Ethical Decision-Making
This week you read about several experimental and historical examples of when people were observed acting against their own will or conscience, given the right set of circumstances. There are also plenty of historical examples of those in power who took advantage of individuals’ obedience and conformity to social pressures or the pressures of authority.
Select 1 of the social experiments that you read about this week (Zimbardo, Asch, Milgram) and identify a current event or situation that similarly illustrates obedience and conformity. Like the social experiments you studied, the event you choose should also raise questions of ethics.
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Ethical Decision-Making
a 1,050- to 1,400-word that includes the following:
- Compare and contrast the experiment you selected with the contemporary situation.
- Identify the social roles of participants and what behaviors reflect those roles.
- Examine the specific behaviors of the participants.
- Discuss the internal and external consequences of the participants’ behaviors, for example, shunning, passivity, degradation, and insolence.
- Explain how social roles in the contemporary situation resulted in the outcome.
- Describe a realistic alternative scenario that could have resulted in a different, more ethical outcome for this situation. Relate this alternative scenario to a concept in social psychology.
Include a minimum of 3 sources.
Introduction
The study of obedience and conformity has long been a focus of social psychology, especially in understanding how individuals may act against their conscience under authoritative pressure. Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment remains one of the most provocative illustrations of this phenomenon. A modern parallel can be found in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, where U.S. military personnel committed severe human rights violations against Iraqi detainees. This paper compares Milgram’s findings with the events at Abu Ghraib, examining the roles, behaviors, and psychological consequences involved, and proposing a more ethical alternative through the lens of social psychology.
Comparison of the Experiment and Contemporary Situation
Milgram’s study demonstrated that ordinary people would administer what they believed to be fatal electric shocks under instructions from an authority figure. Similarly, at Abu Ghraib, soldiers claimed they were “just following orders” when participating in degrading acts against prisoners.
