice, must continue." The degree of obedience was measured by the number of the last switch pressed by each subject before the latter interrupts the test individually or, in case the subject had decided to continue until the end, to the thirtieth switch. Only at the end of the experiment, subjects were informed that the victim had not suffered any kind of shock.

Results

Contrary to expectations, despite the 40 experimental subjects showed symptoms of tension and verbally protested, a large proportion of these, slavishly obeyed the experimenter. This amazing degree of obedience, which led participants to violate their moral principles, has been explained in relation to some elements, such as obedience induced by an authority figure they are recognized, the authority of which induces a state eteronomico, characterized by the fact that the subject does not consider itself free to take more self-conducted, but an instrument for fulfilling orders. The experimental subjects were not therefore felt morally responsible for their actions, but executors of the will of an outside power. In establishing such a state eteronomico contribute three factors:

perception of legitimacy of authority (in this case the experimenter embodied the authority of science)

Entry into the system of authority (education obedience is part of the processes of socialization)

Social pressures (disobey the experimenter would have to question the quality or breaking the agreement they made with him).

Conclusions

The degree of obedience to authority, however, varied considerably in relation to two factors: the distance between teacher and pupil and the distance between the experimental subject and experimenter. Were in fact tested four levels of distance between teacher and student: the teacher in the first could not see or hear the cries of the victim, in the latter could hear but not see the victim in the ...