How Do You Spell MILGRAM EXPERIMENT?

Pronunciation: [mˈɪlɡɹam ɛkspˈɛɹɪmənt] (IPA)

The spelling of the word "milgram experiment" is straightforward: /mɪlɡræm ɛksˈpɛrɪmənt/. The first syllable is pronounced as "mill," and the second syllable is pronounced with a soft "g" sound, similar to "j" in "jeep." The final syllable is pronounced with the "e" as in "bet" and the "a" as in "cat." The Milgram experiment was a social psychology experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in 1961 to investigate obedience to authority figures, and the spelling of the word reflects the pronunciation of the experimenter's last name.

Meaning and Definition
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MILGRAM EXPERIMENT Meaning and Definition

  1. The Milgram experiment refers to a psychological study conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s to investigate obedience to authority figures. The experiment aimed to determine the extent to which individuals would obey an authority figure's instructions, even if it involved inflicting harm on another person.

    The experimental setup involved three components: the experimenter, the participant (subject), and a learner (confederate of the experimenter). The participant was led to believe that the study was investigating the effects of punishment on learning. The learner would be seated in a separate room and the participant was instructed to administer electric shocks, increasing the intensity with each wrong answer given by the learner.

    However, the shocks were not actually real, and the reactions displayed by the learner were pre-recorded. The emphasis of the experiment was on the participant's willingness to continue administering the shocks, even if they had concerns or the learner appeared to be in severe distress.

    The Milgram experiment is renowned for its unexpected and controversial results. Despite ethical concerns and the apparent harm being inflicted, around 65% of participants administered shocks to the maximum level, purely under the influence of the experimenter's authority. The findings have since been used to shed light on various aspects of obedience, ethical considerations in research, and human behavior under the presence of authority figures.

Etymology of MILGRAM EXPERIMENT

The term "Milgram experiment" derives from the name of the psychologist Stanley Milgram, who conducted a series of experiments on obedience to authority in the 1960s. The experiments aimed to investigate people's willingness to obey instructions from authority figures, even when those instructions conflicted with their personal conscience or ethics. The experiments became widely known as the "Milgram experiment" due to Milgram's significant contributions and the impact of his research on the understanding of human behavior and obedience.