In 1979, Stanley Milgram appeared on the television show, Sixty Minutes. He said, “If a system of death camps were set up in the United States of the sort we had in Nazi Germany, one would be able to find sufficient personnel for those camps in any medium-sized American town.”
- What evidence did Milgram have to cause him to make this statement? (Be specific referring to examples/facts from Milgram’s findings. There are many facts about Milgrams research that are not in your text search other sources to get as much detail about the study as you can.)
- What do you think of Milgram’s study in general? That is, why was it so controversial? Do you think it could be conducted today?
- What were the factors that contributed to getting a subject to obey? (be specific and refer to the research for your reply)
- What factors helped a subject to defy authority? (again, refer to the research for your reply)
- What does this research tell us about our human condition? That is, do you think conformity/obedience like this could occur in the real world? Has it happened in places other than Nazi Germany?
- Do you agree with Milgram’s statement? Why or why not?